Sleep please

[hwrdfrnd]

So I got a problem.

No matter how much I eat or don't eat, or how late I stay up I can only sleep 5 hours tops usually 3.5 to 4.

I go to sleep no problem. I stay asleep no problem but once I wake up I am done sleeping.

I try to take naps when I get a chance to catch up, but I'm lucky if I get to do that once a week.

I can tell I'm not getting enough cause I'm always tired, but I really don't want to rely on medication.

Any advice?

[PMyrrh]

It doesn't work for everyone (and some would argue its unhealthy) but I make it a point to go to bed at or near exhaustion every night. I have never had a problem sleeping 8+ hours thanks to that. Again though, not for everyone.

[PMyrrh]

*physically exhausted

I add an hour of cardio/lifting before bed if I don't feel as such.

Sorry for dubs post

[JPrev]

Do you see sunlight when you wake up?

[hwrdfrnd]

I usually stay up until I just can't take it anymore usually around 11-1130. I usually get up at 4am. I have tried going to bed early but ill get up at 2am and be stuck awake.

It has been like this since I got off night shift a year ago.

[Toxophilite]

I've had a lot of problems with this. A few things I've tried that might help:

 

No caffeine in the afternoon.

Lighting - dark an hour or so before bed (turn off computers etc.), daylight in the morning (leaving curtains open).

Split sleep - first sleep for 3 or 4 hours in the early evening then a second 3 or 4 hours in the early morning. This is an odd one but it does work for some people.

Have you ever tried out different mattresses? Some people prefer a softer or harder mattress.

Avoid stress and anxiety (always easier said than done).

Don't eat shortly before going to sleep.

Stay in bed until you want to get up, even if you're not asleep. You want to get used to getting up at the right time.

[hwrdfrnd]

That split sleep idea sounds pretty good, I might use that on my next 3am wake up lol

 

Thanks for the advice everyone

[Xinziex]

Black out blinds. It might just be hogwash but I once read that you can't get a deep sleep if you're not in a dark room.

[Sigrdrífumál]

I have heard that avoiding ocular (eyeball) stimulation before bed is important... So stay away from TV and your computer before bed.... Also... If you wake up too early... Get up and repeat your bed time routine and go back to bed.... You could also try melatonin :-) you will find it in a health food store :-)

[Maj. Bloodnok]

Second the melatonin recommendation.  Trader Joe's melatonin works especially well, although it only comes in half-milligram doses.  Another thing that works is to keep your head cool.  Have a fan blowing on your head if it doesn't bother you too much. http://lifehacker.com/5813879/cant-sleep-cool-your-brain

[kaelvan]

I had much similar problem. I broke down and bought a blindfold (plus looks like a fox).

[insanity]

Look up some stuff on second sleep, it's basically the idea that a humans more natural sleep pattern is to go to bed for a few hours, wake up for an hour or two, then go back to sleep. So you might be on, what is possibly, a more natural pattern than you realize.

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-16964783

[IslandGirl_Becks]

I need both a decent amount of exercise and complete darkness. I can fall asleep if it's just mostly dark, but if I wake up in the middle of the night even a little light makes it hard for me to get back to sleep. I had blackout curtains in college and slept through a number of Friday night rallies going on outside my window. 

[K-Prime]

I find staying away from electronics helps me the most (easier said than done). No phone, no TV, no laptop. Read a book before bed, it relaxes my brain and puts me right out.