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i take benadryl a lot. really helps when i need to fall asleep early.
also, the basic advice would be things like refrain from TV, internet, or any stimulation like that for at least an hour before bed. also don't drink caffeine or alcohol after supper, or even eat before bed.
Do you exercise? That's supposed to help you sleep at night.
Honestly, the only thing that made me a morning person was getting a dog who is a morning person. She is up at 6 whether the alarm goes off or not, and she makes it very clear to me that I should also get up. I used to have a hard time going to sleep early, but as sleeping in EVER became a non-option, my body clock adjusted. I pretty much turn into a pumpkin if I'm not asleep by 11 now.
So, my advice? Get an annoying dog! 
@PurpleUnicorn: Thank you! I'm going to try cutting the TV off and taking benadryl.
@trugem: important thing i learnd about benadryl - take it at least TWO HOURS before you actually want to go to bed. it doesnt work instantly, but after an hour or two, you feel very drowsy and be easily able to pass out! AND if you don't take it early enouigh, you will have trouble falling asleep and be EXTREMELY drowsy the entire next morning! i found out this the hard way - going to work for 8am meeting and fighting to keep my eyes open after 5 hours sleep was NOT fun!
@missrobots: LOL My puppy isn't a morning person either. My hubby lets her out when he is getting dressed and I try to let her out again when I get up and she wants to sleep. lol
I do exercise, but maybe I'm not doing it enough. I normally get up between 9:30-10, but I don't fall asleep until about 3am (sometimes later).
Exercise is pretty much the only thing that ever tires me out enough to be able to sleep before midnight.
Start getting up at 5 or 6am. If you do that enough, it will make you tired enough to go to bed by at least 11pm. Imagine you have a job that starts at 7am!
Exercise, don't drink caffeine at all (or if you must, stop by noon), and when you are ready for bed, go lay down and turn off all lights and the TV. Relax. Work on breathing. I used to be a night owl too, but then I dated a guy that was in bed by 8 and couldn't sleep with the TV on. So after quite a few tries, I was able to fall asleep at a reasonable hour.
Benadryl helps too.
@PurpleUnicorn: Thanks for the tip.
@linguo42: Thank you. I may go to the gym today.
I have found that having a regular sleep schedule also helps me be more of a morning person, which I prefer too, but my body doesn't.
I go to bed between 10-11 EVERY night and get up between 6-7 EVERY morning. Some Saturdays I allow myself to sleep in until 8, but that's being very generous. :) Seriously, that's the main thing that works for me. Medicine is honestly just a short term fix to get your body's sleep-wake cycle to where you want it.
Calms Forte has also helped me relax. It's a homeopatic remedy for nervousness. I have been taking a full dose of that a half hour before bed, plus 1 melatonin as I am getting in bed. Calms Forte helps me relax, then the melatonin has been resetting my schedule. After a week of that I am sleeping SO much better at the time I want to be asleep!!
I'm gonna jump in a say DON'T rely on benadryl regularly. It's NOT a sleep aid, it's an anti-histamine with drowsiness as a side effect. Taking something for a reason other than it's intended use is really risky. Especially since benadryl can affect you in extreme ways. When I take one? I'm out for 48 hours. I'm a total zombie. So no.
I'm definitely a morning person, so I may not be the best person to ask but I know that reading in bed always helps me get to sleep.
I think the more important thing though is how you wake up. If you force yourself to get up even earlier than you need to, your body will adjust and make you tired earlier. I wake up at 5:45 now without an alarm, but I used to sleep until 8 so you can definitely adjust.
-Put your alarm clock across the room so that you have to get out of bed to turn it off.
-Right after you turn off your alarm do a bit of exercising. Ten push ups or 20 sit ups or running in place. Something to get your blood flowing.
-Open your window shades. Don't rummage around in a dark room, it'll just encourage you to crawl back in bed.
-As silly as it sounds, go to the bathroom. I know that sitting on a cold toilet seat always wakes me up a bit. Also, try washing your hands with cold water.
-Take a shower pretty quickly. Getting out of your warm cozy clothes will also wake you up in addition to the water and soap!
-I don't know about you, but I brush my teeth in the shower, and mouthwash is another shock in the morning.
-Eat something cold and flavorful. Cereal, berries, orange juice, cranberry juice. Wakeup your pallet rather than putting it to sleep with oatmeal or muffins or warm coffee.
