Does anyone out there know of a good system for re-setting wacky sleep patterns?

I am addicted to television and set my machine to record many things but also watch it live or any of the hundreds of DVDs I have in my collection. I have every Star Trek episode and movie ever created. Plus whole box sets of Gilmore Girls; Firefly; Farscape (brilliant Australian sci fi); Buffy The Vampire Slayer; Angel; 30 Rock; Stargate SG1 & Stargate Atlantis on top of about 100 movies I have bought from the sale bins

Currently I am finally getting to bed around 4am but even then need to read for about an hour before I feel I can sleep. I then wake around 7am and then need to sleep again from about 9am to around 2pm in the afternoon

I am not on any drug regimen and only take supplements (like multivitamins and fish oil) each morning

I realise my problem is probably more about television addiction but the issue for me is wasting my days sleeping!!!

ANYONE GOT ANY PRACTICAL ADVICE ABOUT ANY OF THIS?

[medkev13]

I had to go from up all night back to up all day one year. It was really difficult.

My best advice is put yourself on a routine and make your waking hours active - not just physically, but socially. The idea is to not be bored, and to end the day tired. At night, take some melatonin (I used a very VERY dark stout beer, but I also didn't know about melatonin at the time). If you can get it, go for extended release melatonin, as it's designed to keep you asleep through the night. Push the routine for a solid week, and you 'should' be okay.

Also, regarding the poll, the exact amount of time for sleep depends on the person. It's based on your rem cycle, and basically regardless of the length of time you sleep, the idea is not to wake up in anything deeper than stage 2. When you do, you wake up feeling more tired than when you went to bed. The length of time between peaks in the cycle varies though, so you kind of have to gauge it yourself.

Originally Posted by medkev13

I had to go from up all night back to up all day one year. It was really difficult.

My best advice is put yourself on a routine and make your waking hours active - not just physically, but socially. The idea is to not be bored, and to end the day tired. At night, take some melatonin (I used a very VERY dark stout beer, but I also didn't know about melatonin at the time). If you can get it, go for extended release melatonin, as it's designed to keep you asleep through the night. Push the routine for a solid week, and you 'should' be okay.

Also, regarding the poll, the exact amount of time for sleep depends on the person. It's based on your rem cycle, and basically regardless of the length of time you sleep, the idea is not to wake up in anything deeper than stage 2. When you do, you wake up feeling more tired than when you went to bed. The length of time between peaks in the cycle varies though, so you kind of have to gauge it yourself.

Thanks for the advice. It's very logical. Are you saying it took you a year to change your pattern? I don't drink alcohol so I'm hoping I'll find melatonin at the local health food shop. I can feel completely rested with only 2 hours sleep some days and sometimes if I have more than 6 hours sleep I feel kind of dopey and other times a solid block of 8 hours is required but 9 hours of disturbed sleep (noisy grandchildren; visiting cat; thunder storms or whatever) I may as well not have gone to sleep at all.... so I'm all over the shop with that one. How do I assess it?

[medkev13]

No, it took me about two and a half weeks, but I wasn't following a strict routine and I wasn't using melatonin or sleep aids.

The short nap of 2 hours tells me that your cycle is probably close to that. Every 2 hours.... So I'd say to aim for between 7 and 8 hours and see how that works. Noisy children and waking up actually start your cycle over, so if you have to wake up in the middle of the night then you need to assess the timing by when you went back to sleep for the last time.

You can find melatonin in the vitamin section at most stores (WalMart, Walgreen's, RiteAid, etc). It's not an uncommon supplement. As I said - I only used alcohol because I didn't even know about melatonin at the time. If I had known about it, I wouldn't have used alcohol (it was good ale, though :P)

[TishaBuv]

Gradually go to bed earlier until you feel better. You shouldn't go to bed later than midnight if you wake at 7.

Originally Posted by medkev13

No, it took me about two and a half weeks, but I wasn't following a strict routine and I wasn't using melatonin or sleep aids.

The short nap of 2 hours tells me that your cycle is probably close to that. Every 2 hours.... So I'd say to aim for between 7 and 8 hours and see how that works. Noisy children and waking up actually start your cycle over, so if you have to wake up in the middle of the night then you need to assess the timing by when you went back to sleep for the last time.

You can find melatonin in the vitamin section at most stores (WalMart, Walgreen's, RiteAid, etc). It's not an uncommon supplement. As I said - I only used alcohol because I didn't even know about melatonin at the time. If I had known about it, I wouldn't have used alcohol (it was good ale, though :P)

Oh, okay ... that's more logical (2 & a half weeks as opposed to a year, I mean) I'm in Australia so none of those stores sound familiar. I'm sure I'll find it here somewhere. If I don't set an alarm I don't wake up for ages - so it will be really interesting to assess all of this and figure out what I need & change my habits so I don't waste my days!

