Get Back to Sleeping Normal Hours

Many people can easily fall into a pattern of going to sleep too late each night (or in the early morning) and sleeping in for too much of the day. This problem is also known as Delayed Sleep Phase syndrome, or DSPS for short. Before you try any kind of medical treatments try to find out why sleeping regularly is so difficult for you. It has often to do with bad sleep habits or the inability to relax.

Steps

Preparing for Sleep

1. Stop nighttime activities. One of the biggest issues that prevents people from falling asleep in timely manner is the fact that they don’t unwind before bedtime. Generally, you want to avoid any activities that stimulate your senses before trying to sleep — take some time to identify which activities energize you and which relax you. Some general guidelines include: don’t watch T.V., read something exciting (like a thriller you can't put down), use your smartphone or tablet, or play video games before bedtime.
   • If you choose to listen to music before bedtime, make sure it is rhythmically slower and utilizes soothing tones. Listening to high-energy music, like metal or rap, could prevent you from falling asleep when you want to.
2. Bathe. If you need to clean up during the evening or nighttime, you are much better off taking a warm, soothing bath. Showers don’t really help people relax or unwind the same way a bath does and showering late at night may be the reason you have trouble falling asleep.
3. Control the climate. Another factor that may be preventing you from falling asleep is the climate in your bedroom. Make sure your bedroom is cool and comfortable with plenty of airflow when trying to fall asleep.
   • It is recommended you keep your room around 65°F (18.3°C) when sleeping. If you find that this is too warm or too cold for you, however, it's okay to try decreasing or increasing the temperature.
   • If you don't have a thermostat, try using a fan to cool down your room. The fan can also provide white noise, which helps some people sleep.
4. Turn off the lights and electronics. Resting or relaxing in a dark place helps to prepare the body and mind for sleep. Make sure your room is free of light. T.V.s, D.V.D. players, computers and alarm clocks with lights could all contribute to your problems with sleep, so make sure to deal with these sources. Also, make sure you have thick, effective blinds or drapes to eliminate any outside sources of light from slipping into your bedroom.
   • Exposure to light interferes with your body's ability to produce melatonin, which helps you feel sleepy and fall asleep.
   • Light emitted by the screens of smartphones, tablets, and other devices is stimulating and can make it difficult to fall asleep. Limit use of these items before bed.
5. Use aromatherapy. Evidence suggests that it may be easier to sleep in a fresh, clean, or nice smelling space. Try using a diffuser with essential oils, a plug in deodorizer, or spraying the room with a mild room spray to lighten up your mood and the ambience in your bedroom.
   • Avoid burning candles around bedtime, as this is a serious safety hazard if you doze off before extinguishing the candle.

Adjusting Your Diet

1. Cut out the caffeine. Coffees, certain teas and sodas are loaded with caffeine. While the burst of energy this provides you throughout the day may be helpful, your caffeine intake may be what is preventing you from falling asleep. Limit your caffeine intake on a daily basis and never drink caffeine after 2pm. This may help you fall asleep in a timely manner at night.
   • Remember that chocolate contains caffeine as well.
2. Avoid certain foods. Some foods can keep you awake at night. In particular, fatty or fried foods are difficult to digest as are simple carbohydrates. If your body is working hard to digest these things, you may have trouble winding down and falling asleep.
   • Simple carbohydrates are found in foods like bread, pasta, and sweets (like cookies, cake, pastries, etc.).
   • Foods like chicken wings, deep fried fish or high-fat cheeses are all difficult for your body to digest.
   • Trans-fats, often found in things like french fries or potato chips, can also have a negative effect on your ability to go to sleep.
   • Cut out stimulant herbs and spices from your diet. Things like black or red pepper can have a stimulatory effect on your body.
3. Eat “sleep-inducing” foods. You will want to eat foods that raise the serotonin levels in your body, as this will help you fall asleep easier. Try eating foods that have complex carbohydrates, lean-proteins, and unsaturated fats.
   • Complex carbohydrates are found in whole-grain breads, cereals and pastas, as well as brown rice.
   • Lean proteins are found in low-fat cheeses, chicken, fish and turkey. Pay attention to how you prepare your lean proteins, as fried chicken or fish are not “lean”.
   • Unsaturated fats can be found in foods like almonds, peanuts, walnuts, cashews and pistachios.
4. Eat dinner earlier. Your digestive system has more to do with your sleep patterns than you might think. Avoid eating late dinners or snacking after dinner. When your body is working to digest food, it is harder to relax and fall asleep. So cut out the nighttime food intake and you may be in a better position to fall asleep when you want to.

