General Question

Haleth's avatar

Any tips for going to bed earlier and waking up earlier?

Asked by Haleth (18947points) July 14th, 2014

I work nights. On the weekends I love going for (super tame) power walks and bike rides, painting outside, and studying in parks or cafés. It would be great to do that stuff on work days, but I don’t feel safe hiking or biking alone after dark, and most of the other stuff is best during daylight hours. It would have to be before my shift. Further down the road, it would be great to take community college classes or painting classes before work.

Right now, I work noon- 9 PM, which in theory leaves plenty of time. But I’m stuck on a sleep schedule of 2 AM- 10 PM, and no matter what, I can’t manage to go to bed earlier or wake up earlier. I’m so wide awake late at night, and groggy in the morning. Plus nighttime is the only time when I have the house to myself, and the quiet is delightful. Any advice?

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6 Answers

gailcalled's avatar

Do you mean sleep schedule of 2 AM – !0 AM? There’s still time to edit.

gailcalled (54644points)“Great Answer” (1points) Flag as…
Haleth's avatar

@gailcalled looks like I missed the boat on editing, but you’re right. 2 AM- 10 AM.

Haleth (18947points)“Great Answer” (0points) Flag as…
Adagio's avatar

Why don’t you experiment with going to bed just a few minutes earlier than the previous night, that way your body could adjust slowly, I think that is what I would try rather than going cold turkey. A nice shower before retiring might help as well, but you know whether that would prepare you for sleep or not. Best of luck, I always think hours of sleep gained before midnight are more restorative to the body than going to bed really late, really really late, even if you still get 8 hours sleep.

If anyone reads this before I edit, my voice recognition was going berserk : ^)

Adagio (14059points)“Great Answer” (2points) Flag as…
Dan_Lyons's avatar

I like to take a leetle hit off a spliff to get to sleep earlier than usual.

@Adagio Nice avatar of Ian.

Dan_Lyons (5527points)“Great Answer” (0points) Flag as…
Earthbound_Misfit's avatar

I agree with @Adagio. Gradually going to bed a little earlier might not shock your system so much. In saying that, if you’re a night owl you may still find it hard to wake early. I think your success will depend on your own body’s rhythms.

Earthbound_Misfit (13177points)“Great Answer” (0points) Flag as…
Adagio's avatar

@Dan_Lyons I thought so.

Adagio (14059points)“Great Answer” (1points) Flag as…

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