Getting up at three in the afternoon

[Guest]

I can't seem to get out of this horrible routine. I go to bed at 3-4am, looking at the internet and stuff, and I wake up at 3 or even later in the afternoon. That's like 12 hours sleep more or less. But the thing is im actually tired, im not purposely being lazy. When I wake up, already most of the day is gone and its so depressing. Im living off savings atm that I earned a few years - when I was self employed and doing well. Since then my career has gone down the drain. Now I have no motivation to work or anything, and it's been like that for a while, its starting to seriously get me down. I feel like my life is being wasted away.

 

[lexinonomous]

I have a similar problem. I will stay up until 5AM and wake up later in the day. It's a terrible habit and makes me feel completely unproductive. It doesn't help that my school classes aren't until 5:30PM, enabling me to sleep in frequently. I have the ability to go to sleep early, but it takes a lot of exercise and loss of sleep for a night. In order to get back into a regular routine, you have to really force yourself to wake up early one day and live with a loss of sleep for about 48 hours. It's a rough road, but if you can get to sleep early after only getting a few hours of sleep, you'll find yourself on a new schedule.

 

[redpanda]

Have you tried therapy, medication, or any other treatments? I've been through the same thing. I was sometimes able to reset my schedule but it never lasted. Once I was properly diagnosed and given the correct medication, my sleep schedule fixed itself. It was honestly odd, I was used to feeling tired all of the time and sleeping for 12+ hours. After I got up to the proper medication dose, I found myself feeling much more awake and alert during the day. I'm still not a morning person but I'm at least capable of waking up before noon now. I still sometimes have "off" days but things have improved a lot.


Are there any hobbies that interest you? It's one thing to not work but I feel like everyone needs something keeping them busy . If you can find something you enjoy, it might take your mind off things and make you feel a bit better. Gardening helped me a ton because it was really easy and inexpensive to jump into (most of my other hobbies get expensive). Plus I felt productive since I was growing my own food.


Either way, hang in there, I hope you feel better soon.

 

[shcoo]

I'm the same way. If I don't have anything to do the next day, my natural body clock seems to be "sleep at 4am or 5am, wake up at 1pm or 2pm." I'm not entirely sure if it's linked to depression. It's just what my body does when I don't set an alarm clock.


I would recommend setting more of a schedule. Set an alarm clock for something you have to go do during the day, even if it's something like grocery shopping. Browse online during the evening hours. Also, try sniffing some lavender essential oil as you head to bed. I've found it to be very calming (but obviously you couldn't leave an aromatherapy candle lit while sleeping or anything.)

 

[tgthewriter1]

I'm having the same problem. Lately, I been doing the same thing. I think it's time for you to move out. That's what I'm going to do and I suggest you do the same.

 

[rz3300]

Well the odd sleeping schedule is certainly nothing new, and I have really been struggling with getting a routine for as long as I can remember. Having a steady work schedule really helps me a lot, but unfortunately that has not been the case lately given some organizational issues, but that is a whole other story for another day. I have always linked sleeping late or not sleeping enough to depression, and I seem to suffer more on those days. I try and try, but I still struggle, but I am sure that I am not alone.

 

[liselle]

I tried to keep a good sleep schedule but I'm home all the time so now I sleep at 3 or beyond. I usually wake up around 12 or later but stay in my bed until afternoon. I honestly do feel bad and think what am I doing with my life just spending my entire day on the Internet doing nothing productive while everyone is doing something better.


I want to do something but a combination of low self-esteem and lack of motivation and sleep keeps me down all the time.

 

[hades_leae]

Don't look at that as a negative thing. I remember those days when I would sleep most of the day, it was strange to me and I thought something was wrong with me. We over time go threw different sleep patterns, which is natural, there is nothing wrong with that.


For me, I was sleeping in different patterns because of the current way of life I was living.I remember working over night, I slept during the day. Some days I would sleep for more than 12 hours, not all the way threw, but I would wake up 7 or 8 hours later and still feel like I had only been sleep for 2 hours or less. It's just something that will eventually go away. That's my opinion thought, I don't think it's a problem.

 

[Alex]

It's hard and it can make you anxious, and I have been there too. Getting out of bed can be the hardest thing to do and often it's only to go and use the bathroom, and I have been known to hold it in a s long as possible.


What I did is give myself very small tasks to do that would get me up, and then I would go and relax, say do the laundry, or tidy up a cupboard in the kitchen and throw out stuff I didn't need. I then felt I had achieved something and that helped me. Sometimes your medication may make you sleepy, or your body needs rest, but getting out of bed to do something can help, even if you do go back later.

 

[Laneorexorcist]

I'm really sorry to hear about your situation, I used to have a similar problem a couple of years ago, I used to sleep or stay in bed most part of the day, and I hated to feel unproductive because a lot of people around me had amazing plans and I just used to lack of motivation in general, but at the same time, I didn't wanted to get out of bed, it was definitely my comfort zone, and I have to admit that there is sometimes where I still feel like that, and sometimes I just do it but I don't know, I guess that there's something in me that has changed and I feel more motivated than I used to be now, I guess that now I have my goals a little bit more clear and I know what I want to become in order to be happy.

