National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. ![]() Home Lighting Before Usual Bedtime Impacts Circadian Timing: A Field Study. Delayed Sleep-Wake Phase Disorder (DSWPD) in Children and Adolescents. ![]() National Institute of General Medical Sciences. With additional reporting by Deb Shapiro and Carmen Chai. “Don’t get upset with yourself, because it just makes the problem worse,” Pelayo says. It takes maybe two months for the novelty of sleeping well to wear off.”Ĭhanging your sleep schedule (particularly if you have delayed sleep phase syndrome) isn’t easy, but with the proper discipline it can be done. And when you’re surprised about your sleep getting better, that wakes you up, because you’re not sure it’s going to keep working. “If people have had poor sleep for years, they’re surprised when they start getting better. “We tell people to wait one or two months,” says Pelayo. “But some people take two weeks to adjust if it’s a really long trip.”įor people with a condition like DSPS, getting back on track depends on how long the pattern has been entrenched. If you’re simply adjusting after being in a different time zone, “the rule of thumb is that it usually takes one day per time zone,” Pelayo says. How long it will likely take to reset your clock depends on what’s causing you to be off. If your primary care provider does not have expertise in sleep, they can refer you to a sleep specialist who can help. Chronically not getting good sleep can do a lot of damage, and there are healthcare providers out there who can help. Sleep affects our functioning and our health now, as well as our long-term health. Avoid exposure to light before sleep. Research shows that exposure to evening light can shift your body clock to a later schedule.Even one late night can disrupt the progress you’ve made, Pelayo says. That’s what throws it off,” he says. Once you’re in a good pattern when it comes to bed and wake times, stick to it as best you can. “The idea of weekends or travel across time zones is foreign to how the brain works. The brain expects that people more or less wake up at the same time every day - and either doing so or not serves up those instructions to the brain. “The clock in your head needs instructions,” says Pelayo. Get a good alarm clock and don’t hit snooze. Do not sleep in, and get up at the same time each day. Being consistent is important in maintaining a functioning sleep schedule.Then you can save up that drive to sleep for later,” he says. “The exercise will chase away the sleepiness. Do not nap, even if you feel tired. Napping can interfere with going to sleep at night. Pelayo recommends scheduling exercise when you feel like napping. ![]() “So you could stay up later an hour at a time, but going to bed earlier is hard to do.” To get to sleep earlier, Dr. Pelayo recommends going slowly and in small increments, adjusting no more than 15 minutes earlier every two or three days. “As a general rule, it’s easier to push away sleep than to advance sleep,” says Rafael Pelayo, MD, clinical professor at the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic and the Stanford University School of Medicine in California. Often you may need help from a physician with this.
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