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Sleeping Late In The Summer, Now I Need To Go To Bed Early Again

by Laura
(San Francisco CA)

I am still in school. During school I went to sleep at 9:30 pm. I woke up at 5:00 am. I always woke up happy and energized.


When school ended and summer began I was very excited. One night early in summer I wanted to watch an anime on Adult Swim that was on at 12:00 am. I love anime and had to see it. I stayed up that night to watch the anime. I went to sleep at about 2:00 am. I was done with the show at 12:30 am.

I found that I was not tired so I stayed up later. I was using my time doing odd jobs around my room and playing my games. I began to settle into a rhythm. I fell asleep every day in the early morning. I found that I was not tired and had a lot of fun staying up.

Now summer is almost over and I need to go back to going to bed early. I cannot sleep anymore. I lay in bed trying to occupy my mind and sleep but can't. I use my time now searching for ways to go to sleep. I got so depressed about it. I am always tired and grumpy now. I am completely miserable. I sometimes cry in bed at night trying to sleep. Someone help.

Comments for Sleeping Late In The Summer, Now I Need To Go To Bed Early Again

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Oct 27, 2014
Delayed Sleep Phase & Bright Light Therapy
by: Kevin

Hi Laura, Thanks for sharing your story. Don't stress too much because you can definitely get back to your old schedule. During the summer it sounds like you shifted your sleep schedule forward. This is called a delayed sleep phase and you can read more about it here.

There are several things you can do to help shift your sleep schedule back, and one of the most effective is by using bright light. If you expose your eyes to bright light in the morning, that can help shift your biological clock and the hormones your body releases to make you tired to an earlier time. If you have curtains in your room, try leaving them slightly open to let morning light in. Even if you are still sleeping in the morning, that light reaching your eyelids can help signal to your body to shift your sleep phase earlier.

Good luck, and feel free to comment on your page here with any updates, successes, or challenges you face.

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