shifting from "night person" to "morning person"

[EmilyGF]

After Christmas, I told my husband I'd start getting up with him (sort of) in the morning to lighten the load he is carrying. He gets up every morning at 6 and drives our cranky kindergartner to the bus (this is non-negotiable at this point in life so please don't tell me to change this). After the holidays, I promised I'd be up, at least making coffee, by the time he gets back at 6:45. I generally get out of bed around 6:20 now and have oatmeal and coffee cooking as well as the dishwasher unloaded by the time he gets home from the bus.

 

I do this every day, but I feel like I've been sleeping pretty poorly ever since then. It was really bad at first and I couldn't even fall asleep at night (possible anxiety about not waking up? I tend to do that before flights, too). This week, it has been almost nightly nightmares. I've started grinding teeth and just bought a mouth guard for that.

 

Any ideas about how to teach my body to sleep better at night and wake up better in the morning? 

 

ETA: This also overlaps with my weight loss. I think it overlaps better with the early wake-up, but they are similar time frames. I've lost 15 pounds, so a fair amount of weight.

 

Thanks,

Emily

Edited February 24, 2018 by EmilyGF

[MedicMom]

Buy an automatic coffee maker to click on at 6:30 and make the coffee.

Stay up later at night and unload the dishwasher then.

 

I think your body is telling you this isn’t working, and unless you absolutely have to be up early, like for a job, I wouldn’t do it.

I’m not a morning person and I’ve never been able to retrain my body that way. It just doesn’t function optimally to be awake at 6.

[Calm37]

I have struggled, too, to get up earlier. I have not had the sleep problems that you are having, just mainly tiredness early in the afternoon. I will never be one to just jump out of bed!

 

One thing that definitely helps me is to have a consistent nighttime routine. It may seem very early, but start getting ready for bed an hour before you want to be asleep. I also started diffusing and using some essential oils that I like the smell of at bedtime. I hope you are drinking some of that coffee! :) Have a cup or three early and then no more caffeine during the day. I agree to get a coffee maker with a timer - one less thing to do in the morning. The first thing I do after getting up is pour myself a cup!

[EKS]

I didn't used to be a morning person, but when we started homeschooling, I found that the only time I could get some peace was from about 5:30-7:00 am.  So I got up at 5:30 every day and over time, it became normal.  If you're going to get up early, it's important to go to bed early as well.  I usually am asleep by 9:30.

[mamakelly]

are you going to bed earlier to make up for the earlier wake time? I always wake up better with natural light, what about leaving curtains cracked or open, so you can wake with natural light?

[Greta]

What is your current bedtime routine? Do you do something relaxing (that doesn’t involve a screen) for awhile before bed?

[milovany]

I read an article in Yankee magazine many years ago about this very thing.  I don't remember all the details, but the gist was that when the time changes in the fall is the best opportunity to work with the day's light to accomplish this.  For a few weeks ahead of time, it was something like go to bed a little bit earlier and earlier to ease into the habit and then when the time changes, it got darker sooner so the combination of that and your body getting used to going to bed earlier worked well.  I'm probably not remembering it all correctly, but I remember think, "That should work!"  I never did try it, LOL, but I do remember reading the article. 

[Katy]

You're essentially talking about jet lag.  The best way to reset your body clock is a protein snack when you wake up.  The easiest thing to do is get some premixed protein shakes, keep them in the fridge, and drink one the second you wake up.  In less than a week it should make a HUGE difference.

 

Premier protein shakes are cheap and taste pretty good for something premixed.

[Liz CA]

Buy an automatic coffee maker to click on at 6:30 and make the coffee.

Stay up later at night and unload the dishwasher then.

 

I think your body is telling you this isn’t working, and unless you absolutely have to be up early, like for a job, I wouldn’t do it.

I’m not a morning person and I’ve never been able to retrain my body that way. It just doesn’t function optimally to be awake at 6.

 

 

I am afraid this is me as well. I do wish I could turn it around but have never really succeeded.

[Spryte]

I have never made the shift. I couldn’t understand why it wouldn’t work for me, despite trying every tip I could find. I’ve embraced my mornings though.

 

It turned out that I have Addison’s. A normal body will start making hormones to wake the body up around 4 am. Mine doesn’t. I will sleep and sleep. I have to drag out of bed and take meds to mimic what the adrenals should be doing. Ugh.

 

You probably don’t have Addison’s. :) But you could have adrenals that are slightly off. Do you get a burst of energy late at night? Around or after 10 pm? That, with trouble waking, might make me suspicious.

[lovinmyboys]

I cannot get up before 7 regularly. It is so weird because I don’t really get jet lag when I travel. But, no matter what time zone I am in, I have a really hard time getting up before 7 too many days in a row.

