The Neuroscience Behind Fixing Your Sleep Schedule
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- Опубликовано: 24 июл 2024
- In today's video we explore the neuroscience behind fixing your sleep schedule and how you can make it easy as possible.
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▼ Timestamps ▼
────────────
00:00 - Introduction
00:34 - What is the purpose of sleep?
02:39 - Missing the window for sleep
05:50 - While-In-Bed procrastination
07:19 - Emotional flooding
11:49 - How do you spend your waking hours?
18:48 - Anabolism
21:35 - Diet
24:31 - Stress
26:02 - You can’t tackle sleep first
27:09 - One final tip for sleeping
31:33 - Conclusion
────────────
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I'm sure watching this while needing to sleep will help
😂
To be fair, I fall asleep to a Dr. K video or an Alan Watts video every night 🤣
😂
It won't help on the night you watched perhaps, but it will help with the nights after. Isn't it the whole point?
lol 💀
It’s 8 am, I’m cooked.
It’s 12 pm, I’m baked.
Just go all the way around back to going to bed at 9pm
1- complete task
- in order to avoid cortisol spike at night
2- exercise
- to tear down muscles
To recover them = more sleep
3- carbs for dinner with protein and fiber
- helps you crash because of no insulin spike
4- walk for 1 hour
- helps with -ve emotions
5- journal your emotions
- so your brain won't bombard you with embarrassing moments when you are trying to sleep
6- do cognitively difficult task(studying, learning new language, complete those assignments)
7- sleep between 9-10pm
- or dont but you should in order to wake up at 4
8- witness sunrise and sunset
- in order to set that circadian rhythm
9- don't have caffeine after 10 am
Touch grass
Hell no
No music while walking nor any distractions
Feels like a full time job man
you dont need to sleep at 9-10 pm, everyone has a different sleep chronotype, you also DEFINITELY do not need to be up at 4 everyday lol
The sunlight part is important though
@@abeahmed2581 do whatever ion care
The problem is when you don't WANT to sleep because you finally managed to get into the zone working on something, and you know the you of tomorrow will have his motivation and confidence reset back to 0.
I guess just let it go and sleep instead
That kind of motivation is fleeting. You can get it back if you just focus on starting small. Putting your shoes on will give you that momentum to go back to being in the zone. You just need to make a habit of putting your shoes on.
I totally get this. Setting it aside is not as easy as people make it sound. You have to fight yourself in your established habits pretty hard to "just let it go". I think it's mostly an ADHD thing, at least for me. Plus I have fibromyalgia and my days are so ridiculously inconsistent that there's a good chance I won't be able to pick it back up again the next day. So that makes it doubly disappointing.
Learning to take breaks really helps me. But I have to be very targeted about my breaks - keep them short, and have a specific thing I've planned to do during the break that is easily completed during that time. If I don't, I can easily get sidetracked away from the task for too long and my brain will have a much harder time getting back in rhythm.
But when I take good, targeted breaks, I feel like it helps to teach my brain how to get back to things again later. The better I get at targeted, scheduled breaks, the more my brain trusts I'm going to come back to the main task, I think. Although, if I'm doing something creative (like paper crafting, painting, or writing), I like being able to go with the flow a little more. For those times, rather than scheduling times to stop and take a break, it's better for me to have planned some break activities to choose from, and pay attention to when I hit a lull, and then choose a break activity for my desired break time.
Also, I tend to know the things that will get me too hyper focused now. Anything that's on a computer screen after about 6pm is a terrible idea for me. I can do some stuff on my phone, and that's not a problem, because I think it's more self-limiting. I get tired of the small screen on my phone, and I really don't do much of anything technical on it. Whereas, the computer is a whole wide world of troubleshooting for me, and I'll stay up half the night to see it through.
If you can figure out triggers like that for yourself, and make your own rule that you are just not going to get started on that kind till the next day, or that you stop those kinds of activities if it's a certain time of day, then I think it's so helpful.
I really, REALLY want to keep going with those things when I get into them, so I do have to remind myself how horrible I feel when they mess up my sleep. I'm 55 now, and with the fibromyalgia, plus the trigeminal neuralgia that I've had for about 28 years...messed up sleep can trigger literally months of excruciating pain. So, in that way, at least my avoidance motivation is pretty high, which definitely helps me stick to my rules. 😢
I think the bottom line is that if you can't determine a big enough consequence you want to avoid, it's going to be a lot harder to keep yourself from engaging in those things. When you're young and feel like you can bounce back just fine, it's harder to care. Then, by the time you can't bounce back so well, you have decades of habit to overcome.
