Sleep Problems... :( - Sleep Disorders Message Board

Pillbox · 05-23-2007, 10:34 PM

Hello I have some really nasty sleep hygiene and I'm not really sure what is going on. For some reason I want to stay up all the time. I don't want to sleep. I'll stay up till 3 or 4 in the morning, sometimes I go to bed earlier though, and then I want to get up as soon as I can like 10 or 11. Of course this is taking a heck of a beating on my well being and energy levels. I don't know what to do? I want to get in bed early but I just can't force myself to do it. When I get up I'm tired and run down and I tell myself I'm going to bed early tonight but as the day goes on I feel a little better and by the time 8 or 9 pm rolls around and it's time to hit the sack I just can't do it. It's like a roller coaster I can't get off! Any advice?

boudb · 05-23-2007, 10:54 PM

I am going through the same thing! I find that the earlier you make yourself wake up in the morning, the easier it is to go to bed at a more reasonable time. Even if you fall asleep around 3 or 4 force yourself to get up at 7 or 8. You should be tired earlier. This really helped me alot!

Pillbox · 05-23-2007, 11:28 PM

Thanks for the reply, I know where you are coming from. I will try to force myself to get up around 7 or 8 but I know what I'm going to feel like. If I get up to early I feel like crap, if I sleep to long I feel like crap. Sometimes doesn't matter even if I time my wake just right I still feel like crap

But I will keep trying!

renwrite · 05-26-2007, 07:11 PM

I have the same problem and I've had it all my life. In my case it's a sleep disorder called Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome. It's a disorder of the circadian rythym in the brain where you can't fall asleep at "normal" times and you sleep late into the morning or afternoon. Getting up early won't help if you have this disorder, but since this is new to you it may just be a temporary thing.

index.html · 05-27-2007, 03:06 AM

The first thing to do is make sure that you are setting yourself up for sleep. I would be especially concerned about your caffiene intake (elimination of caffiene can take as long as 12 hours for some people!) and that you expose yourself to bright light early in the day, but keep things darker in the evening. There is an excellent post on other tips here:
[url]http://www.healthboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=486943[/url]

If you don't have much success with the waking earlier and earlier strategy, I have read - but not tried - another. Apparently some people with your disorder have success with actually DELAYING bedtime until they have worked around the clock to the desired bedtime. IOW, instead of staying up to 4am, stay up till 5am, then 6, then 7, etc until you are eventually staying up until 10pm (or whatever time you choose).

Good luck!