Sleep: some thoughts and to-do lists

[maidenofmystery]

I always thought that one of the benefits of working a steady nine-to-five job was that it would be much easier to get a good night's sleep every night. No more staying up all night to finish homework, or being unable to fall asleep because of a major exam the next day, or having to put up with unpredictable schedules from day to day (e.g. a lab

Comments

[reginahime]

Another thing that is helpful in feeling more awake in the morning (which probably sounds pretty obvious) is to wake up naturally rather than in response to an alarm. Since you've been waking up at the same time for work each day for the past couple years, maybe this has already happened to you, but if your body can get used to waking up on its own just before your alarm is scheduled to ring, I imagine you'll feel a lot better about waking. There's still the "I don't want to get out of bed!" feeling, but little can be done about that. Going to sleep at the same time at night would probably help with waking up at the same time in the morning. I imagine that the brain is at least somewhat aware of the passage of time while asleep, so if you go to bed at 11 every night and wake up at 7 every morning for long enough, your brain might eventually start saying, "Okay, that's your standard 8 hours of sleep, time to wake you up!"

[lyssies]

It's funny, I was just reading this today - http://www.theage.com.au/executive-style/fitness/cardio-exercise-good-for-sleep-20100928-15uwp.html

I've heard that it also helps you if you go outside during the day. It's something to do with your body better recognizing the difference between night and day and the routines associated with them if you get more exposure to natural light.