Resetting the body clock.

Over the last few months my body clock has gone off on one, generally
meaning I'm struggling to fall asleep before 2AM. The problem with this
is about twice a week I need to make early starts, and <4 hours sleep
isn't cutting it.

Does anyone have a foolproof and quick method of resetting ones sleep
patterns? I'm thinking staying awake for about 40 hours then going to
bed early and hopefully tired might be a start, but if it doesn't work
I'll just end up feeling more fucked up.

Answers on a postcard to....

 

I start early too, have to open school for 5.30 am, so when holidays or
weekends come round a lie-in is staying in bed 'till 7.30 ish.

I've found that the best way to not stay awake until 2am etc is really
to make sure you also get up within a couple of hours of normal time at
the weekend too, and go to bed at roughly the same time every night
when possible. After a week or so of doing this you 'adjust' and do it
naturally. Until the night you force yourself to stay up again ....

Mind, I get betweeen 9.30am and 2.30pm off work so I always have at
least an hours nap on the sofa too ...

--
Paul - xxx

'96/'97 Landrover Discovery 300 Tdi 'Big and Butch'
'98 Suzuki DR 200 Djebel 'Small but perfectly formed'
Dyna Tech Cro-Mo comp "When I feel fit enough'

 

which for me has become 2AM, almost every night for a few months.

Grrr.

Weekends have seen me awake until closer to four.. then awake again by
10am.

I need a reboot.

 

Move to somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic?

 

You're sitting in front of the pooter, aren't you? Schedule a massive virus
check or something to run at midnight every night.

What time do you want to go to bed at? Set a target.

You should probably consider an embargo on drinks and snacks after, say, 8pm
(water excepted). Do a 20-30 minute brisk walk every evening about 2 hours
before you want to settle down. Don't have a kitchenful of dirty dishes
that need to be washed up before bed - sort them out early, so there's
nothing to distract you from settling down. Again, if you're taking any
work home, do it early. Don't read ukrm after 11pm. Acquire a live-in
girlfriend who like lots of sex.

 

whores, beer and weed.

 

Sometimes, but I also get drawn into watching TV late on... I know I
shouldn't.

11, I reckon.

So eating my evening meal around 9PM is also bad then?

Got to start doing that anyway, as I need to work on my sportsman like
pysique - at the moment the sport would appear to be... darts.

Dishwasher sorts the dishes out, and I tend to put it on in the
mornigns.

All good ideas.

 

Melatonin.

 

Reasonable. If you're currently up to 2am all the time, it's little more of
a jump than midnight.

Probably - the idea is to have all the stuff you need to do finished early.
Also, is it your biggest meal of the day?

Walking is a seriously good low-impact exercise. Map out a two-mile
circuit, preferably with some semblance of gradient along the way, and work
on getting your time under 30 minutes.

Try loading it and setting it going just after your evening meal. That way,
the gunge won't harden on the plates, you'll have a clean kitchen, and it'll
be a further deterrent to snacking.

 

sneaking down at midnight
to snack on the gunge
on the plates in the dishwasher

it could be frank zappa

 

Unhealthy: Have your tea, get nicely tanked and then go to bed at about
10pm.

Healthy: Make sure you get some exercise during the day (e.g. go
swimming). Eat a light meal for tea and then go for a bit of a walk.
Have a hot bath with a beer and a book, then go to bed early at about
9ish. Don't turn your computer or TV on at all. It's only for one
night. The combination of exercise, not much food, warmth and a little
alcohol should combine nicely to make you tired.

Gradual: Go to bed 30 mins early each night.

The key thing is to not get up or do anything once you've got in bed as
you'll only wake yourself again. I will occasionally read a bit more
book if my mind won't switch off, but only for 5 mins or so. When I've
been recovering from jet lag the above have all worked.

 

Work shifts for 20 years and you won't have a body clock to reset.

 

Don't try going to bed early, try getting up at the same time every day.

 

There's been loads of stuff about sleep on The One Show this week.

Tips were..

Never mind what time you go to bed, but always, always, always get up
at the same time.

Never do anything the activates the brain before bed. So no computer,
tv etc. Books are fine as long as they're not fast paced thrillers.

Upping your melatonin level helps too.

 

My body clock is naturally on a longer day than the time clock, so I
have to periodically shift it back a couple of hours by taking
melatonin.
--
Dave
GS850x2 XS650 SE6a

"A scone and tea at half past three
Makes the day a little brighter
Keep your cakes and fancy tarts
And stick them up your shiter."

 

What's that?

Agree with this.

Don't agree with this. I regularly watch something before going to bed,
and nearly always read (and lately it's been hard sci-fi). If something's
on my mind keeping me awake, then I'll maybe put the light back on and
read for another 30 minutes.

If something is persistently on my mind, then I'll write it down so I
don't forget, and then I don't need to think about it any more.

 

I've just realised something - this became worse when I swapped to
energy saving bulbs... which are essentially flourescent strips - which
are bluer light..

time to buy an old school light bulb and test the theory.

 

When I'm working I do some very, very odd hours from day to day which
can really play with someone's body clock - for some reason it never
affects me, though.

But when I've got into the habit of being really out of synch with the
rest of the world I've always resorted to your idea of staying awake for
40 hours and then going to bed at what's considered a normal time on the
second night. However, you have to make sure you stick to that bedtime
otherwise you waste your time. It usually takes a few days before it
starts to become 'normal'.

--
Veggie Dave
UKRMHRC#2 BOTAFOF#08
IQ 18 FILMS http://www.iq18films.com
POST PRODUCTION http://www.iq18films.co.uk
Toxic Shock Syndrome Gets More Girls Than Me

 

Or turn out the light and go to sleep.

 

Phew, that was lucky, I didn't get it the first time.