 

[Steph4real]

I've had a similar problem. My sleep cycles can easily get thrown out of whack. A few years back I was going through a really bad "low" period for a while and at the worst, I couldn't fall asleep until about 7am! Since then I've seen a lot of improvement but I still sometimes have issues with waking up late on the days I don't go to my "regular" job. I guess the only way I can think of to motivate myself is to set something up to do for the next day T a decent time in the morning, and make it something you can look forward to. For me, it pretty much always involves coffee!

 

[Robilas]

I used to have the same problem. Going to sleep too late, waking up too late, sleeping too late again, over and over. I love staying up late working at my pc, reading, listening to music, watching movies or even just browsing some forums, but it had too many downsides and it wasn't worth it.


What worked for me was literally forcing myself to go to bed early, let's say at an acceptable hour like 11-12 pm. It resulted in getting better sleep, so in the morning I could get up at a decent hour feeling energic and motivated. Of course getting used to it was hard, but eventually I developed an habit and now I can do it everyday.

 

[EdmondA]

I think this is a problem of perception. You stated in the original post that you are living off savings. It sounds like you have food. water and shelter. The only thing you need to do is fix yourself. i don't say that as an ignorant lay person who has never battled mental illness, I say it as someone who has been there. Slowly adjust your sleeping patterns, it won't happen overnight (pun intended). And seek help if your sleeping patterns are a symptom of more serious underlying issues.

 

[Moroccanbeauty2266]

I can relate to how you are feeling. I have been through such a phase as well. However, there was a point where I said to myself that I cannot continue to live like this.


Then I started to come up with some new plans and tried to implement them one by one. I used this to motivate myself to get out of that rut.


I am sure it will not be easy in the beginning but you can do it, too!

 

[Panic57]

I've been nocturnal since high school. It probably started with all the studying I did in high school that required me to stay up late and then in college I worked the night shift which made getting up early impossible. I work online, so it doesn't bother me that I work the night shift and if it isn't affecting your job or relationships it's not a problem. But if you have an issue with it, decide when you want to wake up and then subtract eight or twelve hours. I had to do this, I'm good with waking up at ten because that's when everything is open in my town. I check my email at eleven and four and work the rest of the time. If you have a hard time waking up, drink a lot of water, decaffeinated tea, or some other non-caffeinated drink before going to bed. Then when you need to pee, get up and stay up. Do whatever you need to do, blast music, shower, or go for a walk to keep from going back to bed. Oh, before you go to bed make a list of six things you want to get done. It can be anything from writing, chores, or work and then don't allow yourself to go to bed before it's done. Then you don't have to go to bed with guilt. Just don't forget to make another list before you got to bed.

 

[Houille]

I have a similar problem - I got to sleep at 6 am and usually wake up at 10 am or at lunch. I don't need a lot of sleep, but I cannot, no matter how hard I try, go to sleep before 6 am. It's funny, because I used to have a really strict sleeping schedule... I'd got to sleep before midnight and then wake up at 6 am, automatically. Now it seems to be the other way around!


I've been trying a lot of things to slowly fix it, though... what seems to help is to really exhaust myself during the day.

 

[janemariesayed]

I can't seem to get out of this horrible routine. I go to bed at 3-4am, looking at the internet and stuff, and I wake up at 3 or even later in the afternoon. That's like 12 hours sleep more or less. But the thing is im actually tired, im not purposely being lazy. When I wake up, already most of the day is gone and its so depressing. Im living off savings atm that I earned a few years - when I was self employed and doing well. Since then my career has gone down the drain. Now I have no motivation to work or anything, and it's been like that for a while, its starting to seriously get me down. I feel like my life is being wasted away.

Try going to bed a (pm. Whether you are tired or not, go to bed at that time. Set your alarm to go off at 8 am and when it goes off, get up. Get up even if you didn't sleep and feel tired. Get up, get dressed and make yourself a coffee. Stay awake all day until 9 pm when you go to bed.

Again, lay down as if to sleep. Tell yourself it doesn't matter if you sleep or not, just relax. You will find after a few days your body will adjust to your new routine and your life should start to get better.

Early to bed, early to rise
makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise!

 

[misszerable]

I had the same routine when I wasn't working at the office and had to stay/work at home. I'd sleep at 5 in the morning and wake up at 2 or 3 in the afternoon. It did make me feel more depressed that I've wasted most part of the day sleeping even though I've spent most of the nights till early morning working on my online projects. It wasn't healthy, I know, and to try to break the bad habit, I'd sleep at my sister's house for one or two days.

If that doesn't do the trick, I'd go on a little vacation to my father's farm property which is located in a rural area. People there typically hit the sack at 8 pm and are unspoiled by technology. No one uses the internet or television beyond 8 pm and they turn the lights off when they sleep. People are also up by 4 or 5 am to prepare for the work day ahead. I always go back home refreshed and in high spirits.