In this series One Week to Better Sleep, I’m going to share with you 7 ways in 7 days that you can improve your sleep.
In day 1, we discussed how not to sabotage your sleep drive.
In day 2, we discussed the importance of getting your biological clock in sync.
This is day 3: Do I really have to get up at the same time each day?
You’ve probably heard that getting out of bed at the same time each day, no matter what, is an important part of a healthy sleep routine. You also might roll your eyes at this and and notice thoughts like there is no way I’m getting up early on the weekends. You may be especially opposed to this suggestion if you struggle to get a good night’s sleep.
“Sleeping in” (in the fortunate days that it happens) may be your only reprieve from sleepless nights. I totally get that argument. However, once you understand the rationale behind a set wake time and how it fits into the body’s sleep system, you might just change your tune.
First, as mentioned in Day 2’s article, Is Your Body Confused About When to Sleep, our bodies thrive on routine. Our bodies love knowing what to do when. When we are in a consistent routine, our body sends its alerting (be awake) signals and its sleepy time signals around the same time each day.
Jet-Lag without traveling
An example of jet-lag: when you travel from one time zone to another, it throws your body off. You might have trouble going to sleep. You might have trouble waking up. The more times zones you cross, the greater the chance for disruption.
If you wake up at 6am one day, 10 am the next day, 8 am the following day, etc it’s like traveling from New York to Los Angeles to Dallas. Your body doesn’t know what’s going on. When you wake up at the same time each day, it’s a “set point” on the timeline for your body. Once you wake up, your body begins its day.
Second, as mentioned in Day 1’s article, Stop Sabotaging Your Sleep Drive, our bodies need to be “sleepy” in order to sleep. Our sleep drive builds the longer we’ve been awake each day. When you wake up at 6am, and then go go bed at 11pm, you have been building your sleep drive for 17 hours. If the next day you wake up at 9am and then attempt to go to sleep at 11pm, you’ve only been building your sleep drive for 14 hours. Depending on your body, this may not be enough of a drive to make you feel sleepy at night so you may struggle to fall asleep. Alternately, you may fall asleep but then experience a more restless night’s sleep, waking in the night and being unable to return to sleep.
Keeping a set wake time, regardless of: how well you have slept the night before, what day of the week it is, what commitments you have for the day, or how you feel when you wake up- will always help keep your body on track.
We can help
Do you need some help with motivation to get on track with your sleep? You might know that you need to make some changes, but experience trouble getting started. We’re experts at helping people like you make the changes they want to see happen in their lives.
Contact the Houston Center for Valued Living now. E-mail info@hcfvl.com or call 713.259.9049 if you want to find out more about how we could help you. We think we’re pretty fun people to talk to, and we’re here and ready to help!
Distance is no issue. If you’re a resident of Texas, we can help! We offer telehealth video sessions through your phone or computer. Get help, support, and motivation from the comfort of your own home. It’s like a house call, without someone actually having to see the state of your messy house (or is that just us?).
Kathryn Tipton has passion for sleep and wants to help you return to sleeping through the night. She uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), a non-pharmacological treatment to help clients gain control over their insomnia and improve the quality of their sleep. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor with a Masters degree in Clinical Psychology. Her private practice is located in central Houston, in the Montrose district. Additionally, she conducts sessions online/via phone with clients from the comfort of their own home or office.