25 hour day

[RBM]

I have a stange pattern where I'm in a 25 hour day. What that means is I tend to get tired an hour later then I went to sleep the night before so it makes it tough to stay on a schedule. And what sometimes happeneds if I try to go to bed before I'm tired is it will take me even longer to get sleepy and drift off.

I've tried getting up before I get a full sleep in the hope that I'll be tired earlier but it either works to well or doesn't work at all. When I say it works to well I mean I am so tired I can't do anything. With little sleep + depression I think my motivation factor goes into the negatives.

 

[Daniel E.]

I've tried getting up before I get a full sleep in the hope that I'll be tired earlier but it either works to well or doesn't work at all.

Hmmm...maybe you should make the adjustments more gradual:

A good approach is to gradually move to an earlier bedtime. For example, if an extra hour of sleep is needed, try going to bed 15 minutes earlier each night for four nights and then keep the last bedtime.
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/sleep/pslp_fs.pdf (PDF file)

Also, from what I have heard over the years, one needs to turn down the lights and stop doing energetic activities in the evening. You have probably heard this already, of course. Even TV and computer monitors may be too strong a light source for some people, but I don't know.

``Light is the most powerful synchronizer of the biological clock,'' said Czeisler. When test subjects in the earlier studies switched on lights, it was ``giving them the equivalent of a drug that reset the clock. That's what resulted in the apparent 25-hour period that is published in textbooks.'
http://icole.home.att.net/ap_insomnia_study.htm

Of course, one needs to get sunlight during the day, especially the morning:

If possible, wake up with the sun, or use very bright lights in the morning. Sunlight helps the body's internal biological clock reset itself each day. Sleep experts recommend exposure to an hour of morning sunlight for people having problems falling asleep.
http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/922656541.html

And you have also probably read tips like these before:

A warm bath, reading, or another relaxing routine can make it easier to fall sleep. You can train yourself to associate certain restful activities with sleep and make them part of your bedtime ritual.

Try to exercise 20 to 30 minutes a day. Daily exercise often helps people sleep, although a workout soon before bedtime may interfere with sleep. For maximum benefit, try to get your exercise about 5 to 6 hours before going to bed.

If you can't get to sleep, don't just lie in bed. Do something else, like reading, watching television, or listening to music, until you feel tired. The anxiety of being unable to fall asleep can actually contribute to insomnia.
http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/922656541.html

Sleep, Dreams, & Insomnia Resources - PsychLinks

 

[RBM]

I have tried gradual changes, The quote at the end is very accurate to how I am. "The anxiety of being unable to fall asleep can actually contribute to insomnia."

When I've tried to go to bed early it has the opposite effect on me as I find it even harder to sleep.

I have been getting out in the sun and going for walks or doing some other exersize lately and that does definitely help a lot.

 

[cm]

Here's a technique that worked for me- Put on an audio recording of an interesting story, movie or informational tape. Sit up in bed or lay down and listen to it, trying to concentrate but staying relaxed while you listen (it should be a long, long recording). This kind of listening usually takes energy and hopefully you will find yourself beginning to tire. Keep listening carefully, but as you tire, allow yourself to drift off.
A variation of this is to have a spouse read to you in bed. If you close your eyes and just listen and listen you may find yourself drifting to sleep (then they can turn the light out). This would put me out every time!

 

[Daniel E.]

Yes, I preferred listening to music or something semi-interesting when I had problems sleeping. If it is too interesting, it would probably keep me awake unless I was already tired. For example, I would listen to comedy CDs like Jerry Seinfield, and those would keep me awake until the CD was over. So I stopped doing that and listened to music or something educational and semi-boring instead.

 

[RBM]

I too find listening to something very relaxing. I tend to always be thinking/evaluating things in my mind, so when I have outside stimulas to occupy my thoughts I'm much more relaxed.

All my brothers used to go to sleep with blowdryers on for the noise, it's amazing they never burnt down a house.

 

[cm]

That's an interesting remedy that your brothers used, RBM. I would like to hear Dr. Baxter's comments on that technique.

Daniel, I also find that comedy will often relax me and I have used my favourite comedy videos to drift off too.
cm

 

[David Baxter PhD]

My comments on the blowdryer technique? I agree with RBM -- I'm surpirsed they didn't burn down the house... I should have thought that soft music would have been less dangerous.

 

[ThatLady]

I guess the blowdryers were providing a form of white noise. Probably would have been safer to tune a television to a station that wasn't broadcasting at the time. ;o)

 

[Daniel E.]

Conversely, listening to exciting music like "Burning Down the House" by Talking Heads may be good for waking up in the morning. Or it may just be annoying.