is it possible to reset your body clock?

Question

I cant seem to get to sleep before midnight most nights but am always really tired in the mornings? Is it best to try and make myself go to bed earlier or get up earlier so that Im tired earlier? I seem to perk up about 10pm and thats actually when I have the most energy. I do housework even! Also does this happen to you?

Answer 1

People keep trying to sell me on the idea that I'm an insomniac because I have the same problem... Actually, I've never seen what the big deal was about being such a perky morning person anyway.

To address your specific question, in 20 year of trying, I've never found any way to "reset" my body clock. I have managed, begrudgingly, to adjust when I had to (for the sake of keeping my jobs, etc.) -- but that's an entirely different issue. Left to my own devices, I'm still a night owl. Always have been (I was reading with a flashlight in my closet at 2 a.m. when I was in kindergarten); always will be. And truth be told, that's just fine with me.

Incidentally, the doctors have suggested several different types of sleeping pills to help me sleep on a "normal" schedule. I've never been a big fan of popping pills, so I passed. Still, if you're finding that this is seriously impacting your ability to function, you may have to look into those options.

There are also sleep clinics, if you want to get medical treatment without necessarily taking pills.

Sleep well, when it finds you.

Answer 2

I've worked jobs with screwy time schedules for many years, so I've learned a few tricks to get a sleep schedule in order. Some of these are from books, some are personal experience.

The Big one is, get some sun during the day. This is how your body sets it's clock. Some people are more sensitive to daylight than others, but everyone responds to it whether they thing they're a night owl or not. During the winter, in northern latitudes especially, the decreased sunlight can really mess people up. They get depressed, they can't sleep, the get a dazed feeling...

It seems like a really obvious thing to point out that the sun tells your body when it's time to be awake, but it's something we take for granted. During the week when you're resetting your body clock, make sure you see daylight for at least a half hour a day.

Don't drink anything with caffiene for 8 hours prior to your bed time. I know people who claim caffiene doesn't affect them or their sleep, I don't believe it. Why do you even drink caffinated drinks in the first place?

Here's a trick I came up with myself. Every night before I go to bed, I have a ritual of things that I always do. It sounds like obssessive cumpulsive disorder, but I really think it works. I have a sleep ritual every night. I feed the cat, turn down the furnace thermostadt, wash my face, brush my teeth... etc. I think that by doing the same steps every time I've conditioned my body to know that whenever I go through those steps, it's time to start all the internal stuff that causes sleep.

I'd say to make sleeping pills a last resort.
However, I have had success with mellatonin. It's non adictive. It's the same chemical that your body naturally generates to put you to sleep. (By the way, exposure to sunlight helps your body make the stuff naturally.)

Hope some of this helps,
Good luck..!

Answer 3

You are normal and it is called being a night owl. You need to adjust your routine to fit your behavior. If you work consider a job where you can start later in the day so you can sleep in a bit. Do some housework later when you perk up but then once you are done soak in a nice warm tub and then call it a night.

Answer 4

sounds like me -- wide awake at midnight -- but have to be up by 6am tomorrow --

Answer 5

yes you can reset it but it must be done with your tongue and the button is very hard to find send video.