melissel Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 How long did it take before your energy returned to normal? Did it ever return to normal? :001_huh: Did you do anything (other than drink more coffee) that helped you switch or boosted your energy? I've been getting up early the past few days--not as early as I want to (6 a.m.) but definitely earlier than I'm used to. And during the past few days, I've been so exhausted that I've actually felt like I was getting sick. I've even exercised on most mornings, hoping it would energize me, but it hasn't. For various reasons, today I slept until 8:30, and I have so much get-up-and-go that it's almost comical. I'm hoping that the exhaustion is something that will go away when my body adjusts. Please say it is! If you've managed to switch yourself to an earlier schedule, by choice or out of necessity, I'd love to hear any advice you have. TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Are you getting as much sleep as before? You can't just get up earlier, you have to go to bed earlier. I'm guessing the jet-lag is normal for a few days. (Not that I'm qualified to answer because I've never been a morning person, but when I was in the Army I had the bedtime of a toddler to make it work. I also believe in naps.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I am not a morning person. There were periods of my life when I had to be at work at 6 am or 7 am. I did okay, but this was before kids too. Exercise was the one thing that made a difference. I'd get up at the crack of dawn and go for a walk, about 15-20 minutes. Eventually it did help. Now that I'm older, more set in my ways, and not bound to a morning schedule I don't bother. I'm up between 7:30 and 8 every morning, get ds up at 9, we start school at 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Yes, make sure you are getting plenty of sleep. I switched a number of time to different continents and time zones, and my body always took weeks to fully adjust. Hang in there, isn't there a standard that new habits take 21 days to become second nature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meggie Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 How long did it take before your energy returned to normal? Did it ever return to normal? :001_huh: Did you do anything (other than drink more coffee) that helped you switch or boosted your energy? I've been getting up early the past few days--not as early as I want to (6 a.m.) but definitely earlier than I'm used to. And during the past few days, I've been so exhausted that I've actually felt like I was getting sick. I've even exercised on most mornings, hoping it would energize me, but it hasn't. For various reasons, today I slept until 8:30, and I have so much get-up-and-go that it's almost comical. I'm hoping that the exhaustion is something that will go away when my body adjusts. Please say it is! If you've managed to switch yourself to an earlier schedule, by choice or out of necessity, I'd love to hear any advice you have. TIA! How long did it take? I was better the very first day. The key for me was to go to bed earlier. It's the hardest thing about being a night owl, going to bed early, feeling like you're wasting time sleeping. But for me it was an absolute necessity. My depression flares up and I go crazy with sleep deprivation. Going to bed early and waking up when the kids do keeps me sane. Did you do anything other than drink coffee to boost your energy? I've never drunk coffee. The thing that helped the most is going to bed earlier. It is essential that I get to bed before midnight, anything before 10 is best. For the first several weeks, DH had to force me to bed. He's a night owl too, so I want to stay up with him, but for my mental health and sanity, he knew that I couldn't keep staying up so late. Advice? For me I had to stop looking at things the way I regularly do. I usually focus on how going to bed early results in loss of "me" time. I don't get to read the books I want or watch the movies I want or do the crocheting I want because I need to go to bed earlier. I need to focus on the results. Going to bed earlier=getting enough sleep to keep the depression away. So even though I hate it, I focus on the benefits and the results I want. I love being able to wake up and get up without having to bribe the children to go back to sleep. I love being able to get us all going on our routine. I love having more patience and not yelling so much. So will this work for you? Who knows. My ideal time is 10pm-8am. But that's just because baby girl and Digby are waking up about 4 times each every night. Hopefully once they start sleeping through the night again, I'll get enough sleep in a row to go 10pm-6am. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 (edited) Unfortunately, I was getting more sleep those nights! I usually go to bed around 1:00-1:30 and get up around 8:30. On those nights, I had gone to bed around 11:00 and gotten up at 7:00-7:30, so I was getting the same amount or an extra hour. AND I was sleeping in my own bed all night, rather than accidentally falling asleep on the couch or with the kids, which should result in better sleep. Gah!!! I'm very frustrated. I've basically been a slug the past few days, trying to adjust. I didn't realize how bad it was until this morning, though, when I slept until 8:30 and was like, "Let's make pancakes for breakfast! I'm going to get dressed and take out the garbage! Come on girls, get going on your morning chores! B, let's get to the school table! Let me prep my recipe for dinner!" I got more done in two hours than I have in the past three days. Very frustrated... ETA: Thank you all. I WILL keep going. I love being up in the early mornings. I just don't love the way I've been feeling. It doesn't help that I also miss coffee terribly. 