Night Owls turned Early Birds?

PPug05

If you are/were a night owl, but adjusted yourself to wake up before the crack of dawn and go to the gym, what did you do to help? I am working on a routine, and trying to get to bed by 10. It does take me a while to fall asleep. Melatonin adversely affects my mood, and zzzquil makes me too sluggish.
I don’t want to workout at 10pm because I have kids that to sleep and hubby wakes up early for work anyways. Schedule wise, it would work best for both of us to go to the gym early in the morning. 🙂

steveko89

I have to treat it like any other habit and try to actively support doing it on a regular basis and remove as many potential obstacles as possible. Any little things you can do to improve sleep hygiene will help cumulatively.

NovusDies

90 minutes before bed I do not engage in anything mentally stimulating. No games, no internet, no new TV shows. I watch re-runs of low-key shows I have already seen and know well.

nutmegoreo

I have to get up at 0-stupid-hundred for work. I find the best way to get to sleep at night is to have a regular routine. For me: brush teeth, apply lotion to feet, crawl into bed, 5 minutes of stretching, 5 minutes of meditation, and then play an audiobook and set the timer for 30 minutes. I'm rarely awake when the audiobook shuts off.

jenferbar

I have to switch my schedule soon too...starting a job on 1/6, and have been out of work since mid-August. What usually works for me to reset my circadian rythm is staying up all day, and collapsing that night. Then making sure I have no naps for at least a week to get it set. (If I do fall asleep on the couch or something, I have to reset it again.) And I am looking to get the blue light glasses as I tend to be on the computer/cell phone most of the day.

goatg

It was awful at first but just stuck with it. Spent the first month chronically exhausted.

Caffeine ready to go is a must. Screens off 45 minutes before bed (computer, phonr, tv). Do something relaxing like read with tea. It legit helps.

mom23mangos

I just made it a habit. Started getting up at 5am. Because I got up so early, I would be ready for bed early. There are times when my night owl nature kicks in and I'm still awake at 11 or 12, but I try not to do that too frequently as I'm so exhausted the next day I usually need a nap just to get through work and then sleep as soon as I come home. Daylight Savings messes me up bad for quite some time.

seltzermint555

It took me 2-3 years to really adjust and become more of an early bird. I was almost thirty and had mostly worked in jobs that started around 10 am (retail management & others)...it was ROUGH switching over to the traditional 8-5 office job!

I find it easy to wake up at 6 am now but I still can't motivate myself to exercise in the mornings. I'm chipper and energetic but no thanks.

quiksylver296

I just did it, basically. Life changed to the point that the only way to get to the gym was to go at 4:30 a.m.

So, before bed, I laid out my gym clothes, packed my work clothes and breakfast/lunch for the next day. My alarm goes off at 3:45, and I don't allow myself to hit snooze. I stumble out of bed, brush my teeth, throw on my gym clothes and away I go.

I also go to bed ridiculously early. 8:00 to 8:30 p.m.

go52182

I think the "make it a routine" idea works. My daughter's bedtime is 9:00pm and I started going to bed at that time too. Now it's just what we do! Though I get up at 4:00am to get to the gym by 5:00am and she gets up at 7:00am.

Try getting ready for bed when your kids are getting ready and hit the hay right after they do.