I’m coming to increasingly notice that maintaining a specific, regular sleep pattern is worth making sacrifices for. Specifically, if I go to bed around 10:30 PM and get up around 8 AM, I will wake up feeling energetic, productive and physically good. If I get up even a few hours later, or if I go to bed late but regardless get up at 8 in the morning, there’s a very good chance that I will accomplish basically nothing on that day. It’s weird how getting the timing so precisely correct seems to basically be the biggest determining factor in how my day will go.
I had noticed this before, but had frequently slipped from it, since most of my social events tend to be on evenings and maintaining these sleeping patterns while still having a social life was quite hard. But I’m now becoming convinced that those sacrifices are worth making: I’ll just have to persuade my friends to be social at earlier times, or look for people who are already that.
It’s not prescribed in Finland without a special permit from the authorities, and I don’t want to take the risk of trying to obtain something that’s considered an illegal drug.
Do you use an alarm clock? If so, your problem might have less to do with sleep deprivation (which I don’t think should cause the sort of acute effects you describe) and more with getting up at the wrong time within a sleep cycle. If you have an iPhone or iPod touch, give Sleep Cycle a try for avoiding this problem. I think there are similar apps for different platforms. If you’re not using an alarm clock (or are already using something like Sleep Cycle), I’d be genuinely surprised.
I do use an alarm clock, but after going to bed at the right time for a couple of evenings, I start to wake up on my own, a little before the clock would sound. The alarm clock is just there as a backup, and to let me remain mostly-awake in bed for about 10-20 minutes longer before telling me to actually get up (as opposed to just getting awake).
ETA: I should specify that if I don’t go to bed at the right time, I don’t wake up naturally—well, I do, but so late that I’ll feel groggy and generally inenergetic.
Hmm, I still don’t know if I should be surprised or not, as I’m having trouble parsing your last sentence. When you go to bed late, do you not set your alarm clock? Or do you sleep through your alarm? Or do you wake up naturally (but groggy) right before the alarm goes off?
A) Going to bed late and setting the alarm at the usual early time B) Going to bed late and setting the alarm a couple of hours later C) Going to bed late and not setting an alarm at all
With A, I’ll wake to the clock but be groggy. With B I’m not necessarily so groggy but still not as energetic as I would have if I’d gone to bed early and woken up early. With C I’ll wake up naturally at some late time and feel pretty lethargic.
I was about to say that there are two dimensions here—groggy/neutral/awake and energetic/neutral/lethargic. Very roughly, A leaves me groggy/neutral, B leaves me neutral/neutral and C leaves me neutral/lethargic. But that doesn’t sound entirely right, either—all three often also tend to leave me an extra unspecified uncomfortable feeling that I can’t quite put into words, and which might be part of what I’m calling “groggy” or “lethargic” in the above. (Going to bed on time and getting up early leaves me awake/energetic or at least neutral/energetic, as well as without that extra uncomfortable feeling.)
I’m coming to increasingly notice that maintaining a specific, regular sleep pattern is worth making sacrifices for. Specifically, if I go to bed around 10:30 PM and get up around 8 AM, I will wake up feeling energetic, productive and physically good. If I get up even a few hours later, or if I go to bed late but regardless get up at 8 in the morning, there’s a very good chance that I will accomplish basically nothing on that day. It’s weird how getting the timing so precisely correct seems to basically be the biggest determining factor in how my day will go.
I had noticed this before, but had frequently slipped from it, since most of my social events tend to be on evenings and maintaining these sleeping patterns while still having a social life was quite hard. But I’m now becoming convinced that those sacrifices are worth making: I’ll just have to persuade my friends to be social at earlier times, or look for people who are already that.
Have you tried modafinal?
It’s not prescribed in Finland without a special permit from the authorities, and I don’t want to take the risk of trying to obtain something that’s considered an illegal drug.
My sympathies.
Do you use an alarm clock? If so, your problem might have less to do with sleep deprivation (which I don’t think should cause the sort of acute effects you describe) and more with getting up at the wrong time within a sleep cycle. If you have an iPhone or iPod touch, give Sleep Cycle a try for avoiding this problem. I think there are similar apps for different platforms. If you’re not using an alarm clock (or are already using something like Sleep Cycle), I’d be genuinely surprised.
I do use an alarm clock, but after going to bed at the right time for a couple of evenings, I start to wake up on my own, a little before the clock would sound. The alarm clock is just there as a backup, and to let me remain mostly-awake in bed for about 10-20 minutes longer before telling me to actually get up (as opposed to just getting awake).
ETA: I should specify that if I don’t go to bed at the right time, I don’t wake up naturally—well, I do, but so late that I’ll feel groggy and generally inenergetic.
Hmm, I still don’t know if I should be surprised or not, as I’m having trouble parsing your last sentence. When you go to bed late, do you not set your alarm clock? Or do you sleep through your alarm? Or do you wake up naturally (but groggy) right before the alarm goes off?
I have attempted:
A) Going to bed late and setting the alarm at the usual early time
B) Going to bed late and setting the alarm a couple of hours later
C) Going to bed late and not setting an alarm at all
With A, I’ll wake to the clock but be groggy. With B I’m not necessarily so groggy but still not as energetic as I would have if I’d gone to bed early and woken up early. With C I’ll wake up naturally at some late time and feel pretty lethargic.
I was about to say that there are two dimensions here—groggy/neutral/awake and energetic/neutral/lethargic. Very roughly, A leaves me groggy/neutral, B leaves me neutral/neutral and C leaves me neutral/lethargic. But that doesn’t sound entirely right, either—all three often also tend to leave me an extra unspecified uncomfortable feeling that I can’t quite put into words, and which might be part of what I’m calling “groggy” or “lethargic” in the above. (Going to bed on time and getting up early leaves me awake/energetic or at least neutral/energetic, as well as without that extra uncomfortable feeling.)