Tip #3: Don't Worry About Bedtime
Traditionally the advice has been "Go to bed at the same time every night." Well guess what? This is not necessarily the best advice. It is much more important to wake up at the same time everyday. So it should be "Wake up at the same time every day."
If there is one thing that human beings CANNOT do, it is to force themselves to fall asleep. The harder you focus on trying to make yourself fall asleep, the more alert you become. The more alert you become, the less likely you will fall asleep. It is a vicious cycle. Unfortunately, this cycle can occasionally snowball into a serious insomnia problem.
Rather than trying to control you bedtime, wake yourself at the same time everyday with an alarm clock. Even on the weekends or after a night of sleep deprivation. If you wake up at the same time every day, then your body's internal clock will better know what time it is. So when bedtime comes around, it should start making you sleepy at the right time.
For example, say you normally wake-up at 7:00 am every morning. But on Friday and Saturday night, you decide to stay up until 2:00 am, which is 3 hours later than your normal 11:00 pm bedtime. In order to "catch up" on lost sleep, you decide to sleep in until 10:00 am. Unfortunately, when Sunday night comes around, you have difficulty falling asleep because your body is no longer tired enough to go to bed at 11:00 pm. This can lead to insomnia, and a bad Monday.
Now imagine if instead of sleeping in on Saturday and Sunday morning, you had woken up at your regular 7:00 am wake-up time. On Saturday, you will be deprived of 3 hours sleep and on Sunday you will be deprived of 3 more hours sleep. You might be a little sleepier on Saturday and Sunday, but when Sunday night comes around, your body should be very ready to fall asleep. And a better sleep on Sunday night, means a better Monday. Not only did you have your fun on Friday and Saturday night, but your Monday is better. Plus, you have avoided potentially developing an annoying insomnia problem.
So the key is to only try to control your wake time. If you keep it at the same time every day, then the bedtime should just take care of itself.
Visit The Sleep Specialist at http://www.SleepSpecialist.com for more insomnia info.
If there is one thing that human beings CANNOT do, it is to force themselves to fall asleep. The harder you focus on trying to make yourself fall asleep, the more alert you become. The more alert you become, the less likely you will fall asleep. It is a vicious cycle. Unfortunately, this cycle can occasionally snowball into a serious insomnia problem.
Rather than trying to control you bedtime, wake yourself at the same time everyday with an alarm clock. Even on the weekends or after a night of sleep deprivation. If you wake up at the same time every day, then your body's internal clock will better know what time it is. So when bedtime comes around, it should start making you sleepy at the right time.
For example, say you normally wake-up at 7:00 am every morning. But on Friday and Saturday night, you decide to stay up until 2:00 am, which is 3 hours later than your normal 11:00 pm bedtime. In order to "catch up" on lost sleep, you decide to sleep in until 10:00 am. Unfortunately, when Sunday night comes around, you have difficulty falling asleep because your body is no longer tired enough to go to bed at 11:00 pm. This can lead to insomnia, and a bad Monday.
Now imagine if instead of sleeping in on Saturday and Sunday morning, you had woken up at your regular 7:00 am wake-up time. On Saturday, you will be deprived of 3 hours sleep and on Sunday you will be deprived of 3 more hours sleep. You might be a little sleepier on Saturday and Sunday, but when Sunday night comes around, your body should be very ready to fall asleep. And a better sleep on Sunday night, means a better Monday. Not only did you have your fun on Friday and Saturday night, but your Monday is better. Plus, you have avoided potentially developing an annoying insomnia problem.
So the key is to only try to control your wake time. If you keep it at the same time every day, then the bedtime should just take care of itself.
Visit The Sleep Specialist at http://www.SleepSpecialist.com for more insomnia info.
posted by Scott Fromherz at
8:38 PM