It means that your prefrontal cortex isn't working well and not sleeping will certainly only make that worse.
My theory is that it’s a vicious cycle; the reason you’re not motivated until the end of the day is because you’re getting a delayed start in the morning because you keep going to bed late and feeling too tired to focus most of the day.
I can attest to all of this advice. I went through a period of about 8 years slipping into and out of severe depressive episodes. Toward the end, I lost so much of my ability to function that I essentially became bed ridden for a few years. I went up to 286 lbs, my muscles atrophied to the point where I had trouble standing without assistance and walking for more than five minutes felt like running the last leg of a marathon, and my body's systems felt like they were malfunctioning. I didn't understand it then, but this video has taught me that the lack of any sort of activity/work, the poor diet and poorly structured schedule, are probably what caused my sleep schedule to be thrown so completely off.
I always had the instinct that everything was interconnected since I used to be a martial artist and an astrophysics student, experiences which taught me to be more in tune with my body and mind and the way various things influence them. Eventually, I was able to get myself to start doing things. I initially felt like sleep was the most important thing I needed to tackle, but I knew I had to focus on several things at the same time. So, for a year, I dedicated all of my time to the pursuit of 4 things: diet, exercise, my mind, and sleep. I counted my calories, ensured I was getting the right nutrients in the right amounts, and that I was eating at the right times. I developed a basic workout plan that mirrored easier versions of plans I did in the past. I took up meditation and made sure to devote 30 minutes to an hour a day to it, I also began reviewing old course work, reading books again, began challenging myself on guitar again and jumped into volunteering at a homeless shelter to regain my social ability in a way that satisfied my growing sense of compassion through my meditations. For sleep, I wasn't sure what to do about this, so I Just made sure to wake up and sleep at the same times everyday, no matter how tired I felt, and mostly focused on night time routine, like dimming lights and no screens. It was an extremely difficult and, at times, very painful and demoralizing process as I had no supports to help through any of this. So self compassion, reminding myself that I can always begin again, and reflecting regularly on how far I had come became very important skills I had to develop.
Eventually, I saw significant improvements, including regaining a lot of my cognitive ability. I used that opportunity to begin researching more about each of the areas I was trying to improve to be smarter about my recovery. I learned more about the science of nutrition and exercise, I learned more about techniques of meditation and Eastern philosophies (which is partly how I became interested in this channel due to the philosophical insight tempered by critical and scientific thought) including joining a Buddhist temple, and I learned more about what sleep actually is, what it's for, and how our circadian rhythms work. I learned how all aspects of our lives impacts our sleep and the importance of our relationship to light and how all these things, in turn, impact all aspects of our lives as these things exist in balance with each other, like how a seesaw ceases to function without both people moving in harmony with each other. I often get people asking me about how I did things because I went through a pretty wild transformation in two years. One question I get asked is how I fixed my sleep habits and what my evening routine looks like. Now, I tell people that everything about how I structure my 24 hour day is my sleep routine.
Now I am 80 lbs lighter in net weight, but I have also gained significant weight through muscle gain via hypertrophy and strength training. My body functions properly again, My mind is working again to the point where I am now planning my return to school this fall to either finish my astrophysics degree or to take on something new. I am far more at peace with myself and the world, and my sleep cycle is now far more regulated. None of these things are perfect and I slip from time to time, but I learned to be ok with that and to keep trying the next day. I still have much work to do on myself, but there is so much I still want to do and I want to be free to fully experience this thing we call life. And I am now at a point where I can say that I will no longer allow my limitations to limit me.
seems like you've completely turned your life around - very motivational, congratulations! 🎉
Great read. Super glad things are working out for you man, an inspirational message to us all! Best of luck out there, keep living!
Wish i could be more elegant with my words but its super encouraging to read your story. I am in a similar rut of my own doing, but i've decided i need to take time off of schooling to fix myself. Wishing the best for you.
I'm so proud of you dude! As others have already said, very motivational. I can't imagine how difficult it was to turn things around like that and to have and keep the willpower to keep pushing forward. My situation is not nearly as bad but I've been in a depressive rut myself for years now and can only hope that I'll have a sliver of that kind of determination to change things.
Keep it up man!
What made you motivated?
i procastinate a lot then at sleeping time i remember i have to do stuff so this is why my sleep schedule is fucked
I've got exactly the same. I procastinate soo much, then it's late, but I am still disciplined and just do it no matter how long it takes..
