Post by dulvan on Nov 4, 2012 16:08:32 GMT -5
We've all been there. Late night. Gotta wake up early tomorrow. Result: Insomnia.
For all those looking and thinking "tl;dr" just read the last paragraph (it's short
)
If you've read my introduction of myself, you see that I want to be a music major, but if that doesn't fall through, I would study psychology with emphasis on sleep.
Sleeping is perhaps one of the easiest things that you can do to help your body. All you have to do is...well...sleep.
Yeah, yeah Twilight, we've all been there, and perhaps that is what causes insomnia: we don't want to sleep. So here are a few tips on maximizing the productivity in your sleep (Yes, sleep is productive).
Your body has an internal clock, known as a "circadian rhythm". The goal of your body is to have a consistent circadian rhythm, in other words, wake up and fall asleep around the same time every day; this is quite a challenge. Often we get caught up in work-yes, I do consider watching ponies as work-and we end up going to sleep near midnight. The only problem is we fail to get the essential 6-7 1/2 hours of sleep we need every night. And of course the days we stay up so late we end up having to wake up so early the next morning. To sum all that up: your body likes consistency, which is hard to maintain, therefore, force yourself to sleep regardless of your tiredness. When you do this consistently, falling asleep becomes natural at that time.
To start developing a proper circadian rhythm, first begin falling asleep within a certain hour every night. I prefer the hour of 10:00-11:00 pm. Then try to wake up after 6, 7.5, or 8.5 hours of sleep depending on what time you need to wake up. (REM periods of sleep last about an hour and a half and shorten to approximately an hour during the early morning after 7+ hours of sleep) In addition, you should avoid excessive sleep on the weekends or days off. Sleeping in too late can throw off your body's rhythm, thus inviting insomnia when you get less sleep on week-days.
So why is a circadian rhythm so important? Because when your body is use to turning on (waking up) and off (sleeping) at a consistent time, then your body is more susceptible to forming habits. When your body has established a wake-sleep cycle, then it is ready to move on to developing a workout cycle as well. Whether it be everyday, every other day, or once a week, you body begins to form a habit of preparing for the strenuous activity, thus allowing your body to workout more efficiently. Another benefit of a balanced circadian rhythm is that your mind is can focus much easier and you get rid of that groggy feeling when you wake up some mornings.
For all those tl;dr-ers, here is a quick synopsis. Go to sleep/wake-up at the same time everyday. It's good for you. I promise.
For all those looking and thinking "tl;dr" just read the last paragraph (it's short
)If you've read my introduction of myself, you see that I want to be a music major, but if that doesn't fall through, I would study psychology with emphasis on sleep.
Sleeping is perhaps one of the easiest things that you can do to help your body. All you have to do is...well...sleep.
Yeah, yeah Twilight, we've all been there, and perhaps that is what causes insomnia: we don't want to sleep. So here are a few tips on maximizing the productivity in your sleep (Yes, sleep is productive).
Your body has an internal clock, known as a "circadian rhythm". The goal of your body is to have a consistent circadian rhythm, in other words, wake up and fall asleep around the same time every day; this is quite a challenge. Often we get caught up in work-yes, I do consider watching ponies as work-and we end up going to sleep near midnight. The only problem is we fail to get the essential 6-7 1/2 hours of sleep we need every night. And of course the days we stay up so late we end up having to wake up so early the next morning. To sum all that up: your body likes consistency, which is hard to maintain, therefore, force yourself to sleep regardless of your tiredness. When you do this consistently, falling asleep becomes natural at that time.
To start developing a proper circadian rhythm, first begin falling asleep within a certain hour every night. I prefer the hour of 10:00-11:00 pm. Then try to wake up after 6, 7.5, or 8.5 hours of sleep depending on what time you need to wake up. (REM periods of sleep last about an hour and a half and shorten to approximately an hour during the early morning after 7+ hours of sleep) In addition, you should avoid excessive sleep on the weekends or days off. Sleeping in too late can throw off your body's rhythm, thus inviting insomnia when you get less sleep on week-days.
So why is a circadian rhythm so important? Because when your body is use to turning on (waking up) and off (sleeping) at a consistent time, then your body is more susceptible to forming habits. When your body has established a wake-sleep cycle, then it is ready to move on to developing a workout cycle as well. Whether it be everyday, every other day, or once a week, you body begins to form a habit of preparing for the strenuous activity, thus allowing your body to workout more efficiently. Another benefit of a balanced circadian rhythm is that your mind is can focus much easier and you get rid of that groggy feeling when you wake up some mornings.
For all those tl;dr-ers, here is a quick synopsis. Go to sleep/wake-up at the same time everyday. It's good for you. I promise.
