Day 3 - Chronotherapy

This sucks! :yuck: I am trying chronotherapy again. I am really sticking to it as best I can and I have to say I hate it. I'm seriously thinking of resigning myself to shift work and lower pay for the rest of my natural days. :frown1:

According to my sleep doctor, ideally I should get 7-8 consecutive hours of quality sleep a night. This has not happend in at least 3 years maybe more. You will notice by my chart below that I get at least 7 hours of sleep a night; but not consecutive hours. I always wake up. This is annoying to say the least. :irked:

Thanks to a 3 hour phone conversation with a friend in Portland, OR Tuesday night, I was reminded to improve my sleep hygiene. Her son has major sleep issues as well, and they are constantly going back and forth to the doctor and having sleep studys etc.

Before going to sleep Tuesday night I turned off my television and PC, closed my venetian blinds, and put cotton in my ears. I should mention that I sleep with a CPAP which though annoying at first really helps me to get a quality sleep.

When I woke up Wednesday afternoon I was a bit groggy at first; but that cleared within 15 minutes. I have to say I really did feel refreshed. I hope that this continues. :smile: The hard part for me is that for this to work properly you have to advance your sleep/wake time 3 hours every day. My body seems to want to advance only 2 hours everyday. :frown1::confused:

Also if you don't live alone, everyone in your house has to be on board with this and respect that you are trying to regulate your circadian rhythm. Just because they are up at 3 PM they can't expect you to be awake until after you complete your chronotherapy. It took me two days to get my parents to fully comprehend the importance of what I was doing and that they couldn't just chat with me whenever they wanted. :12:

Thus far my sleep schedule has been as follows:
10/27/08
sleep @ 6:00 AM wake @ 9:45 AM
sleep @11:45 AM wake @ 4:30 PM

10/28/08
sleep @ 6:54 AM wake @ 9:45 AM
sleep @ 2:45 PM wake @ 5:00 PM

10/29/08
sleep @ 7:54 AM wake @ 11:05 AM
sleep @ 12:08 PM wake @ 5:00 PM

10/30/08
sleep @ 11:00 PM wake @ 12:00 AM
sleep @ 11:00 AM wake @ ?

All times are E.D.T.

Chronotherapy
Chronotherapy was first used to treat DSPS in 1981 and was first suggested by C.A. Czeisler. This treatment is used to manipulate the sleep-wake cycle in an attempt to change the patient's underlying circadian rhythm. In chronotherapy, the patient progressively goes to bed and wakes up 3 hours later than the previous night, until he or she moves around the clock and can consistently sleep earlier.
The sleep schedule may look like this:
1st night: sleep at 4 a.m., wake at 12 p.m.
2nd night: sleep at 7 a.m., wake at 3 p.m.
3rd night: sleep at 10 a.m., wake at 6 p.m.
4th night: sleep at 1 p.m., wake at 9 p.m.
5th night: sleep at 4 p.m., wake at 12 p.m.
6th night: sleep at 7 p.m., wake at 3 a.m.
7th night: sleep at 10 p.m., wake at 6 a.m.

It looks so easy on paper, but just go ahead and try it.

Comments

NJ. Get a table top fountain for you bedroom. They really help mask out noise you may not want to hear. Im off to try and fall asleep.
 
That is the same thing my mother said a few months ago. Are you two in cahoots, with the tabletop fountain industry? :confused::tongue:
 
I have a few light acoustic CD's which play music that gets progressively slower, or entrains your mind to a "hum".

I also use a mantra that allows me to drift off into delta.
 
LOL @ "cahoots with the table fountain company."

Nj you are a trip and a half, I hope this goes well for you, I never knew you were struggling with a sleep disorder. I really wish you the best.
 
Oh_Yeah, that is so cute that you think I would rather exercise than disrupt my entire household for a week. :lmao: :tongue:
 

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Principessa
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