41–50 of 138 posts
If I don't have a reason to get up in the morning, I'm much more likely to stay in bed before I go to sleep again.
have children - you will quickly become an early riser ;)
I'd recommend sleeping in a room that gets sunlight as early as possible. As the room warms up (and gets brighter), you'll naturally wake up less groggily. If your schedule can handle it, try just going to sleep when you are tired and seeing when you wake up (ie. don't use an alarm at all). I tried this for about six months, and the following happened. The first week or two I slept upwards of 10-11 hours a night, and…
So in London in the middle of summer it's light from 5am or so and I have to use an eye-mask. That early light was not my friend. On the other hand in winter the dark at 8am wasn't my friend either. A "wake-up light" (google for "sunrise alarm clock" or "daylight simulator") for winter might help.
Go to bed earlier at night.
What if I have a problem going to bed earlier? Sometimes, I can stay awake in the bed for at least an hour, if not even a couple of hours. It's like when you suffer from insomnia. By the way, have a look at this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delayed_sleep_phase_syndrome
I am a night owl. When I'm not working, I naturally phase shift until I go to sleep at 5AM. When my workplace instituted a less flexible flex time so that I had to get there before 10AM as opposed to before noon, it allowed me to get to sleep early enough to be well rested.
Go to bed earlier at night.
Thats pretty much it - We've all read the various sleep 'hacks' and blogs out there but the only thing that worked for me was to go to bed earlier.
Like an old man, I now go to bed at 10pm and wake up at 6 ;) - But business/work/wife dictates that I get up earlier - when I first started this schedule it felt like I had been missing out on the wonderful early mornings. I just felt a bit more 'fresher'.
My previous schedule was 1:30-2am and waking up at 9-9:30; I sorta miss being a night owl, but both work and wife make sure I go to bed early.
These things work for me: Go to bed earlier at night. Leave your blinds open to let natural light come in in the morning. Have a deadline due the next day.
Deadlines work the opposite for me. Procrastinators can do anything other than what they're supposed to be doing...including sleep. At least, I can. The less I want to do something, the more exhausted I feel; and deadlines damage my desire to do something more than just about anything. On the other hand, if I'm excited about something, and feeling really interested in what will happen that day it definitely helps. So…
Need that pressure. Love that pressure. I'll probably have a heart attack when I'm 40.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
This plus consistency (i.e. Don't try to wake up at 5AM M-F and then sleep til noon every Saturday and Sunday).
Consistency is for assembly lines. Sleep when you're tired. Eat when you're hungry. Just as importantly, don't eat or sleep when you're not hungry or tired.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Consistency is for assembly lines. Sleep when you're tired. Eat when you're hungry. Just as importantly, don't eat or sleep when you're not hungry or tired.
...and by following that strategy, you will soon find yourself out of sync with everyone around you, to both your annoyance and theirs. However, if you start getting up at the time you want to be getting up whether or not you feel like it, then sleeping when you're tired will eventually work. Unless you have some medical problem, I guess.
Sometimes being out of synch with everyone can be a boon to productivity.
Go to bed earlier at night.
This plus consistency (i.e. Don't try to wake up at 5AM M-F and then sleep til noon every Saturday and Sunday).
(That's advice given to me by a sleep expert at Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence, RI many years ago, when I was afflicted with a rare sleeping disorder.)
She also told me never to do anything but sleep in my bed (don't read there, don't eat there, don't work, don't watch TV, etc.). Beds are for sleeping and training your brain to recognize that will help you keep to your regular sleep cycle.
If you're having trouble falling asleep, get up, go sit in a chair and read for 15 or 20 minutes, then try going to sleep again.