Replies to '01/02 New Year: Old Habits'

For 4 months toss the alam clock unless you have to be somewhere at a specific time in fact remove all clocks from your bedroom.  Remove any TV from your bedroom too and phone also  Wake up naturally.   Get out of bed and make it as soon as you wake up.  Get dressed and put on your shoes.  You are not allow to lie down or remove your shoes for the rest of the day unless you are ill(this may sound strange but do it anyway).  If you smoke or drink coffee or drink soda stop at 6pm(it takes 4 to 6 hours to clear your system of amphetamines).  No food after 7pm.  Your kitchen should be clean by 7:30pm and no one should enter until the next morning.  Turn off the tv and phone and computer by 9pm.  The house should be very quiet 1 hour prior to bed.  Go to bed by 10pm.   

  

Make a list of every problem that your bad habit causes and the benifits of forming a new positive one.  Set a goal and reward yourself for keeping to your goal.  If getting up and being productive is important to you then you will do it.  Otherwise you will just keep up your lazy ways. 

  

Flylady.com has some good ideas about setting up morning routines and evening routines that I have found very helpful. 

  

  

Have you considered going to a sleep specialist to be checked for sleep disorders? They're more common than people realize. I've had problems with fatigue for about 20 years and was diagnosed with everything from depression to Epstein-Barr virus. After finally getting referred to a sleep disorders clinic, it turns out I have sleep apnea compounded with insomnia. Not fun but at least these things can be treated. There's more and more work being done with sleep disorders because lack of sleep has a potentially devastating impact on you physically and emotionally. Sleep deprivation can cause serious cardiovascular problems, contributes to overweight and may possibly be lethal in its most extreme. There was one study that surmised some people who died in their sleep may have died due to untreated sleep apnea. Please ask your doctor to refer you to a qualified clinic. If you live in or near St. Louis MO, go to the Washington University School of Medicine Sleep Disorders Clinic. They are fantastic. Good luck!

One of the best pieces of advice I got, and put to use, is to watch your REM cycles. You sleep in 1.5 hr cycles, so should wake up after 1.5, 3, 4.5, 6, 7.5, or 9 hours. That's why the "8 hour" convention (allowing for a half-hour to fall asleep) makes so much sense. Otherwise, you're trying to wake yourself up in the middle of a REM cycle and will feel WAY more tired than if you wake up at the end of a cycle. I often wake up a couple of times during the next to use the bathroom, and have noticed that I awake easily if it's at the 3-hour mark. If it's in the middle of a REM cycle, I end up having one of those "have to use the bathroom badly" dreams and wake up in the nick of time, but feel heavy and groggy. If you give yourself a full 7.5 hours of sleep, you'll probably be able to wake up feeling rested.