If you need to reset your sleep cycle but you don’t know how to do it, just read on and discover a few very helpful tips on how to change your sleep schedule. Whether you want to wake up early for a morning workout or you need to be somewhere, it’s extremely important to learn how to adjust your sleep schedule, so you won’t feel exhausted every single day. Actually, the sleep schedule is one of the most important rhythms in the human body, so give it the respect it deserves and learn how you can control your sleep patterns. Here are a few extremely efficient tips on how to change your sleep schedule that you should definitely consider:
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Shift Your Sleep Cycle Gradually
One of the most important tips on how to change your sleep schedule I can give you is to tell you to try to do it gradually in 15-minute increments. Give yourself a few nights to feel comfortable with the new schedule and then just shave off another 15 minutes and wake up even earlier and so on, until you manage to change your entire sleep schedule.
Eat a Light Dinner
Try not to go to bed on a full stomach, because you will find it extremely hard to fall asleep that night. You might even have trouble waking up at a certain hour the next morning. Make sure you eat at least 4 or 5 hours before you go to bed and have a light dinner.
Be Consistent
If you decide to change your sleep schedule, make sure you are consistent for a long period of time. For example, if you have to wake up at 6 every morning to get to this new job, make sure do this at first during the weekends too, so that your body can get used to this new routine.
Keep Your Room Dark at Night
Always keep your room dark at night and bright in the morning, so you’ll be able to sleep well during the night and wake up feeling rested in the morning. You do know that our circadian rhythms are influenced by light and darkness, so close your blinds and curtains at night and in the morning, flip up all the lights, so you’ll be able to jump start your body.
Get up if You Can’t Sleep
Stop tossing and turning and simply get up if you can’t sleep at night. Do something boring or something you didn’t want to do during the day because you didn’t feel in the mood for it, or you could simply do something you never have enough time for. You will see that once you’ll start doing something, you’ll discover that you’re in fact extremely tired and you can’t wait to go back to bed.
Don’t Press the Snooze Button!
I know how tempting this can be in the morning, but try to control yourself and don’t push the snooze button, because those five extra minutes you think you will stay in bed, will turn into ten, twenty and so on. You will soon realize that you’re actually a half an hour late. Just set your alarm to the time you want to wake up and avoid pressing that tempting snooze button!
Follow Sleep Hygiene Rules
Don’t drink coffee before going to bed and make sure you exercise at least five hours before your bedtime. Before going to sleep, just give yourself an hour to unwind, do something that’s relaxing and stress-free. Try not to do anything stressful or stimulating, like playing a video game, listening to your favorite tunes or surfing the web, because those activities might make your sleep go away.
It’s not always easy to change your sleep cycle, but it’s not an impossible thing to do either. Have you ever changed your sleep cycle? How did you do it? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments section!
Sources: psychcentral.com, wikihow.com
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