Me at 2:18 am, procrastinating on reformatting an essay I’ve already finished.
@@Ran_Do This sounds soo funny tbh, but I've got exactly the same..🤔
I knew for a long time that the reason why I'm putting off going to bed is because I haven't done enough work during the day, but I feel so validated hearing you say this.
not me saving it for later as i scroll for other videos at 4am
When I hear a pitch about the benefits of waking up early, it sounds great in theory. My question is, how do you do that and also have a social life with your friends who work 9-5, or just generally exist in a world that functions mostly on a 9-5 schedule
Yeah, I don't like waking up early for that reason. Maybe if you do everything else on the list, that one won't matter as much.
Right. Waking up 4-7 is just not doable in this society, falling asleep at like 8-11.
Some of my friends aren't even online until 8:00...
Agreed. I think all the advice in this video is sound, I'll probably just adjust the numbers a bit to fit my schedule better.
Come to terms with what matters in life. Have your cake or eating your cake.
There's a balance but I know for me that I care about myself far too much to accommodate others' schedules over my own well-being.
Also a shout out to the night shifters who can't follow any of this circadian rhythm stuff and have to hack it to make the body want to sleep at a different time.
Watching this at 4am - thanks Dr K!
NZ BROTHER
NZ?
@@davidpeat184 hahaha hell yeah brother, sleep problems for the win
This video was uploaded around 11 am at the day of this writing, no you didnt.
@@maxsanders2763 time zones...?
summer is the worst season for a good sleep schedule for me. sun doesn't set until 11pm, it's too hot to fall asleep and the sun comes up at 5am already....
that's why i love winter. it's cold and dark at 6pm. no problem with a fixed sleep schedule in winter seasons.
Summer I agree with but winter makes me stay in bed waaayy too long in the morning as there's little sunlight lol
@@Evemiela yeah, it can be difficult. that's why you need to be very active at winter. just as Dr. K said: physical exercise is important, especially during winter.
@mr.nobody2244 hard to be active when I'm cold lol but yeah I got to the gym 3x a week 💪
Who else is watching this while trying to sleep?
What helped me a lot is to decide to wake up at 5 AM every thursday morning. I did it so it was "easy" at the beginning because it's only 1 day of the week, you can prepare yourself the day before and you can recover from that the day after. After only one month i now constantly wake up between 6am and 7 am every without alarm clock (i use to wake up at 9am at the earliest while having ajob and 11am during week end).
You can definitively build a habit from doing it only once a week and see it spread by itself
I’ll definitely try this!
Actually, that's an interesting method
Thata interesting... 🤔
I did it once a week for work, but it didn't stick. It conflicted too much, I didn't get enough sleep since I wasn't sleeping like that the whole week.
In my experience, this isn't a great strategy. You aren't changing your daily schedule. I would recommend shifting it on a daily basis by hours. Get up an hour early each day for the week. Then another hour. Etc
Trying this thank you!
Ironically, as a polysomnographic technician working clinically with patients who have OSA, narcolepsy, and other sleep disorders, I find that some of these tips are very hard to achieve when working night shifts (about 15% of the population works non-standard hours). I would love to see a video about optimizing sleep with an irregular sleep schedule, or even a nocturnal sleep schedule, due to (somewhat) uncontrollable factors such as employment. A large part of my profession involves sleep education, and I tend to provide research-based tools to patients who inquire about optimizing their sleep schedules. However, when I work with someone who has an irregular or nocturnal sleep schedule, I often get stumped, as there is significantly less research involving these types of schedules.
Additionally, it would be very interesting to hear a more nuanced opinion on sleep aids, and even "wake aids" such as Modafinil, which are sometimes used for patients with shift work sleep disorder or obstructive sleep apnea.
Yes yes yes. Sleep tips have zero relevance to me as someone who works 12 hour night shifts and has to completely flip the schedule twice a week.
@@BeefyBidoof There's really not much out there! I'm not sure how your schedule works exactly, but one of the research based tips for rotating shift work is to let your schedule gradually rotate forward instead of backward. Definitely works better with a more advanced notice and free time/off days, so I don't know how attainable that is for you, but slowly going to sleep at a later time could make a difference.
@@BeefyBidoof having to flip your schedule sounds like a nightmare. I feel like regulations might be the way to go. Are you flipping your schedule for the days off or is it a work thing, because if work is making you so that we need to make it illegal.
