possible to reset your internal clock

[d0nnivain]

I'm a night owl & usually find it difficult to wake up in the morning. It's hard for me to go to sleep early too.

 

I'm embarking on a new business venture. With traffic & the distance, if I have a prayer of being successful, I will need to become more of a morning person. The new plan is I will need to be ahead of the traffic which means leaving my house before 7 a.m. daily.

 

Can I reset my body clock to go to sleep earlier & wake up earlier? I am the type of person who needs 8 hours of sleep.

 

I think at minimum I need to clean out the clutter in my bedroom & make it more of an oasis. Are there foods I should eat or avoid? Is there an exercise routine I should follow? I try not to watch TV or work on the computer in bed.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

[clia]

I think your body can adjust. I used to be a big night owl, but now I'm in bed before midnight and up by around 6 a.m. I don't even need to set an alarm anymore.

 

You basically just need to move your entire schedule back. Getting up earlier in the morning should mean you are tired earlier at night, which will enable you to get to sleep earlier. What time do you go to bed and get up now? Just move it all back by however many hours.

 

For your new schedule, I would recommend getting up at 5-5:30 a.m. and working out for 30-60 minutes before work. (I find that exercising in the morning makes me more tired at night. Exercising after work just gets my adrenaline going and keeps me awake.) That, on top of a full day at work and your after work activities, would be a full day and your body should eventually be naturally tired and ready for bed by 9 or 10. It'll be tough at first as you adjust, but you should get there over time.

[Wallysbears]

Try melatonin when going to bed earlier

[JuneL]

I think the human circadian clock responds to light, especially natural light. Make sure to get some sun exposure during the early part of the day. Personally, I find that tiring myself out during the evenings helps a lot. Making yourself tired is different from getting a workout in the gym (because the latter may energize you and make you more awake). Finally, consider taking a benadryl before going to bed during the transitional period. I think the first couple of days is the hardest. Try to endure less sleep (when you can’t sleep early and have to get up early) and avoid the temptation of taking a nap.

Edited April 12, 2019 by JuneL

[Els]

I'm honestly not sure. I think it's possible to do it for as long as you need to, but I think most of us gravitate towards a certain natural rhythm regardless.

 

 

Case in point is my husband. His job requires him to be up at 6am every day. He does it because he has to, and has done so on work days for almost an entire decade, but it's extremely clear that it's not his natural rhythm. As soon as he gets a few days off, he gravitates towards a more night-based schedule, like me. He often says that when he's the boss, he'll make everyone in his department start work at noon. That's just how we're happiest and most productive.

[Happy Lemming]

I've tried everything from Benadryl to ZzzQuill to reset my internal clock. I've blacked out the windows of my bedroom, made it warmer, made it cooler, ran a fan for white noise, went to bed later, read at night, etc. NOTHING WORKED!!

 

I've been retired almost a year and a half and still wake up at 5:30am, like its time to go to work. When I worked, I was always awake 1-2 minutes before my alarm went off. I think my internal clock is just a permanent part of my life, now.

 

That being said... if you figure it out, please let me know!!

[preraph]

Caffeine is out. You need to stop caffeine because it gives you a morning hangover and makes you groggy in the morning. I did so much better getting up after quitting it. I will have a tea for lunch sometimes, but I don't let it become a habit.

 

I never would be able to adjust to that though. It just makes me ill not to wake up naturally. And that isn't going to happen at 6 in the morning.

[Cersei]

I have worked shift work. Here is what I recommend:

 

On a Friday night stay away till like 4am. Do whatever you need to do to stay awake that late. Then Saturday morning get up aroud 7 am. Just get up even if it means someone needs to throw a pail of water on you to get you up. Sat will suck but try to keep moving till atleast suppertime so you don't nod off.

 

 

Then go to bed about 7pm. You will hopefully sleep like a baby. Set you alarm for 5am or 6 am and get up even if you don't want to. Come 9 or 10 pm you will be ready for bed. Then get up at 5 or 6 am, rinse, repeat.

 

It sucks but it will get you switched over.

[chillii]

Yep you can reset it, change it round, whatever.

l've stayed up most nights till 4 or 5am for years, l often see the sun come up. l don't usually start work till about 10.30 but wake up at 7or 8, so it ain't much sleep.

My daughters been worried and on my case and l figured it might be better getting a bit more so l moved back to 3am, then 2, then one, and lately l'm asleep by about 12.30, sometimes even 12.

That's a lot of sleep for me.

It's taken about 6mths so far but l can easily crash at around 12 now. Although l often still roll round till 3 or 4 but at least l'm sorta asleep.

l think routine is the key.

Wind yourself back and back over time until your where you wanna be.

l still do all nighters but it's a treat now, wkends or something,

Have to watch it though l could easily revert back in a few nights.

[Mr. Lucky]

I'm honestly not sure. I think it's possible to do it for as long as you need to, but I think most of us gravitate towards a certain natural rhythm regardless.

 

Tend to agree with this, I've been an early riser my entire life. And it seems to have very little to do with sleep or tiredness. My family used to kid I should have been a farmer.

 

Here's but one of many articles on the effect of "blue light" from electronics, etc., on sleep:

 

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/block-blue-light-to-sleep-better

 

No LoveShack before bed ...

 

Mr. Lucky

[d0nnivain]

I don't have a lot of caffeine after about 1-2 in the afternoon but if I don't have a tea or soda in the morning I would be unsafe operating a car. I am so the opposite of a morning person. I do my best work after 4-5 in the afternoon.

 

No drugs of any kind. If I take a Benadryl, it knocks me out for upwards of 36 hours & I feel stoned for another 12-16 hours after. I am really sensitive to medication. I'd be terrified to take something other then warm milk or herbal tea that is designed to put me to sleep.

