I can't sleep well. How can I improve my sleep?

[rachelmulraneyy]

I have a bad habit of messing up my sleeping routine astronomically. 

For a few nights, I'll do the good 10 or 11 pm-6 or 7 am sleeping. Then it will get all messed up. It gets so bad to the point that I'll be waking up at 7 pm and going to sleep at 7 am. I am in college but we are currently on a break until my next course starts, and I do not have a job (plus I live remotely and far away from any of my friends). As a result of this, I don't have anything to keep me busy during the day and so my sleep schedule goes around the clock until it is very bad without me even noticing. 

When I am doing college or am spending a lot of time out of the house during the day regularly, I still do not go to sleep until about 2-3 am, resulting in me doing these activities on 3-5 hours of sleep most times and sometimes none as I don't trust myself to wake up and so stay awake the whole day, causing me to crash when I get home at only about 5 or 7 pm again. This just feeds the loop and increases the problem.

I am only 16 years old, so I know that my circadian rhythm is at a stage where going to sleep later is common, but that doesn't make it any less inconvenient. Also since I don't go outside often due to there not being much to do around here, the light/dark psychological factor doesn't help tell my brain that it's time for sleep since the majority of my time being spent looking at artificial light from my phone/television/computer screen.

Any tips on how to tame my sleep schedule would be greatly appreciated! 

Moderator edit: subject for clarity

[cathm]

Hi @rachelmulraneyy 

Here are some things that I have heard helps with sleep:

- turn off cell phones, tvs and other blue-light sources at least one hour before bed

- try to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day, including weekends 

- if possible, get out into bright light for 5-30 minutes as soon as you get out of bed in the morning 

- avoid caffeine in the evenings

- try dimming the lights 2-3 hours before bedtime

- do not eat big meals or heavy meals too late 

- increase bright light exposure during the day

- white noise or running a fan

[WilsonFitbit]

Hello @rachelmulraneyy, @cathm. It's great to see you around! @cathm Thank you for your great input!

@rachelmulraneyy Thank you very much for taking the time to share your experience. I understand how you feel since I also experienced a similar situation than yours, however, following some tips like the ones suggested by @cathm helped me to improve my sleep. 

Here are some additional tips: 

Pay attention to what you eat and drink: 

Don't go to bed hungry or stuffed. In particular, avoid heavy or large meals within a couple of hours of bedtime. Your discomfort might keep you up.

Nicotine, caffeine and alcohol deserve caution, too. The stimulating effects of nicotine and caffeine take hours to wear off and can wreak havoc on quality sleep. And even though alcohol might make you feel sleepy, it can disrupt sleep later in the night.

Include physical activity in your daily routine

Regular physical activity can promote better sleep. Avoid being active too close to bedtime, however. 

Spending time outside every day might be helpful, too.

Know when to contact your doctor

Nearly everyone has an occasional sleepless night, but if you often have trouble sleeping, contact your doctor. Identifying and treating any underlying causes can help you get the better sleep you deserve.

Hope this helps. 

[healthy2022]

This is very insightful @WilsonFitbit --- been struggling with sleep myself cause of work.

[WilsonFitbit]

Hello @healthy2022. It's great to see you around! 

If work worries are keeping you awake at night, it’s time to implement habits that will keep your stress levels in check and make a lasting impact to ensure sleepless nights become fewer and farther between:

Empty your brain: 

If your mind races with a million to-dos the minute you lay your head on the pillow, keep a notebook by your bed to jot down thoughts as they arise. By doing this, you know they’ll be there waiting for you in the morning, clearing your mind of clutter and worry. If you’ve developed a habit of staring at the clock and watching sleepless hours tick away, cover up the clock and only use it as an alarm.

When all else fails, get out of bed: 

If you find yourself unable to sleep after lying in bed for more than 20 minutes, get up and move to another room. Tossing and turning only serves to perpetuate the worrying thoughts that keep you awake. While it can be tempting to turn on the TV, catch up on emails, or scour Instagram, opt for relaxing, low-stimulus activity such as reading a magazine. This will help take your mind off whatever’s making you anxious and allow you to reset, hopefully making your next sleep attempt successful.

[healthy2022]

Hi @WilsonFitbit! Thank you for taking the time to string out suggestions, I think the overloading part of the brain is definitely one of my main stressors which is why my workload.

I also read an article about blue light, which probably explains my difficulty in sleeping because my work is heavily dependent on my laptop haha. 

I did try getting out of bed when I can't sleep and just jogging in place–basically tiring myself out. Works like a charm so far! 😁

[SunsetRunner]

I’d like to add two specific tricks I use regarding @WilsonFitbit ‘s suggestions. 

Empty the Brain:

I use the Fitbit Relax app every night. It centers my breathing and relaxes my whole body. Sometimes I will also meditate. An instructor in a meditation class I took taught us this - do not try to block your thoughts. Just let them pass thru without giving them any attention. For me, this takes much of the stress out of the process.

Get out of bed:

If I cannot sleep, I get out of bed and play games like Sudoku, Solitaire  or Woody 99 as fast as I can, even if this causes low scores. The faster I play, the better the game forces out all other thoughts. I play until I cannot keep my eyes open. 

@cathm ‘s tip -  try to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day, including weekends - is worth repeating. This will eventually change your rhythms. 

@rachelmulraneyy - how are you doing? Have any of these tips helped? 

[healthy2022]

I think the Get out of bed tip really works for me! The empty the brain one... not so much. Meditation and I don't really get along well because of my ADHD, but I try! Clear your mind is simply impossible for me though! Hahaha

[happymangle]

Great advices!