Getting enough rest

[LostnFound]

I am struggling with getting enough sleep at night. I would really like to wake up early to excercise before getting my children up for school, but the days that I am doing this I feel so tired all day and I just drag through the day.

I am watching children during the day and I am not able to excercise during the day. My evenings are way to busy to excercise.

My husband works until later in the evening and when he gets home he spends time with the children. We also like to spend some time together before going to sleep which is usually just watching television together. I am not getting to bed until after midnight and trying to wake up at 6:00. Will my body eventually just get used to this? What works for others on getting enough sleep?

[foxyroxy]

For me I have found that I need to get at 7-8 hrs of sleep every night or I am dragging all day. So when I am up at 6:00 to exercise by 10:30/11:00pm I am really tired and usually cant stay awake any longer. I think everyone is different you have to find what works for you. Keep trying to fit it in. It is worth it. YOU CAN DO IT!

[Big_Sissy]

Yep, you really need to figure out how much rest you need. Some can get by on 6 hours, others need 8-9 (me) otherwise life it not very fun. If you are dragging, then that says you need more then the 5-6 you are getting. Sorry that's not a good answer, but it's the right one.

[5ft Diva]

I've heard it always take about two weeks to to get your body used to a new schedule.

Hey, Erudite, explain to LnF what you told me about getting your body on an earlier sleep schedule. I thought it was insightful.

[Erudite]

Well first, I have to agree with BS. If your body needs the sleep no amount of will power is going to make it need less. I've always wanted to be able to sleep less because I consider sleep to be a gigantic waste of my precious time, but I just can't do it. If I try, I waste even more time being tired and lose ground. So with that in mind, I had to make a major adjustment to my sleep habits in order to get it all in.

Second, it takes me about 3 days for every half hour of sleep adjustment. So if you need to be in bed by 10pm in order to get enough sleep and be up at 6am and you're currently going to bed around midnight...you'll need about 2 weeks of adjusting forward to get your body to sleep at night. And that's about what I did. I was adjusting from a midnight to 8am schedule to a 10pm - 6am schedule and it took me about two weeks to get used to it, but I did and now I totally love it.

Another thought...break out the scriptures and look up D&C 88:124. That was the other factor in my change in sleeping habits. I needed the blessings so I tried to be obedient to the commandment there. It works. One of the reasons I love my new sleeping schedule is that I am in fact invigorated by it. I also get better family time because of it. I didn't do it for exercise or family time though...I was seriously proving the Lord and the blessings have been amazing.

Finally, watching TV is one of the worst things I can do to put myself to sleep. So is being on the computer late at night...both of them wire me so that I can't make my mind shut down when I need to. I don't have a lot of choice on the computer time (I'm here now because I just got done working), but I know that if I take some wind down time before trying to sleep I sleep better. I read a little bit usually and that helps to get me to sleep.

[LostnFound]

Well I guess I need to decide if sleep is my priority or exercise. I need to take a good look at my day to find somewhere else I could possibly fit it in.

Thanks Erudite for your suggestion on changing your sleep pattern. If I cannot find another time to excercise, I guess I will need to do just that and change my pattern to going to bed early to fit it in the early mornings.

[5ft Diva]

Good luck LnF! You can do it!!!

[Big_Sissy]

Ahh sleep is my nemesis. Good luck and seriously you can do it.