@@steggopotamus Flipping my schedule is a personal decision (sort of- businesses do not run 24 hours. I have to get groceries and go to appointments) but some hospitals will absolutely ask you to flip days and nights with no regard for your health. Fun fact: there is no federal law that limits the number of hours you can be required to work consecutively.
@@BeefyBidoof sadly your reply was exactly what I was afraid of. It's terrible that we do that to people in medicine no less. Best of luck figuring something out.
6am is when I'm most likely to want to sleep... when the sun comes up.
definitely not watching this at 3 AM
I've watched a lot of Dr. K's videos but this one resonated with me the most. I haven't slept consistently for over 3 years now, and I keep trying to analyze what helped me sleep naturally and completely before. I was in college (Learning throughout the day), going to the gym (Weight lifting), and walking to my classes without music (having time to process emotions). This video really has given me a good road map to start moving in the right direction again. Thank you Dr. K. for continuously uploading content and explaining things so clearly.
Glad to see I'm not alone, it's also been about 3 years for me not sleeping great each night. We got this.
Bro this really came in clutch. I just woke up after staying up till 4am, and this is the first thing on my recommended.
Same
GG is God.
This is the realest video I’ve ever watched, you explained all of my problems and a simple answer to fix it. Absolute respect.
Thank you and your team, for real. Your channel is one of the few that motivate me to find a balance with RUclips, to find the right strategies to get the most out of it without my attention being completely lost.
Other social media just make me wish they wouldn't exist in the first place, because of how much they try to make you stay online without giving any real value in exchange (for me).
Watching this after waking up at 1pm - thanks Dr K!
Same ish
11 am, feel so proud of myself for waking up "early" xD
@@liberpolo5540 man, 1-2 pm is my usual, waking up at 11 am feels like I fell from bed.
This is such an informational vid-emotional flooding is what I have been experiencing the past month
This is the most helpful RUclips video I’ve watched.
I’ve struggled with my sleep ever since stopping exercise and waking up at 5am for work every morning, I’m tired all the time and have developed huge eye bags and dark circles.
There’s so much useful information in this video I can’t wait to try 😊
Excellent video. I’m struggling with this so hard, so hard. Thank you for sharing.
Best video I've seen on sleep. It makes sense. I have some changes I need to make. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and knowledge!
Wow, after watching and reading so much Stuff about Sleep for years, this is probably the best resource for everything about sleep. And it's actually explained really well too, so you know why you have to do those things. Really great Video!!
Oh my, I feel seen. This is so much me! I have never heard anything like this in my quest to fix my insomnia. It makes so much sense! I plan on implementing the suggestions you have offered. I actually feel a bit excited to do it. Thank you so very much, Doc.
This was absolutely fascinating. Thank you for sharing this great information Dr. K and team!
I'm sending this to my friends. They REALLY need this. Thank you Dr. K!
This video came at the right time, just what I needed, I have been feeling miserable for so long and I sleep very poorly, have problems concentrating and just tired during the day. I hope things will get better now :) Thank you Dr. K.
THIS COMES AT THE RIGHT TIME! Overall my life screams about not having enough sleep since childhood. Thanks ADHD and AUTISM. Personally not blaming myself. It's stresses me to the moon...
This is incredibly useful and perfectly explains all the same struggles and findings I've had around sleep -- great reminder!
Would like a discussion on how this correlates with Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome, and also how to implement this when society's time table (working the 9-5) doesn't allow for it. How do we get most of our work done early in the day when you have to work most of the day? You can't really go to sleep at 6pm and get up at midnight and do work, when your job is 8-4:30 or 9-5.
Dr. K, your videos are the only ones that really help me understand my situation and motivate me to get the work done. Thank you for the dedication and effort you put into your channel!
Phantastic episode!! Thank you Dr K❤
great vid thank you!!! this channel is one of my favorites.
I don’t normally comment but i wanted to thank you, your videos are really insightful and have helped me understand myself better.
I genuinely get excited every time I see Dr. K's thumbnail on my homepage. I'm so grateful to be a part of this wonderful community, it has truly improved my life ❤
Dr. K - you are truly a great soul. Thank you for all you are.
I've found that showering for an extended period of time without music on, while maybe not the healthiest or best for your skin, is also an excellent way to process emotions. Some other things you could think about are smaller changes, like not taking your phone everywhere (especially the bathroom) because this gives you separate, short bursts of mental rest that can (in my case at least) often times lead to better impulse control and better emotional regulation.
Genuine question, but what would a long shower do negatively to your skin?
