Too much sleep??

[supersan23]

Hi guys and girls

Right I've been working a night shift for about 4years now and I'm really struggling,
I finish at about 6am when I get home I watch about a hour ov tele then I fall asleep and I will sleep untill about 7pm!!! It doesn't matter how many alarms I set I will either switch them off in my sleep or sleep straight through them,
When I do finally wake up I can't be assed to do anything.
I normally have a meal befor I go to work and then when I'm at work I just snack, I feels like I'm just wasting my life away and one got any surgestions?
Thanks si

[Centurion07]

Move your alarm clocks out of arm's reach.

[smiffy180]

Centurion07 said:

Move your alarm clocks out of arm's reach.

And attach it to a million watt sound system on full wack

[sidaorb]

You're very lucky in some ways that you can sleep so well, I could barely get 4 hours sleep when I used to work nights. It's really no to 'normal' people not being able to get up at 6am.

What you need to decide is do you want your awake time after work or before and gently ease your body into it, either going to bed an hour later for a week, or getting up an hour earlier and slowly increase it each week until you are a level you are happy with.

[supersan23]

I've tryed that I've put it the other side of the room but the problem is I will get up and turn if off without even knowing I've done it
I seem to think the noise is I'm my dreams if that makes sense.

I started going to the gym with the bloke I work on nights with he used to ring me about 4/5 times before it would register that my phone was ringing, I'm such a heavy sleeper.

[Centurion07]

Get 3 or 4 and set them for the same time but put them in each corner of the room. No way you'll wake up and go round 4 clocks and get back into bed without waking up!

[oldbanger]

Try a dawn alarm clock - I've been using one for a few years and swear by them now. They're made by Phillips and Lumie.

High dose vit D3 can also be useful IME

[Xerstead]

You need one of these http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zEH5GxPNO8

[supersan23]

oldbanger said:

Try a dawn alarm clock - I've been using one for a few years and swear by them now. They're made by Phillips and Lumie.

High dose vit D3 can also be useful IME

As I work nights I don't think the dawn alarm would work?

As for the twin horned alarm clock I don't think I would be able to fall asleep knowing that that would be going off when I least expect it lol

[Mastodon2]

supersan23 said:

Hi guys and girls

Right I've been working a night shift for about 4years now and I'm really struggling,
I finish at about 6am when I get home I watch about a hour ov tele then I fall asleep and I will sleep untill about 7pm!!! It doesn't matter how many alarms I set I will either switch them off in my sleep or sleep straight through them,
When I do finally wake up I can't be assed to do anything.
I normally have a meal befor I go to work and then when I'm at work I just snack, I feels like I'm just wasting my life away and one got any surgestions?
Thanks si

12 hours sleep a day, one meal (which is probably stty junk food) and snacks to get you by and no mention of an exercise regime, it's no wonder you are struggling with your energy levels. There is no easy answer to this problem, you need a total lifestyle overhaul tbh. Alarm clocks won't work, if you don't want to get out of bed, you'll get up to turn them off and then get back into bed and sleep. You'll unplug them, take the batteries out etc, anything to shut it up.

[oldbanger]

supersan23 said:

As I work nights I don't think the dawn alarm would work?

It has a daylight lamp on it which comes on to create a false dawn to wake you up whatever time you want.

[The Beaver King]

Years ago I worked nights for a year.

I had the exact same problem as you OP, I'd get home for 7am, have dinner then sleep right through until 6/7pm. I never managed to get out of the habit. Annoyingly, I never had two consecutive days off either, so I had to keep to a similar pattern even when on my days off.

Some of the guys I worked with would get home at 7am, stay awake until 3pm, then sleep until 7pm before getting up. I have no idea how they managed to do it!

If you can't get up earlier, try going to bed later. So instead of going to sleep at 8am, stay up until 11 or 12 then sleep.

Worst case, you'll at least have time to do things when you get back from work. Remember, it takes around 6 weeks for something to become routine, so stick to it.

[JumboBeef]

supersan23 said:

Right I've been working a night shift for about 4years now and I'm really struggling,

That's one hell of a shift: the most I've ever done is 12 hours

I tend to go to bed at about 8am and then get up around 12 for 2-3 hours, then sleep again until about 5pm then off to work. What sort of work do you do? How many nights do you do in a row and how do you deal with the transition to days/days off?

[Halb]

Try a sunrise alarm?

http://www.philips-shop.co.uk/store/catalog/light-...

[stew-S160]

Make sure the room you sleep in is DARK. Try to put the alarm out of reach. Avoid TV before bed really as it generally gets one mind working so you end up staying awake longer. Digi alarm clocks with LED displays etc give off a fair amount of light and can mess with sleep.

[oldbanger]

Halb said:

Try a sunrise alarm?

http://www.philips-shop.co.uk/store/catalog/light-...

^^ These or these >>> http://www.lumie.com/collections/light-therapy-wak...

[BlackVanDyke]

I'm wondering, if you find it really hard to wake up earlier than you 'have' to, whether your solution mightn't be to go to bed later instead - rather than coming home and collapsing on the sofa and then falling asleep, could you go for a bike ride or stop off at a pool on your way home? This may be BS as I've never worked full night shifts, but it's maybe worth a try...

[strudel]

Mastodon2 said:

supersan23 said:

Hi guys and girls

Right I've been working a night shift for about 4years now and I'm really struggling,
I finish at about 6am when I get home I watch about a hour ov tele then I fall asleep and I will sleep untill about 7pm!!! It doesn't matter how many alarms I set I will either switch them off in my sleep or sleep straight through them,
When I do finally wake up I can't be assed to do anything.
I normally have a meal befor I go to work and then when I'm at work I just snack, I feels like I'm just wasting my life away and one got any surgestions?
Thanks si

12 hours sleep a day, one meal (which is probably stty junk food) and snacks to get you by and no mention of an exercise regime, it's no wonder you are struggling with your energy levels. There is no easy answer to this problem, you need a total lifestyle overhaul tbh. Alarm clocks won't work, if you don't want to get out of bed, you'll get up to turn them off and then get back into bed and sleep. You'll unplug them, take the batteries out etc, anything to shut it up.

This. I tend to find I need less sleep at the weekend because I'm more active. If most people work days and go home at 6pm, they probably won't be going to bed until 11 or even 12 (assuming 9am start), so going home at 6am means you probably need to stay up until about midday. Plan your meals, do some exercise (even if it's just 30 mins walk around the block) and keep yourself busy when home. Sounds a bit preachy but you'll need less sleep and feel far better!

[Mobsta]

The need to wake up has an impact on some. If you were expecting someone at 4pm, and had set your alarm for 3.45pm, there is a greater chance your respond to it. Create a need like a swim appointment as BVD said, and expect any new routine (as also mentioned) to take a good while to kick in.

[mattikake]

oldbanger said:

High dose vit D3 can also be useful IME

Yep. Vitamin D deficient. Supplement it, eat loads of oily fish or fortified dried milk. Vitamin D will seriously help your get-up-and-go and sleep patterns.

Otherwise, get a cat. They're pretty good at waking you up and making you think you woke up naturally.