Originally Posted by TishaBuv

Gradually go to bed earlier until you feel better. You shouldn't go to bed later than midnight if you wake at 7.

Oh, that's reassuring advice because that is what I have instinctively been doing. I've got it back by about 2 hours so far so I'm really pleased with my progress. Still need to read though!

[medkev13]

Didn't realize they don't have WalMart down under o_o Basically any store that has a pharmacy section should carry it. It's less habit forming than actual sleep aids.

Depending on how long you have to get your sleep pattern right depends on how heavily you'll want to keep active during the day and what dosage you'll want to take the melatonin at. As a note - a 10 to 12 year old child can take up to 50 mg in a night. Start at somewhere around 20 (for adult dosage), and if after 30 minutes you aren't falling asleep take another 10-15 mg. Don't go beyond 3 doses in a night. At that point you're wasting energy. ((And if it takes that, start the next night at a higher dose))

What's super important is - don't sleep during the day if you can help it. That's what focusing on being active is for. The idea is every day you push your body forward should make it that much more likely that you'll fall asleep when you go to bed the next night.
DO NOT DRIVE WHEN PUSHING YOUR BODY LIKE THIS, YOU'RE ASKING FOR AN ACCIDENT IF YOU DO

If you can get your body to go three nights sleeping at night and awake during the day, you can count it as beat. IF after that you find your sleeping pattern relapsing, talk to your dr about needing a sleep study and considering medication to regulate your serotonin/melatonin levels. Chances are you'd be dealing with a chemical imbalance at that point.

I think the amount of sleep needed varies from one person to the next. Don't try to do it in one day if it's been going on like this for a long time. Good luck sticking to it.

[Thunder Bow]

Watching to many Movies, TV, and Videos can really mess with your mind and severely disrupt your sleeping patterns, Best to Cut back a whole lot on them, so your mind can relax to normal pattern.

Originally Posted by Thunder Bow

Watching to many Movies, TV, and Videos can really mess with your mind and severely disrupt your sleeping patterns, Best to Cut back a whole lot on them, so your mind can relax to normal pattern.

Easier said than done. This is my addiction!

Originally Posted by Thunder Bow

Watching to many Movies, TV, and Videos can really mess with your mind and severely disrupt your sleeping patterns, Best to Cut back a whole lot on them, so your mind can relax to normal pattern.

Originally Posted by George H.

I think the amount of sleep needed varies from one person to the next. Don't try to do it in one day if it's been going on like this for a long time. Good luck sticking to it.

Thanks for the support http://forums.psychcentral.com/images/smilies/smile.gif

Originally Posted by medkev13

Didn't realize they don't have WalMart down under o_o Basically any store that has a pharmacy section should carry it. It's less habit forming than actual sleep aids.

Depending on how long you have to get your sleep pattern right depends on how heavily you'll want to keep active during the day and what dosage you'll want to take the melatonin at. As a note - a 10 to 12 year old child can take up to 50 mg in a night. Start at somewhere around 20 (for adult dosage), and if after 30 minutes you aren't falling asleep take another 10-15 mg. Don't go beyond 3 doses in a night. At that point you're wasting energy. ((And if it takes that, start the next night at a higher dose))

What's super important is - don't sleep during the day if you can help it. That's what focusing on being active is for. The idea is every day you push your body forward should make it that much more likely that you'll fall asleep when you go to bed the next night.
DO NOT DRIVE WHEN PUSHING YOUR BODY LIKE THIS, YOU'RE ASKING FOR AN ACCIDENT IF YOU DO

If you can get your body to go three nights sleeping at night and awake during the day, you can count it as beat. IF after that you find your sleeping pattern relapsing, talk to your dr about needing a sleep study and considering medication to regulate your serotonin/melatonin levels. Chances are you'd be dealing with a chemical imbalance at that point.

It sounds you like are speaking from vast experience! I will take all your sensible advice under advisement. I'll keep you posted. Right at this very moment I have a really serious head cold and can't breath when I lie down so (needless to say) sleeping is all over the place and not a time to start trying to change it!!!!

I now am in bed by 11pm. Limit my reading to about 45 minutes. I am tending to sleep for about 7 hours. I occasionally desire a nap in the afternoon but resist the urge

I have become a bit more discerning about what I watch on TV and aim for a maximum of 2 hours and to be finished by 10pm. I don't watch the TV during the day but might watch one of the news programmes at about 7.00. I aim to go for a walk every day and am up to about 4km (quite slowly but improving)

There were quite a few nights at the start of just lying there and not actually falling asleep until about 1am but I followed all the advice about being active during the day so that I was worn out enough sleep at the right time

It appears to be working. I appear to be 'fixing' my sleep pattern. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR WONDERFUL ADVICE. It as very practical