how can i get out of this stupid sleep cycle?

Question

since new year i've not been able to get to sleep til about 4 in the morning no matter how much milk i drink or how long i lie in bed then i find it really hard to get up before midday - i cant seem to break the cycle. i'm a student (yeah, yeah i know) so i'm not missing work, but i hate sleeping in so late. help!

Answer 1

the best way to get back on track skip a section of sleep, and then go to sleep at the preferred time. So....go to sleep at 4...and then set an alarm for like 6 or 7 o'clock, and force yourself to get up. Meanwhile, you are tired throughout the day and don't take a nap. Now, go to sleep at your preferred time say 10 or 12 o'clock. You should fall right asleep. A day of sacrificing sleep is the key to getting back on schedule

Answer 2

I have had the same problem in the past. Don't go to sleep at 4 a.m. Force your body to stay awake through the entire day. If you are like me, you will be in a "cloud" or "fog" during the day but hang in there. When it gets close to the time you normallly go to sleep, your body, mind, etc. are going to be thanking the gods that you are in your own bed and going to sleep. You'll feel a little addled the next day because it takes a while for your body, brain to adjust. By the second day, you should be right on track. I hope the best for you.
Oh, there is also an herb - Valerian - that you can take. It's non-toxic, no side affects, not harmful. Take one or two tablets (depending upon your size/weight) about an hour before you want to go to bed. It works. I've used it and gave some to a friend who was having difficulty sleeping. There aren't any side effects to it which I appreciated.

Answer 3

Milk never helped me get to sleep, but something else might help you - camomile tea with honey (try it). If I were you I would try getting up just an hour earlier, say eleven (set your alarm), and gradually work back to eight or whatever time you should get up. Get plenty of exercise, but not too much or you'll be over-stimulated - read something relaxing in bed, not a thriller! Don't watch a lot of tv or use the computer in the late evening. Have a warm bath, camomile tea (or other herbal tea), snuggle down and think nice thoughts. Visualise being somewhere beautiful - somewhere you'd like to be - desert island, green meadow etc., look at all the details - count the daisies, visualise the scene around you -. Alternatively - get a part-time job after college hours - you'll be so tired you'll drop off as soon as your head hits the pillow!

Answer 4

You gotta back into your "normal groove". I took two weeks of vacation from work and did the same thing... was staying up 'til 2 and 3 every morning. I'm assuming you may have done the same thing. You're used to your "party schedule" from the holidays. Not that you were partying all the time - just that freedom you have when there's no work, or in your case, no school, no reports due, etc. You stay up later and later 'cause there are no commitments you have to worry about, so to speak. Before you know it, 11 pm and midnight then becomes "early". You don't feel like you've had a "full day" until you see 2a.m. on the clock. Then it's like "dam! I gotta get to sleep!"

I had to go back to work just TODAY. Went to bed at 10 last night, which was HARD ENOUGH 'cause I wanted to watch the OSU/Florida game. I fell asleep when it was 21 to 14 Florida, and I see they went ahead and finished the job nicely. :-)

Good luck getting back to YOUR "normal routine". Just take your butt to bed! :-)

Answer 5

Hia;)) Well for starters, don't drink "MILK", milk is a food product therefore your body has to break this down over the night whilst you are trying to get zum..."SLEEP", also I would say to stop drinking all liquids about 3 to 4 hours before ya wanna catch some shut eye & the same goes for food. If we have products in our tummys at night then instead of letting the natural healing to take place, well your bodys on over drive to try & break the food down, hence the next day ya sluggish & shattered, irritable & so on.
Try & see what direction you head is in bed is it north, south, east or west??? best is north.Make sure you also have "NO" electric stuff on in the bedroom, even on standby, as they all obmit a frequancy of energy which could also interfear with your sleeping pattern, also cover your TV or computer screen over with a dence black or dark cover, even when swiched off, they obmit ;(( V:BAD!
You know "Sleep deprivation" is a very bad problem.(( Iv suffered for many years....but no longer ;))
Failing that, then drag yaself out of bed & make the yoga position of the howling dog, (see below for details) make this a few times & see how ya get on ;)) by the way you dont have to howl like a dog, just make the streach a few times.

Answer 6

Go to bed at the same time every night and when you can't sleep get up and do something very BORING until you get tired again. Force yourself to get up a half hour earlier every morning until you're getting up at the hour you'd like to get up and stick with it no matter how much sleep you miss at first! Eventually, you'll get back into a normal cycle once your body figures out that you're not going to 'make up' for the lost sleep in the morning. It should take no more than a week or two to start seeing a difference.

Answer 7

Stay up for at least 24 hours straight and go to bed at what you consider to be a reasonable time (11 PM?). Set your alarm to give you 8 hours of sleep. Go to bed at your new time religiously without exception, with no lights or other stimulation, and continue getting up at the same time. You'll reset yourself eventually. As a last resort you can get a small supply of sleep pill from your doctor (or with their consent take 1/4 tsp of fresh ground nutmeg) to help start with the getting to sleep on time part. Good luck!

Answer 8

ok the staying up does not help.....i have tried this over an over again, i have stayed up for three nights straight once and all that happened is a had a serious bad headache an my stomach got ill... i have suffer from this for nine years now and people think i am crazy... sometimes i feel that way... i suffer from what i could call jet lag all the time. this all started when i had my last baby and had restless legs and i still have it and it drives me nuts.... when i would rest my legs would go mad and about six in the morning they would settle down .... i thought it was all in my head but i have found out this is how it effects suffers ..........
i have slept this way now for so long now its a way of life for me, i even work at night at home and my neighbours think i should be in the crazy house but what the hell thats me now..
try relaxing n cut out the caffine and no excerise before bed... relax relax relax

Answer 9

I totally have the same problem.

I think the net causes insomnia you know because it gets your brain going...

The only way to get out of your sleep cycle is to get up early for a few days, you'll be knackered, but then your body will adapt.

It's a kinda jet lag!

I'd recommend arranging to meet up with someone at about nine in the morning, that way you have to get up early, or you'll let them down.

Answer 10

I have the SAME problem. I think what you need to do is train your body to wake up at an early time while you are still going to bed late and force your way through the day. This'll put you to sleep pretty early.