Is anyone else here nocturnal?

[SalvadorMontenegro]

My peak hours seem to be around midnight to two in the morning. I can't stand it. I actually have a job as an independent contractor, because of the problem. Still, I'd be making a lot more money if I got to work at 8 or 9 a.m.

How do you deal with it?

 

[kg4ghn]

I have always been a night owl.

I work third shift, and have always worked either third or second. In the next month or two, I will be moving to a first shift job, having to be at work at 6:00 am. It will be interesting to see how well my body deals with it.

 

[proxymoron]

I like being a night owl but if you don't, try this. It works best if you're up every day at the hours you're after, so get that job!

 

[BladeRunner001]

My peak hours seem to be around midnight to two in the morning. I can't stand it. I actually have a job as an independent contractor, because of the problem. Still, I'd be making a lot more money if I got to work at 8 or 9 a.m.

How do you deal with it?

I've always been a morning person

I would say it's a habit. You have to get yourself into a usual routine that over some time allows you to wean yourself off that nocturnal habit. it works because my wife has done it.

 

[Tekka]

I used to be able to easily switch between being a morning or night person, but the older I get... more it seems that I'm stuck being a night owl.

 

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

My peak hours seem to be around midnight to two in the morning. I can't stand it. I actually have a job as an independent contractor, because of the problem. Still, I'd be making a lot more money if I got to work at 8 or 9 a.m.

How do you deal with it?

SalvadorMontenegro:
I'm up this morning because I just can't sleep

I know this may sound crass...but how about a 'stiff' nightcap before bed?

Christopher

 

[ambrose]

people call me dracula I go with it I dont fight it anymore

 

[Walker]

I work two 6 hour shifts on the boat. 12 to 6 am and pm. I get so used to it that when i go home i usually continue holding watches during my off time. So from midnight till 5 or 6 am i am awake. Once i got used to it i started liking it.

 

[SalvadorMontenegro]

I've had nine to five jobs before and I manage. The problem is that any time there is a period where I don't have to be up at 7 a.m., I revert back to staying up all night and going to bed at four or five...

For instance, a few years ago I worked a temp job for several months that required that I be at work at nine (I think). I left work at five. Monday through Friday I was okay, but come Friday night, I was back to going to sleep at 4 a.m. Particularly because I would go out and come home late. So, come Sunday night, I had to start all over...

I've been like this since I was a child. I don't really like it, because it means that I'm alone in the dark and that's not so great considering I suffer from depression. Everyone else I know is asleep when I'm awake. And, like I said, it has factored into my financial situation, since it is extremely difficult for me to maintain a sleep schedule that permits a job during normal work hours. Even when I had that job years ago, I was not getting enough sleep at night and would chug coffee all morning and afternoon to keep me alert.

The Chronotherapy thing is an idea (thank you), but again, the problem is really that if I'm not consistent, I fall off the wagon.

I think I'm just going to have to force myself wake up early on Thursday and deal with being tired all day and keep at it. I don't want to resign myself to working at night. I'd much prefer to be awake and enjoying the daylight hours.

 

[Tekka]

I've had nine to five jobs before and I manage. The problem is that any time there is a period where I don't have to be up at 7 a.m., I revert back to staying up all night and going to bed at four or five...

For instance, a few years ago I worked a temp job for several months that required that I be at work at nine (I think). I left work at five. Monday through Friday I was okay, but come Friday night, I was back to going to sleep at 4 a.m. Particularly because I would go out and come home late. So, come Sunday night, I had to start all over...

I've been like this since I was a child. I don't really like it, because it means that I'm alone in the dark and that's not so great considering I suffer from depression. Everyone else I know is asleep when I'm awake. And, like I said, it has factored into my financial situation, since it is extremely difficult for me to maintain a sleep schedule that permits a job during normal work hours. Even when I had that job years ago, I was not getting enough sleep at night and would chug coffee all morning and afternoon to keep me alert.

The Chronotherapy thing is an idea (thank you), but again, the problem is really that if I'm not consistent, I fall off the wagon.

I think I'm just going to have to force myself wake up early on Thursday and deal with being tired all day and keep at it. I don't want to resign myself to working at night. I'd much prefer to be awake and enjoying the daylight hours.

You might want to try taking Melatonin at night to reset your circadian rhythms. I'm bad about taking it, but there have been times I've taken it for a little while and it's resulted in weeks of amazing sleep that lasts all night.