[Tanaqui]

What's your nighttime routine? When is your bedtime, and what do you do in the hours before bedtime? Do you use a sunrise simulator or similar to wake up in the morning?

[Frances]

Buy an automatic coffee maker to click on at 6:30 and make the coffee.

Stay up later at night and unload the dishwasher then.

 

I think your body is telling you this isn’t working, and unless you absolutely have to be up early, like for a job, I wouldn’t do it.

I’m not a morning person and I’ve never been able to retrain my body that way. It just doesn’t function optimally to be awake at 6.

I’m much better about getting up in the morning than I used to be after many years of having to get up for work. But 6 something would still be way too early for me.

[Farrar]

I can shift back and forth - I've done it at various times in my life. But I've known many people who couldn't shift long term successfully and be happy. I'd try the tips, but I'd also possibly accept that you just have to contribute in other ways.

[Rosie_0801]

Read up on serotonin and melatonin production.

[sarasue7272]

I have been getting up at 4:30 to teach for VIPKID these last 9 months. It’s been a big change. Basically I go to bed when the kids do. I need to be asleep before 10. I sometimes take melatonin at night. At this point I will at least open my eyes before 4:45, though I don’t get up if I’m not teaching. Teaching at 5am is my limit. I tried to get up even earlier for a while but it just didn’t work. I may try the protein shake trick.

I get up and work, but I wouldn’t call myself a morning person.

Edited February 24, 2018 by sarasue7272

[Joyofsixreboot]

I read some research ( I can't remember where) that seemed to say you can switch but it will never be easy. I advise keeping a pretty strict bed and wake time. Even on weekends. Avoid the snooze button. Early morning light (buy a cheap light box) and even 5 minutes of stretching/yoga on waking and then more vigorous exercise late mornikng/early afternoon make an earlier bedtime doable. I set an alarm to cue me to begin to get ready for bed.i avoid screens from that point on. I would go with the auto coffee maker and dishwasher at night also. Sometimes vertical is as good as it gets.

 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[Arctic Bunny]

Auto coffee maker and an invitation to bring a cup with him when he comes back to the bed that you’ve been keeping warm for him.

[Liz CA]

I have never made the shift. I couldn’t understand why it wouldn’t work for me, despite trying every tip I could find. I’ve embraced my mornings though.

 

It turned out that I have Addison’s. A normal body will start making hormones to wake the body up around 4 am. Mine doesn’t. I will sleep and sleep. I have to drag out of bed and take meds to mimic what the adrenals should be doing. Ugh.

 

You probably don’t have Addison’s. :) But you could have adrenals that are slightly off. Do you get a burst of energy late at night? Around or after 10 pm? That, with trouble waking, might make me suspicious.

 

 

I need to look into this.

[Mabelen]

I read an article in Yankee magazine many years ago about this very thing. I don't remember all the details, but the gist was that when the time changes in the fall is the best opportunity to work with the day's light to accomplish this. For a few weeks ahead of time, it was something like go to bed a little bit earlier and earlier to ease into the habit and then when the time changes, it got darker sooner so the combination of that and your body getting used to going to bed earlier worked well. I'm probably not remembering it all correctly, but I remember think, "That should work!" I never did try it, LOL, but I do remember reading the article.

Yes, this is true. I have attempted it that way a couple of times with my school kids. It works initially, but the holidays, Thanksgiving week first, then Christmas break, always throw us off completely.

[EmilyGF]

Thanks for all the input.

 

I haven't been very disciplined about changing my night routine - I guess I sort of thought that if I made the effort to get up in the morning, the habit of going to sleep early would fall into place.

 

I can't wake up to natural light through the window because we live in an area that is too bright. If I leave the curtains open at night, I can't fall asleep.

 

I generally am a person who needs to go to sleep at the same time every night. My husband isn't at all like that. He'll often swing two or more hours from night to night (stays up past midnight one night to work intensely, then goes to sleep at nine the next night). He can't understand why I won't go to bed at a different time if I'm tired at dinner. But, even if I'm nodding off at 8 pm, say, and go to sleep then, I tend to wake up an hour or two later and then have a few hours of sleeplessness.

 

I guess I have some of the worst practices for bedtime: I exercise at night (how do you exercise with five kids at home during the day?) and do computer tasks in the evening. The baby sleeps in the bedroom with the computer, so doing those tasks early in the morning won't really work. Some days I manage to exercise early afternoon, but it is hard because it has to align with the little one's nap AND the big kids not needing me for school work AND before the kindergartner comes home from school.

 

I tend to get in bed between 10-10:30 and go to sleep between 10:30-11.

 

Emily