Waking up/sleeping in

[Andysw]

Hi all,
This is the age old question and honesty at 31 years of age I'm still struggling with it..
I feel it's a combination of laziness and just not getting to bed when I should.

Problem is I sleep in every day, at the moment I'm in a job where I don't need to be in the office until 11AM or so, so I can generally get away with sleeping in till at least 930.. but often I'll sleep till ten, jump up and rush to walk my dog and shower/change.
It's just awful..
I feel so guilty and childish for being this way, because I am neglecting my responsibilities to my pets, mainly my dog who gets left at home all day. When I sleep in he only really gets the chance to run out to the toilet before I run off to work, and then because I'm running late to work I'm late home, so same deal again at night for him.
Also I feel disrespectful to my work for being this way, even though they don't mind me coming in later, I've occasionally missed/com late to meetings because I wasn't in early enough and forgot they were on.
Most of all, I just feel like the only spare time I get is a little bit at night before bed.. which if i've slept in is usually spent lying in bed trying to get to sleep.
Essentially I know there's nothing physically wrong with me.. 99% of the time it's because I have no discipline..
I go to bed late because I get excited by having free time after work, but now I'm trying to have more hobbies and activies it means that it's even more imperative that I don't sleep in so that I can make the most of my time.
So just force myself out of bed?
Impossible, honestly I can't be trusted when I wake up tired.. it doesn't matter WHAT happens I will reason my way into lying down somewhere and doze off.
Sometimes I can't be trusted when I wake up after a solid sleep either, I always want more and I can always go back to sleep.

I'm wondering if there's anyone who has actually conquered this, gone from a late riser who can't trust their own brain to help them get up.. to an early riser?

Sorry for the long post, I feel so desperate.

[crazymomwife]

How do you know for sure there is nothing physically wrong with you. If you have never had one done, you should really have a sleep study done. I have narcolepsy, but didn't want to admit it for a long time. I thought the same thing you are saying, and actually many people in my life would tell me the same thing. "If you would just get to bed earlier!" or "If I could just be more motivated" The fact is, with Narcolepsy, no matter how long you sleep you never reach that deep, restful sleep, so you are walking around life, sometimes litterally asleep. It is a simple test, and all you have to do is sleep...when I finally got on medication, after living with it for almost 30 years, WOW. Life was brand new to me!!  I still struggle at times, but as long as I am taking what I need, I think more clearly, I can remember things better, and the best part is I can make myself get out of bed when I need too!!  Good Luck.

[Paderla Anitha, DNB]

Hello and hope you are doing well.

Understand your predicament. You could be having an entity called delayed phase syndrome, where in the biological clock is reset and occurs late. It is a circadian rhythm disorder. There is a circadian rhythm for all living organisms. It is a 24 hour cycle rhythm and the biological clock within that individual adapts to this rhythm. This can be reset by bright light therapy, sleeping pills and sometimes by sleep debt. In sleep debt, though you happen to sleep late, you condition yourself to get up early; this in turn will help you to sleep early. So, try this, but if your symptoms still persist, I would advise you to discuss your symptoms with your primary care physician who may then refer you to a sleep specialist for further evaluation.

Hope this helped and do keep us posted.

[Sillygurl21]

Andysw,

If your sure it is just staying up to late, you may want to start getting to bed earlier and starting a bed time ritual. I suffer from idiopathic hypersomnia, so I know what its like to over sleep. You shouldb probably cut back on caffine as that may help keep you awake at night. Then at night you should lay down around 1am, since 9:30 am allows you eight and a half hours of sleep. But before you lay down take a shower or brush your teeth. If you do this daily it will eventually trigger that it is bed time. No TV in your room and get rid of all lights, as they can help keep you up. A trick I use for waking up, I have three alarm clocks and one is on the other side of the room. Its harder to hit the snooze and roll over when you have to get up and walk to the alarm clock. Hope these tips help you. BTW if you are getting plenty of sleep and still feeling sleepy you may want to speak to a doctor.