 

[scottb]

people call me dracula I go with it I dont fight it anymore

same here. I've gotten 2nd and 3rd shift jobs to cater to it, but when I had to sleep "normal" hours, I'm sad to say the only thing that always worked was having something prescribed, and those usually come with at least some side effects.

 

[The Nid Hog]

Chronotherapy is an interesting idea. There are other things too. Make sure that you exercise regularly. Stretch leisurely a little before bed. Take a warm bath. Turn off the computer or the TV earlier in the evening to avoid intense visual stimulation. There's also information available about regulating the temperature in the space where you sleep so that a drop in body temperature won't wake you up. Melatonin is also useful--I've used it to beat jet lag. I also have an MP3 of rainstorms on my iPod that I occasionally listen to in bed when I'm on the road.

I know this may sound crass...but how about a 'stiff' nightcap before bed?

I know you're probably joking, but most studies suggest that this is a terrible idea. It may make you fall asleep, but it disturbs the activity of your sleeping brain and it's likely to wake you up later.

If you feel that this is an uncontrollable issue, see your doctor. It may be that you have some other problem that will require intervention. On the other hand, if it's just an issue of self-discipline, then you've made your own bed--now you have to not sleep in it.

 

[commanderkeen]

My sleep patterns get out of whack when I have an especially lazy day. If I don't do enough activity to get rid of pent up energies I usually stay up until around 3am.

So here are some things that might help:
1. Have a steady eating schedule
2. EXCERCISE (but atleast 2 hours before sleepy-time)
3. Get away from the computer and tv a couple hours before bed-time
4. Start dimming and turning off lights to simulate sun down (same as the computer and tv screens)
5. Wake up at the same time EVERYDAY (EVEN WEEKENDS)
6. Maybe have some warm milk or food containing tryptophan (turkey for instance) an hour or so before bed time.
7. Take a hot shower before going to bed as the body cools down from the hot shower it simulates body temperature dropping when you actually are going to fall asleep, so tricking the body into this mode

There are a couple things worth trying. No need to get at all of them, I basically just try to go to bed at the same time everyday, and I turn off lights and stuff before bed. Also, I have an alarm clock with a light that comes on slowly starting 20 minutes before the alarm to simulate a sunrise.

Good luck, and tell us how it goes!

 

[Luc]

Morning person here. I usually get up before the sun but go to bed around the same time that the sun goes away...

If I actually switch my clock, I work well during the night however, I got troubles going back and forth day/night. I need my 7 hrs sleep...

 

[CraigarTA]

I sometimes do but then I get back on track a day or two layer.

 

[honed]

Oh yeah, the night time is the right time!

I've been a night owl since birth.
Working day-time office hours isn't always optimal to combine with a nocturnal lifestyle, but luckily I get by well as long as I get 4 or 5 hours of sleep.

 

[kg4ghn]

Carpe Noctem!!

 

[Drybonz]

Yeah... I always have been. Efforts to train myself to be a morning person have failed. I eventually gave in.

 

[thermographer]

My first two weeks working offshore is Midnight to Noon. The last week we switch to Noon to Midnight. Needless to say, I feel like crap the entire time offshore.

When I get home for three weeks, my body still wants to sleep till 11am and stay up till 2am. Thankfully my wife is very understanding.

 

[Amer]

I suppose I am. When I was little I always wanted to stay up on the weekends and that continues to this day.

College brought on some bad habits. For most of the time I had 8am classes, but after the first two years the schedule relaxed and I wouldn't have to be at class until 10 or 11 am. Couple this with having club sport practice at 7pm to 9pm every weeknight and I was wide awake and ready to go. My senior year I frequently went to bed between 3 to 5 am and woke up at 9:30 or 10:30 depending on when I needed to be up.

I've been working full time 8am -5pm for almost 4 years now. Most of my work gets done from 8 to 11am. It's like I just had a good nap before coming to work. Then around lunch and through the afternoon I'm tired, really no matter how much sleep I get. I'm only really productive if I have to get something done (i.e. motivated to not miss a deadline). I come home, have dinner, and suddenly am ready to go at 7pm again. The last month or so I've gotten into the bad habit of not going to bed until midnight, after doing pretty well of going around 11pm.

When our baby comes at the beginning of December I have the feeling I'm going to be screwed.