sonjaaa ([info]sonjaaa) wrote in [info]adults_add,
@ 2008-04-04 13:02:00
Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Switching gears between alert time and bed time
How do I make myself stop what I'm doing and go to bed early? Otherwise I'll keep doing whatever I was doing for hours and go to bed extremely late and screw up my schedule.

I can use some sort of alarm or bell system, but what if I just mentally say "yeah yeah", ignore the alarm and then carry on doing what I was doing.... just 10 more minutes... and never stop?

I should find something to auto-lock my computer and make it unavailable to me after a certain time.

How many hours or minutes before bedtime should one get off the computer and start doing something more relaxing like maybe reading or watching TV in bed to prepare the body and mind for "rest mode" and actually fall asleep when it's time? I think I need a period of transition like that, but how long is recommended?

It's the same problem in the morning. I hear the alarm, which I've replaced with a CD alarm clock, so my favourite music plays. But I can still lie there for a long time or go back to bed or sleep through the music. It helps if I leave a Dexedrine next to my alarm with a glass of water, ready to be taken 1st thing upon hearing alarm in the morning.

Maybe I need a bedtime theme song. What are your favourite songs on the theme of rest, relaxation, sleep, dreaming or bedtime? I want to use conditioning methods to associate a certain song to me going to bed, do exercises to reenforce it, then use that in the evening as a signal to get off computer and go relax in bed to watch TV or do something relaxing, preparing for sleep to come. Otherwise I have trouble changing gears and will carry on doing my computer activity all night long and screw up my sleep pattern again.

Cross-posted with other replies in http://sonjaaa.livejournal.com/551418.html

(Post a new comment)


[info]teartaye
2008-04-04 05:57 pm UTC (link)
I have the same problem (damn youtube) If you find some way to lock the computer after a certain time, lemme know (or, if it's here know I'll be using it too... :D) I've tried the alarm method, doesn't work for me either.

I think the problems getting out of bed in the morning probably have something to do with you not getting enough sleep. I know that when I've had a bad night it's almost impossible for me to get out of bed, but if I slept well I can bound right out, no problem!

...go relax in bed to watch TV... that might be part of your problem. The flickering of TVs is very stimulating to the brain. Add in any kind of stimulating shows and it's no wonder you're having trouble. I've had insomnia all my life, and everything I've ever read on it has stated that you shouldn't use the bed for anything but sleep and sex. And that TV is stimulating.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]sonjaaa
2008-04-04 06:03 pm UTC (link)
I'm on Ubuntu, so my method may be different from a Windows or Mac user.

Here is the way in Ubuntu:

http://community.livejournal.com/ubuntu_users/296828.html
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=745343

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]tohanry
2008-04-04 06:04 pm UTC (link)
I have a rough time with this too.

I have to be up till 11, because I make sure my wife gets out for work ok. (She does school too so its usually a long week).

Once I am done with that, I usually stay up a little later, to talk to her. My problem is I usually try to go from the pc to the bed. If I read.....I'll read all night....

So yeah, have no idea how to get to sleep easier yet. But then of course I am still unmedicated so I have no idea what will happen when I get my medication.

(Reply to this)


[info]failstoexist
2008-04-04 06:38 pm UTC (link)
i put something on the tv i've seen a billion times-one of my DVDs, or a rerun of a show I like a lot but have seen many times, etc. then I set the sleep timer and roll over and listen but don't watch. well, I watch until I get a little sleepy, then I just listen.

it's hard to tear myself away from the computer, or whatever I'm involved in. I try to pick something (usually the colbert report, if I need to get up early) and plan to watch it. so i might miss a few minutes of it, but I do try to catch it. then I'm in bed, or aware of what time it is and get into bed, and start my routine. there have been periods in my life where I needed the tv to fall asleep, times when I needed music but couldn't have tv, times I needed one or the other, times I needed neither....I just try to figure things out until something helps me and then go with that as long as it works.

(Reply to this)


[info]airycat
2008-04-04 08:19 pm UTC (link)
Ohmygosh!! Are you me?? LOL what's worked for me this week is that Facebook lost my puzzle app. (I could do the darn jigsaw puzzles all night.)

Basically I find it easier to get to bed on time if I read first, but if it's a really good book, it's no better than puzzles.

My mom has been listening to the ocean waves that someone here mentioned a while back. It doesn't get her to bed any earlier, but helps her sleep better when she does go to bed.

I don't have a TV in my bedroom, but I will fall asleep on the couch. If I don't stop at the computer on the way, I can usually go to bed and go right to sleep.

Over all, however, this is still a real problem for me.

(Reply to this)


[info]copying_error
2008-04-04 08:29 pm UTC (link)
It's so hard for me too to stop doing what I'm doing... There's so much out there and computer just make it so easy to find the said stuff.

I recently got my sleeping schedule back to normal but it's only due to a side effect of gleevec...which makes me super fatigued an hour after I take it. I just use that to my advantage and hit the sack. It's a real problem with my morning dose though... I'm useless for an hour at work and vamping up ritalin did nothing to combat that.

(Reply to this)


[info]poetry_lady
2008-04-04 09:13 pm UTC (link)
for windows: http://cheqsoft.com/break.html

Works pretty well, I used it at work. I had to set it up to give the absolute minimal warning or I was able to "snooze" it. But it's effective.

I'm having the same problem, but it's not on the computer, it's doing stuff around the house. And since I live alone, and have no real reason to go to sleep, I just stay up all night catching up on the zillion things I'm behind on from the last 5 years of extreme physical problems (I have fibromyalgia as well as AD/HD).

(Reply to this)


[info]absinthe_dot_ca
2008-04-04 10:11 pm UTC (link)
you should be able to force a shutdown at a specific time - on Windows XP you'd use the "at" command with the "shutdown" command to schedule a shutdown.

Something like the following:
at 23:00 "shutdown -s"
should work

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]absinthe_dot_ca
2008-04-04 10:15 pm UTC (link)
Actually, on Linux you'd use the "at" and "shutdown" commands as well. But it's been so long since I was at a BASH prompt that I forget the exact syntax you'd use...

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]splott
2008-04-04 11:04 pm UTC (link)
You could use the "lock" function on the screensaver, and turn the screensaver to like 1-2 minutes, and give it like a huge super-complex password....so once it's locked, you don't wanna try to key in the stupid annoying password....

(Reply to this)


[info]bwc1976
2008-04-07 06:00 am UTC (link)
This is one thing I kind of miss about the 80's, back when TV stations used to sign off the air at night, usually right after playing the national anthem. It kind of helped "enforce" bedtimes, and kept people from having as many excuses to stay up later. Maybe you could use the national anthem as your bedtime theme song? :-] Or the high-pitched tone that many stations played to go with the test pattern?

(Reply to this)

Create an Account
Forgot your login or password?
Login w/ OpenID
English • Español • Deutsch • Русский…