@@mrexpendable1232 long, particularly hot, showers will paradoxically dry your skin out over time. A lot of people think they have (fungal) dandruff, but they’re actually just frying the skin on their scalp with hot showers
@@mrexpendable1232excessive washing can be harmful to skin, I believe generally for abrasion and oil-removing reasons. People also often use rather hot water during showers, which is also not great for the skin.
I don’t think long showers are necessarily harmful to your skin, but they tend to be associated with behaviors that are.
So true. I’ve noticed the past few days that i feel more comftable when taking my phone everywhere - even to the bathroom. i dont wanna leave with out my phone even for a minute. And thats totally because i feel emotionally more safe and can regulate (really just supress) my emotions with it. Its sad actually and ridiculous lol
That's a good tactic honestly because it's a two for one.
The drop in temperature after dundown is also a natural sleep signal. Showering/Bathing about 1-2hours before bed helps sleep also because the cooling down part is one of the signals.
Needed this guide desperately, thanks Dr. K
This video totally hit the mark for me like nothing has for a long time. I’ve always struggled with sleep and my dad always said its because something is going on underneath in the psyche. And its not that i didnt know about exercising and eating right, its just that you laid it all out in a full picture. Especially the part about supressing emotions hit hard… i take my phone everywhere, even to the bathroom because i feel more comftable having that distraction at hand every second of the day. I get nervous thinking about not taking it outside with me. I really feel like a child, emotionally. Cant go anywhere with its emotional support blanket its truly ridiculous.
My only issue with this is i cant or dont want to apply the hours in a world thats built around a 9-5 job. Between 6-12 pm is where all the socializing and going out happens, i dont wanna sleep at that time.
awesome breakdown doc! very insightful. ive written them down on my diary
I love the nuance you've added since the last time you talked about this
Thank you for this video, i needed this ❤
I love Dr.K. He manages to summarise everything so nicely. I am completely engaged in what he has to say, and don't need to try hard to focus.
It is a rare talent to be this concise, precise and entertaining.
Thanks Doc. Last year I was waking up at 4-5 am, doing lots of stuff, training, meditation, gaming training and by 9 pm I couldn’t wait to fall asleep. Then I had a stressful trip to my hometown near war zone and my schedule got messed up. Today is the first day I woke up early and told myself I am ready to resume it and get in Control . I really needed this. Much love, Allok ❤
thanks for posting this at 12am i needed this
You don't understand how much I needed this! Just hearing you say you struggled in your 20s and how most night owls are actually morning people gave me hope, as I often get most things done between 10pm and 5am, and I'm 23 years old. I'll definitely rewatch this video again in the future to get a reminder as well :D
You might be in the same boat as me. If it's an option in your life, you might want to try sleeping from 5pm-1am for a short time, like he mentioned some monks do in the video. I was only able to do it during COVID, and only for a few months, but it did teach me some things about myself. I came to the conclusion that I was a night owl because I couldn't work unless I knew nothing else was going on in the world. Like I'm terribly sensitive to FOMO. Now I do consider myself a morning person (it's 530, I'm about to head to the gym before work) and that the problem was that I was never waking up early enough.
The short time I was waking up at ~midnight was one of the most productive times in my life. Unfortunately as others have mentioned, keeping odd hours is tough if you also want a social life
Is incredible the value, you could write an entire book from this and still sell millions of copies but you record a quick video and give it away for free. Thank you Dr K. I am so fan of your work.
Fantastic video! Thank you all 👏
THANK YOUUUUU SOOOOO MUCH DR K THIS HELPED ME SO MUCH 🙏
Great video. I’m going to have to give some of these things a try.
You've opened my eyes to so many things that I do automatically without realizing they ruin my sleep and, to be honest, my life. I always create an environment to avoid being on my own, like listening to TV shows, RUclips videos, and Twitch streams in the background. When it's bedtime, my brain often gets attacked by a lot of different thoughts.
So excited for this 😭
It might be out of your wheel house dr k, but I’d really appreciate a video on the pros/cons or risks of triphasic sleep schedules or lucid dreaming. Getting more bang for my buck from sleep is something that’s been a major desire/concern of mine for a while. I’ve yet to find any serious/non-grifty coverage of these topics. Thanks 🙏
Forcing myself to have a consistent wake up time (even on the weekends), and cutting out caffeine after 12pm were the two game changers for me that completely fixed sleep my sleep after two decades of staying up until morning, multiple snoozes, late to work and class, hating my life each morning etc. My wake up time is 8am and I've had success with this for years so if you can't quite hit Dr. K's guideline of 7am at the latest, I think it can be a little more flexible.