Adjusting Your Schedule

1. Devise a sleep routine. Your goal is to fix your sleep cycle. With that being the case, you need to devise an ideal sleep routine that you are trying to achieve. Establish when you need to fall asleep, how long you want to sleep, and what time you have to get up in the morning. Once you have some target goals in mind, you can make adjustments as necessary to reach those goals. Once you have established and achieved an effective sleep routine, stick with it and don’t deviate from the plan.
   • You should keep a sleep diary that tracks your habits and sleep patterns to help you devise a routine.
   • Try moving up your sleep and wake up times incrementally over a few weeks. If you can go to bed 15 minutes earlier and wake up 15 minutes earlier every day over the course of a few weeks, you can gradually get back to normal sleeping pattern. This may be a more effective and usable strategy than trying to make drastic changes to your sleep patterns.
2. Exercise earlier. Exercise is a necessary activity for health and happiness; however, you will want to exercise earlier in the day if you have problems with your sleep cycle. Working out in the evening or nighttime may boost your adrenaline levels, making it harder to fall and stay asleep. With this in mind, try working out in the morning or early afternoon.
3. Free your mornings. A major issue facing people who have trouble sleeping consistently and on a set schedule is the stress they incur in the mornings. We have all been there. When you know you have something important to do in the morning, you have a much harder time falling asleep. While it is not always possible, make every effort to clear your morning schedule of stressful or important events. This will help relax your mind at night, making it easier to fall asleep when you want to.
   • You can make simple changes to decrease your stress in the morning. Try laying out your clothes before you go to sleep. Put your coffee maker on an alarm so that it will make coffee automatically in the morning. Shower the night before or set out breakfast essentials that don't need to be refrigerated (such as a box of cereal, bowl, and spoon).
4. Shift your daily routine forward. If you can, push everything on your daily schedule forward to an earlier time. If you eat breakfast at 10am, bump it up to 8am, and so forth. Getting all of the daily activities you need to tend to out of the way earlier will free up more time to unwind and get to bed at a reasonable hour.
5. Stay awake. Sleep is all about cycles and rhythm. If you find you are staying up far too late at night and sleeping in for too much of the day, pick a day, preferably when you don’t have anything to do, and just don’t go to sleep. By the time your desired bedtime rolls around again, you will be extremely tired and able to fall asleep.

Tips

• Don't do anything else in your bed than sleeping. This way your brain doesn't associate your bed with other things than sleeping.
• Try to relax and get in a state of fuzziness before you get to sleep.
• Shifting your inner time clock forward is always easier than backwards.
• Try taking a melatonin supplement to help you adjust your sleeping schedule.
• If are in bed and can not fall asleep, get out of bed and engage in relaxing activity. Once tired, try again. If you stay in bed, you may begin stressing about how you can't fall asleep, keeping yourself awake.

Warnings

• See a doctor if you are fatigued even after a full night's sleep, have ongoing problems falling asleep, or have other Recognize Signs of a Sleep Disorder.

Related Articles

• Sleep after Watching, Seeing, or Reading Something Scary
• Sleep Comfortably on a Hot Night
• Use a Bed Fan to Help Stop Night Sweats
• Wake Up Early

References

See also

• Have Good Sleep Hygiene
• Fall Asleep Fast
• Sleep Better
• Sleep Late
• Power Nap
• Sleep Before Final Exams
• Sleep Comfortably on a Hot Night
• Sleep When You Are Not Tired
• Know How Much Sleep You Need
• Sleep Well if You Are a Teenager

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