-Get outside. Nothing like brisk morning air. This isn't really my thing, but I know some people really love to take a walk or run in the morning.
lol, that started to sound like a dorky commercial toward the end, but still :)
I have major sleep issues. My doctor said I'm "too young" to have those sleep issues so he told me to take Benadryl as PP suggested. Do not exercise at night. That's the worst for me, I will literally not close my eyes if I workout too late at night. I've read everywhere that your bedroom should only be for sleeping and sex, so no tv in there at all. If you want to read a book at night, read it on the couch. Do not go to bed if you're not ready to sleep. If you lay in bed for more than 30-45 minutes and you're still awake get out of bed and go occupy yourself until you're tired. Laying in bed awake longer than that period of time just makes you agitated and less likely to fall asleep. FI is definitely a night person so if he's exhausted but can't sleep we put on the self hypnosis app from my droid phone and it knocks both of us right out. However, a lot of times I wake up as soon as it's over.
In terms of being a morning person, I think that if you aren't a morning person you probably never will be. I think it's genetics or something lol. Some tricks that might help are the natural light alarm clocks that gradually starts increasing the light up until the alarm goes off. Or maybe sleep with the blinds open. Have some water on your nightstand, as long as FI has something to drink it helps him get up at least far enough to make coffee lol. For me, showers put me to sleep so I make sure to wash my hair and shave my legs at night so I can do just a quick rinse off in the morning and since it's such a short period of time it doesn't make me sleepy.
Do you get up at the same time every day?
I was a chronic night owl (4am bedtime - had to be at work by 8am).
The thing that changed this was changing my life to workout for the wedding. That meant a 5:15am wake up time and working out.
My suggestions:
1. start waking up at a god forsaken hour EVERY morning. I start getting tired by 8:30 now... ridiculous and I feel like I have a toddler's bedtime. When I tell people that know of my night owl ways they are in shock.
2. Do some intense exercise at some point of the day (morning is better, IMO) (not just cardio, but body weight type stuff that requires muscle regeneration
3. Don't eat/drink any caffeine after noon (or, better yet: cut it all out)
4. Turn off all devices (radio/TV/computer/phone) an hour before you go to bed
5. Make sure your room is pitch black (no light anywhere)
...also, you might want to play around with when you eat dinner. DH always says he has trouble sleeping if he's had a heavy dinner... something to think about as you figure out what works for you!
i have also tried many of the suggestions that other PPs have suggested here as well....and they work....for a while. like setting your alarm at the same time every morning including weekends helps to get into a regualar schedule. my problem is i ALWAYS fall back into old habits. but hey, even being a morning person once in a while is better than never, right?
@MissHoneyBun: benadryl has actually been marketed as a sleep aid as well. its just cheapest to buy it in the most generic form in the anti histamine section of the pharmacy. but if you check the ingredients on some over the counter sleep aids, they are identical to benadryl. plus i asked the pharmacist once it was safe to take in combo with another med i have to take daily and he said there was no risk.
@PurpleUnicorn: I'm still inclined to say no to it, based off of the extreme effects it has on me.
The only reason I'm awake and out of bed in the morning is that I drop my OH off on my way to work. We have to be out the door at 7am (and usually are out by about 7:04 - later if I'm having a grumpier morning!). Being forced up works for me!
When I've had problems sleeping, I have: stopped watching TV and read a book instead, had a warm bath an hour before I go to bed, listen to music, cut out chocolate and wine after 9pm.
More recently, when I had a few weeks of repeatedly broken sleep, I bought some over-the-counter sleeping aid tablets. I take one about once a fortnight and they seem to do the trick.
@MissHoneyBun: i edited my last post to include the part about asking the pharmacist about risks. and i agree for sure it must be different for different people. myself, others and the OP have extreme problems falling asleep sometimes, so maybe it does not have as much effect on someone who does not have these sleep difficulties. cuz it certainly doesn't knock me out for 48 hours! i am lucky if it knocks me for one night and i value the 9 hour sleep every once in a while. if i find i start taking it too many days in a row, i stop for awhile,
@piglet_625: Thanks! I'm going to look into that.
@MissHoneyBun: Thank you. I will have to be careful because I have a high tolerance for medicine and I don't want to get hooked.
@kala_way: I'm going to try that. Thanks for the tips!
@sit1010: Thank you! I will look for that app on my phone.
@oracle: Thanks for the advice. I normally get up around the same time, but I have not been consistant.
@RainStorm: Thank you!
I have RLS (restless leg syndrome), and diphenhydramine causes me to jerk 1000x times worse. Unfortunately, this is a common ingredient in many sleep aids/allergy meds. I envy you guys who can pop a couple Benadryl and get some quality sleep.
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Hi,
I have always been a night owl. Even if I am tired, I can't go to sleep early at night. I have tried taking melatonin and I just feel jittery (sometimes I don't fall asleep at all). I do not take naps, and I have a hard time relaxing. I have found that sex will make me pass out, but we don't have sex everyday.
Any tips?