This video should be shown in every school. This is a masterpiece of knowledge. Thank you very much Dr.
Solid advice!!
Love this topic! Dr K can you please address how night shift/changing shift workers can be able to get better sleep? This affects a lot of people in modern day.
This came at the perfect timing. I've been trying to fix my sleep schedule this week.
this video is a masterpiece, top 5 HealthyGamerGG videos of all time imo!
Such valuable information that I've never considered before nor have ever seen anybody else teach.
Thank you!
In order to fix your sleep schedule, you must first invent the universe
Convenient timing, I have just hit a wall with my attempts to fix my sleep schedule. Nothing I tried really worked. I’ve tried working right away when I wake up every day for a few days and it wasn’t giving results, it always felt like I didn’t do enough, but I didn’t try waking up that early. When I stay awake all night I do usually get a sudden boost of energy and motivation to work at around sunrise so I'm hopeful that waking up earlier might be what works for me.
First of all, this is a great video! Although, one thing I don't understand is: how do you manage your social life when sleeping in & waking up early? I imagine most people's social lives (mine included) tend to be happening in the (late) evenings. How are you supposed to incorporate that into a good sleep schedule?
So so so, so good. Ive red Matthew Walker and watched so much on this subject. I thought I was about to watch some rechewed information about sleep. Damn Dr K., you are very good at communicating these subjects to modern young audience.
For anyone struggling to go to bed. I totally understand. Recently school is over and I’ve been staying up a lot but due to the next school year coming back I really want to focus on being better, I want to start that off by fixing my sleeping schedule. Since I have very frequent nights when I’m stressed out and stay awake or pull an all nighter I get pulled back into that slump. Sometimes I get frustrated when I can’t fall asleep and end up crying on my bed as the sun starts to rise. It sucks, but I found that sometimes when I listen to podcasts or white noise it helps me fall asleep. Unfortunately that doesn’t work sometimes. When my body starts to procrastinate scrolling on my phone I don’t get sleepy until 3:00, so when I do try to fix my sleep schedule I will probably have stayed up late until like 4 an, and waking up at around 9:00 am which makes my body even more tired. I want to slowly build up my fatigue by doing exhausting things throughout the day so when I go to bed, I will sleep easier. I suggest if it is hard to sleep try climbing into bed without looking at your phone for 20 minutes and try drawing or journaling for a while before going to bed. I like to sleep an hour extra early so that I won’t fall into a slump of staying up for a long time. 🫶🏼
Dr. K, thank you for your work! Im practicing Zen Buddhism and many of your yogic principals combined with your medical knowledge make now so much more sense to me to things I learned or experienced when practicing meditation/Zazen. You explain everything in detail, but not in so much detail that one cannot follow. Much love from Germany!!!!
Hello! Sorry for my bad english, but I want to say thank you for making such a great videos.
Can you do a video about circadian rhythms disorders, please?(or maybe you already did and iI’m just not attentive).
I have trouble sleeping since childhood (also got diagnosed ADHD + BD) - I just CAN’T sleep earlier than 6 AM. In many years I tried to sleep earlier, because it ruins my social life, because my wake up time is around 14-15pm. I tried everything: melatonin in different dosages, z-drugs, benzoes, antypsychotics, sleep deprivation, waking up earlier during several weeks, etc. All my attempts to shift my rhythm to “normal” just ruining my health and wellbeing, because I can feel that I’m not rested/sleep quality decreases significantly even if I sleep non less than 7 hours. All my doctors just keep saying that I’m lazy, self-indulgent, “sitting to monitors all night” and things like that.
Now, like couple of years, I’m not using the alarm clocks, but doing the sleep hygiene and listen to my body “signals”. And I’m goin to sleep and waking up at the same time (6am/15pm +-) and feel great - super rested, full of energy. If appears any side effect like illness or insomnia or social jetlag which temporarily disrupts my sleep schedule, my schedule stabilizes itself quickly in couple of days.
Is it possible to have really “messed up” circadian rhythms on genetic level? Is it possible to improve that? Thank you
Thank You, very informative. Matches my Experience
Very insightful and useful ❤❤
I have a severe sleeping problem. Sometimes i sleep when i come home, sometimes at 5 am and sometimes i never sleep for a day. It is very frustrating and making my life hard. Now i am putting my phone away while trying to sleep. Hopefully works. I'll watch the video and maybe solve my (maybe) worst problem.
