Staying Up Late

[squanch]

Going to bed earlier made a big difference in my health, even though I kept the exact same total hours of sleep.
I think there's more to circadian rhythm than just "light hitting your eyes/skin". Even when I sleep in a completely dark room, with 8-9 hours of sleep, I will not feel rested when I go to bed to late. I tried adapting to it for several months when I was working late, it just never worked out. Our bodies seem to know what time of day it is, even without light. Just a thought: If the gravitational pull of the sun and moon is strong enough to cause the ocean tides, maybe it has an effect on our circadian rhythm too?

 

[InChristAlone]

I definitely feel healthier when I don't stay up too late. Hard to do when my son would rather be a night owl. I don't like setting a strict bedtime, but maybe it's time to be a bit more strict as he's not exactly thriving like this.

 

[biggirlkisss]

will i sleep with the light on and i still wake up at 8 am like clockwork so. If it was just about light and darkness then this wouldn't be the case. My clock is to set in my body.

 

[A.R]

will i sleep with the light on and i still wake up at 8 am like clockwork so. If it was just about light and darkness then this wouldn't be the case. My clock is to set in my body.

What helped you the most in getting your sleep timing correct again?

 

[PATB]

I can not adapt to getting up at 6am for the life of me. I was unemployed for almost a year going to sleep at midnight to 4 am. Now I have to get up at 6am for work. Three months of an alarm clock hasn't "fixed" my circadian rhythm at all.

Doctor put me on ambien. Didn't work. Now I have trazodone. Also, does not work.

 

[lampofred]

I can not adapt to getting up at 6am for the life of me. I was unemployed for almost a year going to sleep at midnight to 4 am. Now I have to get up at 6am for work. Three months of an alarm clock hasn't "fixed" my circadian rhythm at all.

Doctor put me on ambien. Didn't work. Now I have trazodone. Also, does not work.

I think the issue is excess cortisol. Cortisol is highest in the morning and lowest at night, so by sleeping late and waking up late you are staying asleep during the period your cortisol is highest and minimizing stress. I think sunlight exposure throughout the day would normalize your circadian rhythm but it's hard to get that if you work indoors.