how long does it take the body to adjust?

Question

How longs it take the body to adjust to a different sleep plan? Basically i have been going to bed at 11 and waking up at 5 in the morning and not being able to fall back asleep at all which means im tired during the day, just wondered how long it takes for the body to get used to this?

Answer 1

Tips for getting back to sleep :

Try visualization. Focus all your attention on your toes or visualize walking down an endless stairwell. Thinking about repetitive or mindless things will help your brain to shut down and adjust to sleep.
Get out of bed if unable to sleep. Don’t lie in bed awake. Go into another room and do something relaxing until you feel sleepy. Worrying about falling asleep actually keeps many people awake.
Don't do anything stimulating. Don't read anything job-related or watch a stimulating TV program (commercials and news shows tend to be alerting). Don't expose yourself to bright light. The light gives cues to your brain that it is time to wake up.
Get up and eat some turkey. Turkey contains tryptophan, a major building block for making serotonin, a neurotransmitter, which sends messages between nerve cells and causes feelings of sleepiness. Note that L-tryptophan doesn't act on the brain unless you eat it on an empty stomach with no protein present, so keep some turkey in the refrigerator for 3am.
Consider changing your bedtime. If you are experiencing sleeplessness or insomnia consistently, think about going to bed later so that the time you spend in bed is spent sleeping. If you are only getting five hours of sleep at night, figure out what time you need to get up and subtract five hours (for example, if you want to get up at 6:00 am, go to bed at 1:00 am). This may seem counterproductive and, at first, you may be depriving yourself of some sleep, but it can help train your body to sleep consistently while in bed. When you are spending all of your time in bed sleeping, you can gradually sleep more, by adding 15 minutes at a time.

Or, you can follow the plan below:

Five keys to optimal sleep


1) Rise and shine. Spending a few minutes in the early morning sun helps your biological clock align itself with the cycles of nature. Bright morning light stimulates the release of serotonin, the hormone of wakefulness, and helps the brain reduce levels of melatonin, the sleep hormone.



2) Have your evening meal early. Finish your evening meal by 6 or 6:30 p.m. so your body's digestive processes can be at rest when you go to bed. If you need to change your meal times earlier in the day to do this, then work backward accordingly.



3) Go to bed at 10 p.m. Your body was designed to sync with the cycles of nature -- including daylight and darkness -- with the optimal time for sleep falling between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. If you're in the habit of staying up much later than 10 p.m., begin getting up progressively earlier by a few minutes each morning, over several days. This will make it easier to go to bed earlier in the evening until you reach your target.



4) Reduce stimulants. If you find it difficult to get to sleep around 10 p.m., try cutting stimulants out of your diet -- particularly caffeine products like coffee, chocolate and black tea -- even in the morning. These take a long time to be eliminated from your body, and their effects can linger into the evening.



5) Quiet your mind. If your body is tired but your mind is active, try meditation or prayer. But don't make it hard work; use a simple and gentle form, such as repetition of a thought or phrase, or just focus on following your breath in and out. Relaxation music is another excellent way to soothe an anxious or active mind. This is the best method for me.;aside from reading.

Answer 2

6 hours of sleep tends to make most people sleepy during the day. But even so 6 hours will keep you awake till at least 3pm easy, 5 you will get sleepy, and around 8 or so you're very tired. Some people's body's adapt differently than others. I went from a 3am-12noon sleep schedule to a 12am-6am sleep schedule, took me a few weeks to get used to it.

Answer 3

Have you tried not going to bed until much later 1am (ish)? This could force your brain to stay asleep later. Once you establish that, you could then try going to bed earlier.

Your body clock is telling you that 5am is wake up time, so you need to adjust that.

6 hours sleep is not bad. Just catch up at the weekends.

Answer 4

Is there a reason for you to wake so early? Is there something bothering you? I have disturbed sleep when I am depressed.I have clinical depression and that keeps me awake.Try taking some herbal sleeping tablets like Kalms, or have a drink of warm milk to see if that will help.

http://www.kalmsstress.com/kalms.htm
EDIT:I just found this on the BBC News website and remembered your question.Thought I'd add the link in hopes it will help you.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7114661.stm

Answer 5

normal time to get my body into a sleep pattern and adjust to it is about 1 week. I normally work at night but on days (not often) I work during the day, I need to readjust my sleep pattern to accommodate the new schedule.

Answer 6

a week