So maybe TMI but I'm like 48 days into being clean from Suboxone, but after the whole insomnia stage my body has naturally wanted to go to sleep at like 6-7pm and wake up at 2-3am. When before I was going to sleep at like 3-7am for years and years. My sleep has always been messed up but the thing you said about maybe not being a nightowl and liking that very very early morning might make more sense for my body. Idk I think I'm going to try to stop fighting my body and just letting myself keep this schedule. I've been wanting to make it so I go to sleep at like 12am or something but it's been hard to try to make that happen lol. Thinking about it, waking up at 1-3am and really experiencing the morning fully awake like that while its full night and then the transition into day seems nice. TY for the video.
Gonna see how my sleep goes committing to bed at that time.
I used to work at 6 and wake up at 3 and this schedule was hard to make right away. I love it it’s my favorite to do. I wish I wasn’t taking night classes so I can do this again.
For context: I have diagnosed ADHD. The one thing I do not agree with here is that 4-7 am is universally a good time to wake up. I wish the fact that some people are genuinely night owls was addressed more. I tried everything under the sun to "fix" my sleep scedule - melatonin, no screens, watching sunset and sunrise, yet waking up early was miserable. I followed this advice. The ONLY thing that helped was going to bed at 4 am and waking up at 12 am. This is the only time that feels natural and okay - and fixed all my problems, too. Some people genuinely ARE like that. Some work better during early morning, some late at night. I know what worked for me is not usual, I know Dr. K talked about some people not actually being night owls here. Yet I can't help but think if there's someone like me out there, listening to this advice and beating themselves up about it. If you are - look into the cyrcadian rythm and the study where the scientists measured brain activity in participants at all times. Eye-opening
My sleep schedule was chaotic. It changes from day to day. More likely a free running type. I've tried melatonin, exercise, ashwagandha. Nothing seems to work to reset my circadian rhythm. Melatonin does work to help better sleep quality tho. It's like like there is a switch in my brain that I have no control when I want to sleep and to wake up. So I sleep and wake up whenever my body decided to.
This makes sense to me.
It is helpful hearing it explained. Because I've tried explaining my needs and why to people I live with and they don't believe me or generally guide me to other behaviour. I know I have a sweet 2 hours I fall asleep best at! And I do lose impulse control by ignoring my needs. How convenient for those around me!
Wow dude this was comprehensive and a gold mine props
This is literally the best video i have ever watched about sleep
What an irony, i've been trying to fix my sleep for weeks now. Just yesterday i was pretty concerned over if i slept well or not. This will come in super handy. Tank you Dr.k
Same, insomnia for about 7-8 weeks now.
It's very very gradually getting better, but still only managing 5 hours max a night.
I hope this will help me
I work a language course support from home, fixed 12-hour shifts 10am-10pm with a 2/2/3 schedule where tasks naturally appear constantly during the day, so there is no way for me to get some things done early in the morning, even though I know I'm very productive at that time. What I found works for me is:
- try going to bed at 1am at the latest, take a shower before that, try to change sheets at least once a week to keep them fresh
- try sleeping in silence, no background youtube, pleasant as it may be
- use the hour before work to get at least some breakfast and do at least some excercise
- use my 1hr lunch break to actually get lunch instead of taking a 30-60 minute nap that is a 50/50 chance of getting a good time rest
- actually say goodnight to my gaming pals at around midnight even during day-offs
Being a 'night owl' I can get periods of several weeks when I easily wake up at 8-9 am and don't want to die of sleep deprivation during the day. But I still can't turn this into a consistent practice.
hi dr K, I really appreciate this video and all your work. but it's so hard to fix my circadian rhythms being in a graveyard shift. if you can, some tips for night workers would be super helpful ❤
Watching this while trying to sleep
This came up eight hours ago. What time zone are you in?
Ayyyy same
Incredible stuff
As it is suggested to go have natural sunlight during daytime to “fix” circadian rythym, I tried it and I live in a super sunny place. What I notice is I get super sleepy under daylight. Sun goes down and hooopp my brain opens up. During daylight time I feel like I just need to chill. And after dusk I do the work.
When I don’t pressure myself about sleep schedule or any routine my body naturally tends to stay up all night and gets sleepy at dawn and comfortably sleep in daylight (I even had times that I directly nap under direct sunlight and it’s the sweetest sleep for real)
And I’m 30 and this is like this as long as I can remember, I was staying up until 2-3am secretly even when I was 9-10.
When I observe my body and how my mental state is if I stop pressuring myself about “I have to fit to the routine of society” is actually the times that I feel happiest and most productive.
