It’s currently 3 am right now and I’ve been laying in bed hopelessly for 4 hours so I figured I might make a thread and ask a question I’ve been wondering about for a while now.
My sleep schedule has been completely wrecked by high school. Some weeks I don’t go to bed before 1 am once (which is awful for me becsuse I’m a person that can barely function on less than 8). I wouldn’t mind it as much if I could catch up on easier weeks, but the problem is now, I physically can’t fall asleep until after 12 or so. If I even try to go to bed before then, it just makes it harder to sleep. The only time I ever get sleep is on weekends, when I go 1-11. So I was wondering, how much sleep do you guys get and have any of you experienced my problem? And also, what are your tips for falling asleep faster? I’ve always been very against taking Dramamine or Benadryl as a sleep aid because I’m afraid it’ll mess me up… but I’ve been considering it.
For starters, I agree with the previous poster: you’ve got to get yourself onto a schedule. And keep it over the weekends, more or less. Otherwise your body is always wondering which schedule you’re on. And I agree that taking a sleeping pill is NOT a good idea, particularly the ones you’ve listed, since I’m pretty sure they’re not meant to be sleeping pills.
A couple of years ago I had some serious medical issues that cost me a lot of sleep. I simply couldn’t turn off the thoughts running through my mind all night long. Then, of course, 5 am would hit and I would have to get up to get ready for work.
I’ve come up with what works for me. Here it is:
I won’t toss and turn for more than half an hour or so. At that point, I end up watching the clock and figuring out how little sleep I’ll have to function on the next day, and that kills any hope of sleep.
I get up and go onto the couch. (Staying put would be easier, but my husband also has to get up in the morning.) I put on the TV, but so softly I can just about hear it. Then I put on something I can listen to but still follow-- Nick at Night type of stuff. So I listen to The Golden Girls or something, and more often than not I fall asleep.
Friday after school, if I’m not working, I make up for some of the sleep I lost throughout the week by literally just taking a really long nap as soon as I get home.
When I’m having trouble falling asleep, I turn of f the light in my room, close my eyes and listen to music.
I keep myself on a pretty good sleep schedule but have trouble falling asleep because my thoughts keep running, so I can’t say much with regards to the schedule, but for falling asleep faster: I always try to finish my homework that requires looking at a screen first and, after that point, I don’t look at electronics-- no computer, no phone (though I do listen to music). I try to allot myself a half hour before going to bed to go downstairs and talk to my mom or have some lavender tea to unwind and get myself geared for sleeping. Once I’m in bed, I force myself to think in German without translating it back into English. I don’t actually know any German, though, (that’s sort of the point) so it’s basically making up words to keep my mind focused on something terribly boring.
I have been sleeping consistently well in college at MIT, so I’ll offer a few points:
Consistency - your body's circadian rhythm takes time to adjust if you sleep at 4 am a bunch of nights, then try to fall asleep at midnight the next night. Most nights I sleep around 2-2:30 and wake up around 10-10:30 for an 11:00 class. Aim for around 8-9 hours.
Avoid "stressful" activity right before sleep (including HW).
In terms of electronic devices, it is a good idea to avoid those right before bed. However I often break this rule, but I don't think my sleep quality has been adversely affected.