Dealing with temporary insomnia due to bad choices and not medical conditions?

Question

I have a habit of staying up late due to bad choices like drinking caffeine containing sodas and also by waking up late in the morning. Should I just go to bed when I'm tired and set the alarm early, or would it be better to stay up all night and see if I can reset my circadian clock again? Just wondering.

Answer 1

temporary insomnia is one of the easiest things to talk about fixing, but pretty difficult to get completely rid of. i have dealt with this problem (due to work/school/nights out/traveling) for a long time and am finally starting to get a grasp on the problem.

first, you are going well to recognize the problem, drinking or eating things that keep you up. you know, then, that staying away from these will take some self control, but because you have pointed it out in the problem, i will assume you know how important keeping away from foods and drinks close to bedtime is.

no doubt, that staying up all night is a decent way to reset the circadian clock. the only problem is that you could tire your body out too much and be tired for many days following the all-nighter. i do not recommend this method because being tired all day sucks. every day that you stick to a set sleep schedule you will be less tired, but you will likely feel like sleeping any chance you get--and that will kill all momentum a regular sleep schedule will bring.

i recommend your first idea. set the alarm to a time when you know that you will get some sleep. force yourself to get up when the alarm goes off. stay busy all day and try not to think about sleep. i do this by cramming my schedule with activities, mostly athletic. any way that you can keep your eyes open and not thinking about being tired will help you win the war. then, when it gets late enough the next night, set your alarm so that you get the amount of sleep you need to feel awake the next day. wake up on time the next day and you should feel like your inner clock is set and ready to get back to a regular schedule.

hope this helps, i have spent many years wrestling with the split sleep and insomnia issues and i would not wish that battle on anyone. life is too short to be tired all day!