21 days, huh? :D Edited January 16, 2012 by melissel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 great question. I am a night owl. I am the furthest thing from a morning person. It was bliss not having to wake up for work in the am since last June. This past money I got a new client. She is here at 730am which means I have to be not just awake but ready for the day and cheerful about it. I went from having an occasional cup of coffee(like 2-3 a week) to now no less than 3 a day. Hopefully my body adjusts and I can learn to sleep at night because right now I am averaging 3.5 hours a night this weekend I caught up on some much needed sleep but then last night only got 1.5 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangermom Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 A dawn lamp really, really helped me out. Now I can even get up early without the lamp, though I do keep it going. Also exercise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 A dawn lamp really, really helped me out. Now I can even get up early without the lamp, though I do keep it going. Also exercise. Oh oh oh! You just reminded me that I can have the timer back from the Christmas tree! I was wanting to attach it to my bedside lamp but DH needed it for the tree lights. I'll set that up today. I wonder if the light just switching on at 6 a.m. would be any more or less effective than a dawn lamp, hmmm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Oh oh oh! You just reminded me that I can have the timer back from the Christmas tree! I was wanting to attach it to my bedside lamp but DH needed it for the tree lights. I'll set that up today. I wonder if the light just switching on at 6 a.m. would be any more or less effective than a dawn lamp, hmmm... What's a dawn lamp? I am having the same problem as the op. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 What's a dawn lamp? I am having the same problem as the op. Like this, I believe. If you search for sunrise clock on Amazon, you'll get a lot of hits. I'm willing to invest if I have to, but I'm going to try the free route first :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetMissMagnolia Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I need to start getting up earlier....kiddo is up usually between 6-7 and I'm dragging if I get up that early willingly LOL.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah CB Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 How long did it take before your energy returned to normal? Did it ever return to normal? :001_huh: Did you do anything (other than drink more coffee) that helped you switch or boosted your energy? I've been getting up early the past few days--not as early as I want to (6 a.m.) but definitely earlier than I'm used to. And during the past few days, I've been so exhausted that I've actually felt like I was getting sick. I've even exercised on most mornings, hoping it would energize me, but it hasn't. For various reasons, today I slept until 8:30, and I have so much get-up-and-go that it's almost comical. I'm hoping that the exhaustion is something that will go away when my body adjusts. Please say it is! If you've managed to switch yourself to an earlier schedule, by choice or out of necessity, I'd love to hear any advice you have. TIA! Just do it long enough and eventually you'll adjust. I used to really struggle with mornings - it was torture. Now I love them. Even now though, getting to bed on time is critical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I go through phases where I force myself to get up earlier and then fall back in to a later schedule. I am back on the getting up early as of today. I will be tired for a week at least and then begin to adjust. The same thing happens when I start eating healthy after a holiday full of junk food. I'm hungry and tired and grumpy. After 1 to 2 weeks, if I exercise, then I begin to feel more energetic during the day. I then wonder why I ever fall off the getting up early, eating healthy, exercise bandwagon. Unfortunately that wonder doesn't last because I end up having to start again. One thing I've had to just live with is the fact that I'm not going to feel like jumping out of bed when I first wake up no matter how energetic I get. I just don't like mornings so I have to force myself to get out of the bed. After the first couple of weeks I find that once I force myself out of the bed I begin feeling better and less sluggish in about 5 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elfgivas Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 i made this switch in '97. i love our mornings BUT so far i still don't function so well the first hour or so that i'm up. so i have a routine that i can do on autopilot, including emptying the dishwasher, putting laundry in, making coffee, checking email. by the time the washing machine finishes, i'm more connected with my body. my hunch is that it will just take time for you to have more energy, but given my own experience, the "jumping out of bed" thing may be a little harder to achieve.... but i have tons of energy the rest of the day, its just a slow start. hth, ann Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 i made this switch in '97. i love our mornings BUT so far i still don't function so well the first hour or so that i'm up. so i have a routine that i can do on autopilot, including emptying the dishwasher, putting laundry in, making coffee, checking email. by the time the washing machine finishes, i'm more connected with my body. my hunch is that it will just take time for you to have more energy, but given my own experience, the "jumping out of bed" thing may be a little harder to achieve.... but i have tons of energy the rest of the day, its just a slow start. hth, ann This gives me hope and also let's me accept that I will never be able to spring out of bed whistling a happy tune. I do have a morning routine I started last week just to get me moving. I like your description of being more connected to your body at the end of it. 1 thing I have found to wake me up more is to go straight from bed to shower. Before this change I would get online, or sit with the kids, or read a book or something for about 20-30 minutes and then go shower. With this change I go straight from bed to shower to clear the cobwebs from my head so to speak, followed by brewing my cup of coffee while emptying the dish drainer, and switching the laundry. Then I can sit and sip my coffee while checking things online and I am functional and coherent enough to smile when I open my door at 730am. I do have to admit getting only 3.5 hours of sleep makes for a an exhausting yet productive day (I rarely sit during the time the little one is here). You can do a lot in a 20 hour day :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanaryMelody Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 :bigear: I'm reading this thread with interest. I'm a total night owl. During my 6 years in the Air Force, I always volunteered for swing or midnight shift. I'm envious of those who can get up at the crack of dawn. I've been unsuccessful at switching my body clock. Even when I go to bed early, I rarely get a good night's sleep because of my youngest. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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