Saturday, September 26, 2009

Rescheduling

Right now, I'm trying to reschedule my days and nights. I used to be in the habit of getting up at 9:00 most mornings and going to bed at midnight. That would logically give me nine hours of sleep which I never got. I have had trouble sleeping since I was young. It started at Christmas waiting for Santa and then popped up when I slept anywhere but home, until by adult age, I had a bad habit of sleeplesness. I used to wear an eye mask in college and my roommaates gave me the name "The Lone Ranger."

Several years ago, I tried to solve the problem by reading before bedtime. Actually I always did that, but this was a determined effort to get lost in a story and get drowsy. I found that non-fiction, especially the kind of inspirational non-fiction I like not only didn't get me drowsy, but it made me excited. That was exactly the wrong direction. So I searched all over for great stories. The problem was, the good page turners kept me up till 3:00 a.m.

Now the good news. I found an herbal supplement that helped me a little bit. It was enough to give the pshchological effect of thinking it was helping anyway. So I got a lot more sleep. Then the baby came and I started babysitting.

Now, I am trying to reschedule my sleep time from about 10:00 to 10:30 p.m. and sleep until about 6:30 a.m. on those days. If I got right to sleep, I'd be good.

I have been going to bed earlier because I don't want to strain my eyes with books for a little while. It has been great. Last night I went to bed at 10:30 and went right to sleep, but I woke up at 5:30 a.m. and couldn't get back to sleep which I always could before. So since that was seven hours, I finally got up at 7:45 and called it a night. That's when I realized I am changing my habit and I hope it takes. Those hours are more in tune with the working world. We'll see how this goes. Have you ever tried to drastically change your sleep hours? Did it work? I'd love to hear how you succeeded. Have a great weekend. Nancy

8 comments:

  1. I, too struggle with sleeping. Stress makes it so much worse. I wish I had good suggestions for you, but I do not have many. One thing that does help me sometimes is a good hot bath before bedtime. Of course, reading makes me sleepy and that doesn't work for you.
    Blessings and prayers, andrea

    PS: I have an urgent prayer request on arise 2 write.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I wish I had advice for you. I'm one of those people who simply thinks there's not enough waking hours in the day, so I tend to skimp on my sleep hours from time to time. I hardly ever sleep more than seven hours, and my average is about six. It's been worse since I started writing more regularly. I hope you find the sleep schedule that fits your life.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.
    I'm one of those who needs at least eight hours.
    Good luck with this. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have a terrible time sleeping. I stay up way too late, but have to get up early to get my kids off to school. I've been getting about five or six hours of sleep lately, and it's starting to take its toll on me. I am trying to alter my habits now, so I'll let you know how it goes. Good luck with your changes. I hope they work out for you.

    ReplyDelete
  5. When I'm in writing mode, I change my sleep and try to get to bed around 9:30 so that I can get up early to write at 5:00 or 5:30. That gives me a little bit of time to get the creative juices flowing before my kids wake up!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yay! I'm glad you're getting sleep now. I try to get to bed around 9:30 or so...but I rarely make it that early. Normally I fall asleep on the sofa while watching TV with my boyfriend around that time anyway. I get up at 5:30 to exercise on my stationary bike and read. It's my "me time."

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nancy: I hope you can keep this scedule; it's a healthy one.

    I have used lavendar on my pillow, herbal tea with chamomile, and listening to sermon tapes. The sermon tapes put me to sleep fastest! Not my husband's sermons, mind you! LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks for all the helpful comments and suggestions.

    ReplyDelete