Taking Your Rest Schedule In Your Hands
Switching your sleep schedule is always within your grasp, but seldom is it something which might be called easy. When you miss sleep, you accumulate sleep debt. When you accumulate sleep debt, that leads to drowsiness and a desire for respite. But if you give in, then you’ll likely perpetuate the existing habits you already have, and the process restarts.
If you’re going to switch from being a night owl to an early bird, you’re going to have to keep yourself awake through one or two periods called “sleep cycles”. So, for example, if you usually don’t go to bed until three or four in the morning, and you know you need to switch up your schedule, make a pot of coffee an hour before you usually kick off for the night.
Next, give yourself some activity that’s going to take a few hours. Maybe you need to clean the garage, or write some sort of legally binding document, or tackle the closet in the family room with all the unknown items stacked higgledy-piggledy from floor to ceiling. Maybe you just decide to watch The Lord of the Rings from start to finish.
Whatever is going to keep your attention, and keep you awake, is what you want to do. Once you know what you need to do, next you need to drink the coffee, or take the “five hour energy” shot; or whatever you decide is best. You can also avoid synthetic aids altogether and use sheer willpower to force yourself, but that’s going to make things harder.
Getting Past Regular Periods Of Drowsiness
The most difficult time to remain awake is about 5:30 in the morning, if you’ve been up all night. Just before the dawn comes, and just before the night ends, your body is used to being asleep. You’re contending with circadian rhythms, and they’re not interested in your objectives. So you’re going to feel drowsy.
These periods of difficulty tend to hit in three-hour cycles. If you’re trying to stay up late, you’ll get drowsy around 9:00 PM when the sun sets, around midnight, around 3:00 in the morning, and just before 6:00, about when the sun is going to come up.
These periods differ slightly based on the time of year and your position on the globe, but generally, this three-hour interval spread is a good template. If you’re prepared with something to keep your body busy and your mind occupied beforehand, you’ll avoid nodding off.
Sometimes The Issue Is Your Actual Sleeping Environment
Sometimes the real reason you’re awake at night might be something as simple as a bad mattress. If you’re uncomfortably tossing and turning after you’ve already put in a twenty-hour day, definitely switch up that mattress. Finding the best one is easier than ever with the internet. You can have one delivered right to your house through “mattress in a box” sites; just check out this link.
For most, though, what you’re dealing with is some sort of psychologically impelled insomnia. Guilt and anger keep a person awake, depression knocks them out.
Overcoming Emotional And Environmental Factors
It could be you’re dealing with something emotional that has been suppressed, and the key to regaining a normal sleep schedule is addressing that suppressed issue. Whatever the case, remember that the situation you’re dealing with is one of mind over matter. If you put your mind to it, it doesn’t matter how tired you are, you’ll be able to change your sleep schedule.
