How To Fix Your Sleep Schedule – Reset Your Sleep Pattern (animated)
The light and darkness in your external environment
A genetically programmed internal memory
Despite its importance, there is a myriad of factors that can throw off a sleep schedule1. They include:
Doing shift work
Drinking alcohol
Sleeping with disruptions (like a restless partner, kids, animals, etc.)
Sleep apnea
Snoring
Jet lag
Temperature changes in the bedroom
Hormonal changes
Stress
Certain medications or drugs
Changes in light – like staying up late with the lights on or staring at a screen
While resetting your schedule isn’t going to occur overnight, it might not take as long as you think.The most effective thing to do is to have a set time that you go to bed each night. Then plan to wake up at the same time each day as well. So, if you decide that 10:00 p.m. is your desired bedtime, you should try to go to bed at that time every night.
Having a bedtime ritual can help signal your body that it’s time for bed when you’re not feeling drowsy yet. This could be as simple as brushing your teeth and washing your face, or you may prefer a more elaborate routine to wind down and train your body that the day is ending.Exercise is one of the most important parts of mental and physical health, and this includes helping you get better sleep. Moderate to vigorous exercise helps increase sleep quality and decreases the time it takes for you to fall asleep. Not only that, but it increases the amount of slow wave sleep4, or deep sleep, you’re getting. That’s the all-important part of sleep where your body and mind have a chance to recover and rejuvenate. Exercise also naturally helps stabilize your mood and calm your mind – important factors in the ability to fall asleep4.
In addition, exercise is key to maintaining a healthy body weight, which can be useful in getting good sleep as well. In fact, 70 percent of moderate to severe cases of obstructive sleep apnea have been attributed to obesity5.Resisting naps is hard, but a long nap could signal the internal clock that you’ve slept for the night, making falling asleep at bedtime a struggle.
Therefore, we suggest limiting naps to 20 to 30 minutes. That’s long enough to help you feel refreshed but not so long that they plunge you into a deep sleep.Some experts will say to avoid caffeine altogether, but that seems excessive. Instead, we say feel free to enjoy your regular cup of coffee in the morning but abstain from caffeine as the day continues, stopping your intake entirely within six hours of bedtime.Those with circadian rhythm disturbances might not be producing enough melatonin or could be producing it too early or too late, so their sleep cycle is off. Taking 1-3 milligrams of a melatonin supplement about 2-3 hours before bed could help reset your body’s circadian rhythm.
Additionally, magnesium is found to be a relaxing supplement that could help people sleep better at night. However, if you find that melatonin or magnesium gives you daytime drowsiness, simply reduce your dosage.