Bumping to add a "trick" that helps me sleep, and may help night owls ease into an earlier bedtime.
I used to think "okay, if I'm going to sleep 10 hours, I have to be in bed at 9 PM and wake up at 7 AM."
I would lie down at 9 PM and expect my body (which was conditioned to falling asleep at midnight) to flip the switch and pass out. Wrong! I would lie in bed restless, unable to sleep until later.
I was too worried about falling asleep at a fixed time, to actually fall asleep at a decent hour.
Now - I have a "window" of bedtime. This is a 2-hour window where I have told myself it's OK to go to sleep. If I wake up at 7 AM, this window is between 9 PM and 11 PM, which guarantees 8-10 hours of sleep.
Around 8 PM I'll start the sleep ritual - turning off electronics, relaxing, meditation, dimming the lights, taking a HOT shower, etc.
Then, sometime between 9 PM and 11 PM, I'll lie down and start reading. I might read for 15 minutes, I might read for an hour. It doesn't matter. Either way - I know I'll get a good night's sleep, even if I miss the window and lie down around 9:30 PM.
Since electronics are off, I don't even know what time I'm going to sleep most of the time. I don't care. I have a system in place that guarantees adequate rest.
I used to think "okay, if I'm going to sleep 10 hours, I have to be in bed at 9 PM and wake up at 7 AM."
I would lie down at 9 PM and expect my body (which was conditioned to falling asleep at midnight) to flip the switch and pass out. Wrong! I would lie in bed restless, unable to sleep until later.
I was too worried about falling asleep at a fixed time, to actually fall asleep at a decent hour.
Now - I have a "window" of bedtime. This is a 2-hour window where I have told myself it's OK to go to sleep. If I wake up at 7 AM, this window is between 9 PM and 11 PM, which guarantees 8-10 hours of sleep.
Around 8 PM I'll start the sleep ritual - turning off electronics, relaxing, meditation, dimming the lights, taking a HOT shower, etc.
Then, sometime between 9 PM and 11 PM, I'll lie down and start reading. I might read for 15 minutes, I might read for an hour. It doesn't matter. Either way - I know I'll get a good night's sleep, even if I miss the window and lie down around 9:30 PM.
Since electronics are off, I don't even know what time I'm going to sleep most of the time. I don't care. I have a system in place that guarantees adequate rest.