sapito Posted September 4, 2011 (edited) The last 6 months I have been working a job that requires me to get up at 5.30 when its still dark or just as the sun pops its head over the horizon. Because of this I have become very used to waking up when there is any light so it makes it really hard to sleep in on the weekends and catch up on sleep. Even if I go to sleep an hour earlier during the week I just seem to wake up an hour earlier. And weekends usually I go to sleep later than normal but still wake up at first light. So my question is what methods do people use to catch up on sleep and sleep out of their regular routine? I have no trouble going to sleep its just staying asleep that is hard. If I take opi ates or long lasting benz i can sleep for ages but its not a very sustainable method. My room is as dark as possible without completely blocking windows. House is quite and I am rarely woken up by noisy housemates etc. Edited September 4, 2011 by sapito Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
indigo264nm Posted September 5, 2011 My friends who work in trades always suffer the same issue on weekends after especially after big nights. I go home and fall asleep around first light, crash out till arvo and enjoy a scatterday however it's not so easy for them and they end up having to go back to work on monday ruined from not sleeping enough on weekends. They say it's hard to get your circadian rhythms back in sync but since you're actually perfectly in sync during the week with how nature intended us to be (up at sunrise, sleep wben dark) it's probably even harder to break. Benz and 'ates may knock you out for no worries but you don't get proper sleep from those. Specially the 'ates. I'd recommend maybe trying a dose of tryptophan upon waking at first light and see if that helps you get back to sleep. Maybe eat a couple of T's zonk capsules with it. Failing that, G would probably be my best friend if I was in that situation.. wake up, reach over to bedside table and neck a few ml's, bomb out and wake up 4 hours later feeling refreshed. 4 hours not long enough?? Redose and bomb out for another 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paradox Posted September 5, 2011 no answers sorry but i have a job that requires me waking up at 5.30 too... i don't have a problem sleeping in when i get the chance though.. on the weekend i wake up at 5.30 or 6 naturally.. i just take a piss & get back into bed & usually have no trouble falling back asleep for a few hours... my problem is that i can almost never get to sleep before midnight & often not til 1, 2 or 3 am so i almost always get no more that 4 hours sleep every night.. this has been affecting me in negative ways for a long time & the effect has been getting worse... perhaps i just have to be more disciplined & force myself to change my rhythms & sleep at 9pm? i just seem to not be able to do it.. also my life doesn't revolve around my work... there are things that i'm passionate about (that as yet don't pay the bills) that the only time i get to work on them is in the evening... also my girlfriend is a student & most days doesn't start before midday so she doesn't go to bed til 2am.. i feel your pain sapito =P Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dollarjuice Posted September 5, 2011 Best, and only good way if you ask me, to fixing a broken sleep cycle is to do this.. Say it's a Friday night and you want to fix you sleep cycle (waking up really early, or staying up really late) Just stay up. Not matter how tired you are, drink lots of coffee, coke, lots of sugar, anything. Stay up for as long as you can all of Friday night and Saturday. Go to bed early on Saturday night, say around 6ish probably. Enjoy your massive sleep in on Sunday and a corrected sleep cycle. Don't know how effective this will be for only fixing it for just the weekend though, but if you have a week or so off work and fix it it'd be good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evil Genius Posted September 5, 2011 Hi Sapito, i used to have great sleeping problems too. Taking meds was making it a whole lot worse. Drinking a beer before bedtime worked wonders for me but is certainly not a perfect solution. One thing thats critical was to keep the same sleeping times so my body could get used to it. That way, i sometimes spent whole nights being awake but stood up very early nonetheless. After a few weeks, my body was used to it. But i constantly need to make sure i dont stay up too long in the evening. I am a very harsh critic of changing work shifts because it wrecks your inner clock. So if you are forced to switch shifts on a regular basis, you definately have a problem. Personally, i couldnt live with such a working schedule. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slybacon Posted September 6, 2011 Some one posted a link to a OHS sleep hygiene paper. Find that and follow it. It has everything I want to say anyway. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sapito Posted September 7, 2011 Thanks for the replies. It seems that for most people the sleep issues is the going to sleep part whereas im the other way around. i had previously looked at sleep hygiene info but that too seems to be directed at not being able to go to sleep. My lifestyle already covers most of the sleep hygiene suggestions. They main one it doesnt is the only using your bed for sleep and sex. I live in a share house so my computer is in my room and i also watch stuff from my computer while im in my bed. This has never been a problem for me in the past so im not sure about that one. Besides I dont have an option to put my computer somewhere else ATM. I guess the best thing to do is to just make sure i go to sleep early enough so i get 8ish hours. Though that becomes very difficult when, as paradox said, life does not revolve around work. I dont have any tryptophan but will get around to trying that to see if it works. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zen Peddler Posted September 7, 2011 when you work it out, tell me - I wake up at 5am no matter what I try. back in the old days at uni I could easily sleep until 2pm... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
∂an Posted September 7, 2011 I'm the same, wake up at the first hint of light or bird activity. using ear plugs and an eye mask helped me stay asleep in the morning when needed. taking any meds just before sleeping is just an all round bad idea, you want a clean natural state to achieve deep rem sleep. 5HTP in the morning and lots of sun exposure during the day does wonders, too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
