[Anonymous]

Hi there,

For the past, say, 8 weeks, I've been finding it terrible difficult to get out of bed at a reasonably early hour and start my day.

It's beginning to have a detrimental affect on my life. I'm a postgrad researcher and I have a short commute (maybe 40 minutes) to get into University.

However, because I can't get out of bed until like 10.30/11.00am (sometimes as late as 12.00, I rarely make the commute as I find it pointless to get up at 10.30, have a shower, get dressed, great something to eat, leave at 11 and arrive for 11.40 - just before lunchtime. And then leave again just 5 hours or so later because the office technically closes at 5.30.

Personally, I'd be happy just to work from home or to work non-standard hours in the office (say 12pm - 8pm instead of 9am-5pm), but the research group that I work with prefers for all the researchers to be in at the same time and work somewhat collaboratively.

So I feel that I'm letting them down, and I probably don't do as much work at home as I should to make up for my absence from the office - especially as I have relatively busy evenings these days, so can't work the hours to make up for it.

Anyway, I don't know why I'm having this trouble. Apart from that I'm fit and healthy. Been going to the gym, don't feel groggy when I wake up, don't feel tired during the day, and everything else is as normal.

I've tried alarm clocks, but I just can't bring myself to get up for them and end up just snoozing them 10 minutes at a time for up to an hour or more (drives my girlfriend crazy on her days off!). I even tried putting the alarm clock at the other side of the room so that I'd HAVE to get up to turn it off, but even once I done that I didn't have a problem going back to bed and just getting out of bed every 10-20 minutes to snooze it again.

Any hints or tips? Anybody else have/had the same problems?

[Anonymous]

Oh, and I'm not going to bed too late or anything. Some days I'm not getting to bed until 1.30am, but most days I'm in bed around midnight. So I should be getting sufficient sleep to wake up refreshed around 8.00am with no problems. Alas, 'tis not the case.

[Watch Key Phone]

Did this come on suddenly out of nowhere? Might it have coincided with the beginning of the new job or some stressful event? Could it be your diet? Or your quality of sleep?

If you don't think it's any of those, then I'd recommend a trip to the GP. They can rule out anything potentially serious first, and then be able to give you advice about what you can do if it isn't being caused by anything.

[almasy]

You call midnight not going to bed late?
when it's dark, go to sleep, last i checked that's around 10, not 12.
we're diurnal, not nocturnal, you don't see owls awake noon do you?

[Robertall]

I used to go bed at around 11pm and awake at 7-9am. I used to find sleeping difficult. I found it was a diet issue, mainly drinking too much fizzy drinks during the day. I stamped out drinking coke cola and i can now survive on much less sleep. This is probably an unusual response, but i have been there and had a similar problem. The only difference is mum forced me to wake up in the morning, but this often ended up in arguements. I do not have this problem now, i set and alarm, and 99% of the time i am out of bed within 5minutes.

Diet is possible cause.

[Anonymous]

(Original post by Amwazicles)
Did this come on suddenly out of nowhere? Might it have coincided with the beginning of the new job or some stressful event? Could it be your diet? Or your quality of sleep?

It seems to have come from nowhere. Nothing much has changed since before it started.

It could be the quality of my sleep. My diet hasn't changed either, and it isn't a bad diet anyway.

If you don't think it's any of those, then I'd recommend a trip to the GP. They can rule out anything potentially serious first, and then be able to give you advice about what you can do if it isn't being caused by anything.

Probs a good idea.

[Anonymous]

(Original post by almasy)
You call midnight not going to bed late?
when it's dark, go to sleep, last i checked that's around 10, not 12.
we're diurnal, not nocturnal, you don't see owls awake noon do you?

Honestly? I don't know anybody who goes to bed at 10 except maybe pensioners.

But if you're not getting home until say 6.30, by the time you prepare and eat dinner you're talking 7.30/8.00. So then only 2 hours to yourself in the evening or with your family, and you're in bed waiting for another day of work?

That seems too sad.

[Anonymous]

(Original post by Robertall)
I used to go bed at around 11pm and awake at 7-9am. I used to find sleeping difficult. I found it was a diet issue, mainly drinking too much fizzy drinks during the day. I stamped out drinking coke cola and i can now survive on much less sleep. This is probably an unusual response, but i have been there and had a similar problem. The only difference is mum forced me to wake up in the morning, but this often ended up in arguements. I do not have this problem now, i set and alarm, and 99% of the time i am out of bed within 5minutes.

Diet is possible cause.

Possibly. But I don't drink fizzy drinks anyway - only very occasionally. I only really drink milk and water with a little squash.

I don't think my diet is particuarly bad either.

I don't actually find it particularly difficult to get up when I HAVE to. For example there was a few weeks when I had to drive my gf to work because her car was off the road, and I didn't find it difficult to get up for that. Or if I have some important arrangement.

But when it comes to just getting up to go into the office and get some work done, I can never get myself up!

[hepplump]

(Original post by Anonymous)
Hi there,

For the past, say, 8 weeks, I've been finding it terrible difficult to get out of bed at a reasonably early hour and start my day.

It's beginning to have a detrimental affect on my life. I'm a postgrad researcher and I have a short commute (maybe 40 minutes) to get into University.

However, because I can't get out of bed until like 10.30/11.00am (sometimes as late as 12.00, I rarely make the commute as I find it pointless to get up at 10.30, have a shower, get dressed, great something to eat, leave at 11 and arrive for 11.40 - just before lunchtime. And then leave again just 5 hours or so later because the office technically closes at 5.30.

Personally, I'd be happy just to work from home or to work non-standard hours in the office (say 12pm - 8pm instead of 9am-5pm), but the research group that I work with prefers for all the researchers to be in at the same time and work somewhat collaboratively.

So I feel that I'm letting them down, and I probably don't do as much work at home as I should to make up for my absence from the office - especially as I have relatively busy evenings these days, so can't work the hours to make up for it.

Anyway, I don't know why I'm having this trouble. Apart from that I'm fit and healthy. Been going to the gym, don't feel groggy when I wake up, don't feel tired during the day, and everything else is as normal.

I've tried alarm clocks, but I just can't bring myself to get up for them and end up just snoozing them 10 minutes at a time for up to an hour or more (drives my girlfriend crazy on her days off!). I even tried putting the alarm clock at the other side of the room so that I'd HAVE to get up to turn it off, but even once I done that I didn't have a problem going back to bed and just getting out of bed every 10-20 minutes to snooze it again.

Any hints or tips? Anybody else have/had the same problems?

Make yourself a rule of no artificial sources of light after 10pm. Works a treat.