One time I heard that during our caveman times since there is no secırity from wilderness during night time, there were night watchers in the tribe naturally. Because someone needs to be awake and alert during night time in case a danger happens to approach to the tribe.
And some people (probably myself included) is actually evolved from those nightwatchers that is adapted to the night time more than others.
I am really curious about a professional’s perspective on this.
I feel most happier and productive if I allow my body to find its own ryhtym and when I don’t pressure myself about following society standards of “being active only during daytime”
lol, I know people always comment that you have excellent timing, but I think this video was released within 30 minutes of me coming out of a 3rd-party coaching session, where this was the main unresolved concern. 👏
This is why NSDR is sooo powerful during the day, you can add whim-hoff breathing to it, 10 minutes two times, will help you fall asleep easier at night
Reading on Kindle on the lowest brightness setting has been the biggest help for me to avoid the “empty time” talked about. Also Kindle app on the phone gets a lot dimmer than the Apple Books app.
I can see how you could have a better sleep with all those suggestions, because everything described sounds like something a genuinely successful person would do. It must be easy going to bed knowing that you did everything you had to do throughout the day.
Hey, Dr.Karan.
How should one time ADHD meds to avoid insomnia?
Back story: I first went to a psychiatrist because of excessive daytime sleepiness, and got diagnosed with narcolepsy and cataplexy.
Over time, the psychiatrist diagnosed me with ADHD, depression, and bipolar 2; The psychiatrist says they're comorbid, not one misdiagnosed for the other. I'm on Concerta, Mirtazapine and Lamitor. I currently take Concerta in the morning and Mirtazapine and Lamitor at night but sometimes end up feeling sleepless at night despite Mirtazapine's sedative effect and sleepy during the day.
By how many hours should I space the Concerta and Mirtazapine so their effects don't counteract each other? Is there a Science to that?
Love your work by the way❤
Saw this and thought of all the friends who have talked about how they can't go to sleep or need to fix their sleep schedule. Knew they don't have the attention span to watch a 30 minute video so I watched this and took notes. This is the first time *I* have made it through an entire Dr K video. I not only learned how to help friends but think I figured out a trick to watch all the other videos I've been meaning to.
Not that anyone really cares of course - just helping that engagement and algorithm crap.
I work from 6am to 2pm and it was so rough starting the day so early but now it feels amazing. Can’t rave about it enough
I’ve been trying to fix my sleeping schedule for over 3 weeks now and the more and more I investigate about how to fix it, the more i understand how technology has really messed with our minds like the days I use my phone or any device for over an hour are the days where I feel like shit but the days where I really try to not look at my cellphone are the days where I feel like life is worth living lmfao
great video. i didnt know this stuff at all
I have had terrible sleep schedule all my life and now it is worse than ever before. This video though gives hopes, I will give it a shot with your guidelines. Thx! Tomorrow it begins! Lol
with what you said at 1:40 its the same with adhd medication, its supposed to be helping you with the structurizing(probably wrong english is not my first language) along with therapy, the goal is to have the medication for as little as needed, but i know way to many people that just think the medication is to "fix" the difficulties some are having
One thing id love for you to cover on is the reality of how this applies to those working night shifts. The easy answer is dont work nights, but for some of us, it's a fact of life. Creating a healthy routine is far harder
When I had my schedule fixed before, I had combined a lot of different things.
1. I tried to wake up with solid exposure to sunlight, or lights programmed to come on during sunrise. This allowed me to wake up by using light going into my eyes and IMO, this is an easier way to wake up in the morning. I got to the point where I was shutting my alarm off before it went off in the mornings.
2. I didn't take in caffeine for an hour after I woke up. Ideally, you would wait longer. This lets the adenosine drain out of the system before caffeine is introduced.
3. Take a cold shower after you wake up. This is such a shock to the system and it's really difficult to do, but it gets the adrenaline running in the system and helps you clock that circadian rhythm cycle towards the morning.
4. Stay off electronics for an hour after you wake up. This maybe is not as important as the other tips, but I found myself being more productive by cleaning my room, organizing things, etc. This is also the only thing that was a Dr. K-certified tip.
When I combined these things, I found myself with more motivation to get things done than I ever have before in my life.
thank you, right on time
A good tip that works for me is to put a slow metronome(on YT music, not an actual one) like 50bpms(that is what i use) and just focus on the rythmic sound
I don't know if it's my ADHD being way more severe than I realized, but his descriptions of the mind keeping track of tasks is incomprehensible to me.
Learnt a lot. Thank you