 

I have never been up before my weekday alarm clock unless I am stressed beyond belief & not sleeping at all but that extreme is hardly sustainable.

[chillii]

I'm honestly not sure. I think it's possible to do it for as long as you need to, but I think most of us gravitate towards a certain natural rhythm regardless.

 

 

Yeah. l can get away with say one all nighter and still go back to my new pattern , but if l do 2 or 3 in a row, that'll be it and l'll revert back to up all night again for mths and have to retrain myself all over again from scratch.

This is why getting that routine happening is crucial to retraining your clock.

 

l also have another annoying habit haha. lf l wake up at say 7.13, and happen to notice that time, then that'll be that. l'll go on waking up at exactly 7.13 for wks or months then after that, until l retrain myself to wake up more at more random times again.

lt'll take 2 or 3 wks retraining to stop myself waking up at exactly 7.13.

Dunno if anyone else gets that.

PS , and on the odd occasion l might need to set an alarm, l'll usually wake up about two minutes before that alarm actually goes off. That's really annoying too , especially when l wanna try our a new alarm haha. But if l didn't set it l'd probably sleep in , go figure.

Edited April 14, 2019 by a LoveShack.org Moderator

[chillii]

So there you go , this morning l woke up at exacty 7.13 after writing that post last night.

l forgot all about it but then l remembered about 10 minutes after l woke up .

Pain in the ass haha, l really hoped to sleep in a bit more than that this morning.

[preraph]

Once you're off caffeine about two months or a few weeks, you will not feel draggy as much in the morning. That is a caffeine hangover if you drink it regularly. Still, that early in the morning is for farmers and not something I could do no matter what, I'm afraid.

[Soak]

You'll just have to set your alarm for 5.30am if you want to leave by 7am.

 

It is possible, but you will probably feel tired for the first ffew days. It only takes a few days to reset your body clock. You'll get to the point where you’re tired and ready to go to bed by 9.30pm.

[d0nnivain]

You'll just have to set your alarm for 5.30am if you want to leave by 7am.

 

It is possible, but you will probably feel tired for the first ffew days. It only takes a few days to reset your body clock. You'll get to the point where you’re tired and ready to go to bed by 9.30pm.

 

I don't need 1.5 hours to get ready. I can get ready & out the door in 30 minutes.

 

Being in bed by 9:30 is not probable. Some times I don't get home from work until after that. I often (2-3x) per week have after work events that run until 9 or later. It's tough burning the candle at both ends. Maybe that is part of my problem.

[JuneL]

I don't need 1.5 hours to get ready. I can get ready & out the door in 30 minutes.

 

Being in bed by 9:30 is not probable. Some times I don't get home from work until after that. I often (2-3x) per week have after work events that run until 9 or later. It's tough burning the candle at both ends. Maybe that is part of my problem.

 

So the issue is more about not getting enough sleep, instead of changing your circadian clock? If you can go to bed at 11-11.30pm, then you’ll get 7-7.5 hrs of sleep, which should be okay. You may take a nap on the weekends to make up for the lack of sleep.

[Mr. Lucky]

It's tough burning the candle at both ends. Maybe that is part of my problem.

 

I think as you get older (I'm sure I've got many years on you ), your body gets less tolerant of disruptions to your routine. When those things occur, takes me longer to bounce back...

 

Mr. Lucky

[TheFinalWord]

You can, using several methods

 

 

A few years ago, a team at Harvard found you could reset your circadian rhythm by fasting for 16 hours. So, whatever time you would like to start waking up, fast 16 hours prior, then eat at that time. In a few weeks, your body will adjust based on the timing of the first meal you eat to break your fast.

 

 

https://sleep.med.harvard.edu/news/229/Harvard+study+finds+fasting+resets+circadian+clock

[chillii]

I don't need 1.5 hours to get ready. I can get ready & out the door in 30 minutes.

 

Being in bed by 9:30 is not probable. Some times I don't get home from work until after that. I often (2-3x) per week have after work events that run until 9 or later. It's tough burning the candle at both ends. Maybe that is part of my problem.

 

 

 

 

Yep . to fix or change your sleeping a sleeping routine is the key.

[chillii]

You can, using several methods

 

 

A few years ago, a team at Harvard found you could reset your circadian rhythm by fasting for 16 hours. So, whatever time you would like to start waking up, fast 16 hours prior, then eat at that time. In a few weeks, your body will adjust based on the timing of the first meal you eat to break your fast.

 

 

https://sleep.med.harvard.edu/news/229/Harvard+study+finds+fasting+resets+circadian+clock

 

 

 

 

 

 

God that's funny , wonder how many millions they spent figuring that out.

But as l was saying , l only have to think of a time or see it , and l'll wake up at that to the minute whether l've eaten , drank coffee, coke, only had 2hours sleep, whatever.

l'm really happy to say the 7.13 only happened that first morning though for once , so that was a relief.

[TheFinalWord]

Sort of depends.

 

If it was an R03 grant, those are typically capped at 250k. If they used an R01 grant, my guess is that was a side experiment for a larger study. Harvard has a team of sleep doctors on staff, so they probably have multiple studies using the same grant.

[JuneL]

You can, using several methods

 

 

A few years ago, a team at Harvard found you could reset your circadian rhythm by fasting for 16 hours. So, whatever time you would like to start waking up, fast 16 hours prior, then eat at that time. In a few weeks, your body will adjust based on the timing of the first meal you eat to break your fast.

 

 

https://sleep.med.harvard.edu/news/229/Harvard+study+finds+fasting+resets+circadian+clock

 

Interesting. I heard that monks have this rule of not eating real food (I think drinking something besides water may be okay) after noontime. Coincidentally, they also get up super early at 4am, exactly 16 hours after the noontime of the previous day. Maybe they have had it figured out before these guys