Does anyone go to bed really early (8pm) out of choice?

[FightingTheFoo]

I'm trapped in a terrible cycle atm where I spend all evening snacking, go to bed far too late, get woken up very early by my toddler meaning I have no energy to exercise and just want to snack all day (and night). Rinse and repeat.

I've tried going to bed earlier but it's not working. I "check something" on Twitter or watch "1 episode" of Friends on Netflix and before I know it it's 11pm and I'm not even in my pyjamas. I'm on my knees with tiredness atm.

I'm thinking the only way to fix it is: as soon as DH & I have put the toddler to bed & cleaned the kitchen I'll get ready for bed myself - so no TV or internet in the evenings and in bed by 8pm.

Does anyone go to bed this early? Are there any drawbacks?

I just wonder if it'll be sustainable once evenings get lighter and lockdown eases.

Sometimes, when I've got a really good book on the go and can't wait to carry on with it.

Have you tried doing it backwards? Start making yourself get up really early as the first step. You'll have a ridiculously tired day the first day, and be desperate for sleep very early in the evening.

You have to do silly stuff like putting 3 alarm clocks in a trail towards the kettle, so that when you've managed to switch them all off, you're looking at a coffee, not a bed from the inside. Putting lights on is good too, although not for the first 30 seconds. Swearing is also allowed.

I go to bed this early once or twice a week. I call it my "reset" and I feel so much better the next day for it. I go up with my youngest, read a bit and normally asleep by 9. I couldn't do it every night. I like to watch stuff with my husband and weekends we stay up late, have a few drinks and chatting. But those couple of early nights really help me through the week.

Also, this can provide just enough of a barrier to stop you in your tracks:

minutesplease.com/

I often go to bed at 8 but I have chronic fatigue.

But I also do all the things you do out of habit abd feel like shit those days.

The only way to get out of the cycle is to not do those things.

I'm skit at taking my own advice!

The very latest I am asleep by is 10pm. Last night my DC and I even had a conversation about is it weird that I'm going to bed at 8pm on a Saturday night 😊

I don't even have the excuse of having small DC as they are late teen/early 20 age.

I do get up early 5am, and I just need a lot of sleep. I do also have quite a physical day work wise so I think that's a factor.

I wake up earlier so in the mornings I make coffee and take it back to bed as I like half an hour or so to ease into the day.

I am single though and think this makes a difference. I think if I had a partner I would have to be more obliging to chat and do things together in the evening.

DH works away, I have a toddler (nearly 2) who still wakes around 1.30am then 5am...
So I aim for bed by 9/9.30 at the moment.

It's not as sustainable when I'm at work FT and we have hobbies etc on a night but at the moment it makes my lack of proper sleep more bareable as I get a few hours before he wakes me up

I've always gone to bed really early. Im washed and in pj's at about 8 and then definitely in bed by 9.30. My partner finds it really annoying!

I had the same bedtime as my daughter for several years when she was younger. I was a single parent and she just didn't need much sleep, the earlier she went to bed, the earlier she would wake up so we settled on 9.30 for both of us, waking around 4.30-5.00.

Dd is now 19 and due to the restrictions of the last year, I've reverted to going to bed about 9, getting up around 5-6. Dd goes to bed around 3 and gets up around midday. It gives us both some space to have around 6 hours a day to do our own thing alone and our relationship is currently really good because of this.

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, it's about what works for you.

hehe you'd fit right in here in QLD @FightingTheFoo 👌
im in bed at 9pm after my routine of dinner&2hours of netflix with theDC..they stay up til 10-11 as teens whilst im out like a light when head hits pillow.Im up at 5ish though with the sun-treadmill-shower--bfast-emails then work(pretty busy between multiple units)my day wouldnt work with any other times so yeah i felt a bit wierd years ago first off the plane lol but most people here are early birds-hot days&no daylight savings stuffs things up a bit so hey if it works4u no worries🙃

Yep. I'm in bed between 8 and 9pm every night. Plus I sleep in the afternoon for a couple of hours on Saturdays and Sundays.

If that’s what you want to do it’s perfectly doable. I used to work somewhere from 5am to 2pm so I would get in a routine of going to bed at 8 and I soon got used to it

My kids go to bed later (9pm) but I usually go up with them and have a quick surf / watch Netflix and then lights out by 10pm.

Sadly I'm an awful sleeper. Never, ever sleep the night through (often waken every few hours) so I never feel well rested!! But its much better than when I have wine / stay up until Midnight

I often go up to bed early and read a physical book. The consequence is that I can fall asleep before 9pm and wake around 5am

For you though having a toddler waking early would mean that you can get up and it be a good nights sleep had.

Exercise improves my sleep, but not near bedtime

Id get a good routine going whereby you bath - a hot bath reduces cortisone and will help make you sleep well

then get into bed and read a book for 30 minutes before lights out...

try it for a week and see what happens - what do you have to lose?

My alarm is set for 5.30am to get up for work so I feel cheated if not asleep between 9.30-10pm, which means we’re often heading to bed just after 9pm.

I wouldn’t say I go to bed at 8pm every night - some nights I do, sometimes a bit later if I’m up chatting to DH or having a bath. (Never later than 10pm)

Some things I do before bed:

• no phones or any screens 30-60 mins before bed (not even the kindle)

• charge phone away from bedroom (we charge at top of stairs and have phone on loud for any emergencies)

• no caffeine in evenings

• a few evenings a week I do a little pamper (face mask/eye mask/nails/bath - nothing that takes ages

• I work a few evenings a week so make sure I do 10 mins of yoga at least to decompress and make a clear mark between work and rest

I also schedule my day so I can make sure any housework jobs are done during day around toddler, leaving evenings free

I get up early because I hate rushing in the morning, so I go to bed about 9 pm and read for a while before I drop off. (It helps that I live in the middle of nowhere.) That might slide if I’m away on holiday but it’s easy to reset my body clock when home. Staying up until midnight or the small hours seems weird to me.

I go about 9pm, bed with a book though so I can stay relaxed and awake if my body wants it or I can just doze straight off if I need to. Like you part of the reason I do it is to stop snacking, I have less self control when I am tired.

I did when DS was little and often waking in the night or up for the day at 5 am. It takes a while to get into the habit but is easier in winter. I listen to meditations or stories to help me drift off - the Calm app is good but I use Moshi Twilight as we already have it to help DS get to sleep. Both do free trials if you want to try them.

I have two young DC that get up early and still wake at night, so I go to bed immediately after getting them to bed several times a week. I have blackout blinds so light won't be a problem.

It's bizarre to me that you're on your knees with tiredness but wondering if it will somehow be a problem to bin off screens and get an early night. There's no drawbacks. Less screens before bed helps with melatonin production and helps you fall asleep easier too.

I try to have two nights a week where I'm in bed by 9pm. That and vitamin d3 supplements every day have really helped my tiredness.

no screen in bedroom
give yourself 1 hour with a good book in bed

if you must catch first on your favourite show (30mn max) try herbal tea, so you don't snack.

I like evenings so I reverse the solution: I put my kids to bed later than average and we all sleep later in the morning
It was harder to put a toddler in a routine to get early enough for nursery than the other way round!

I often work in the evening, so I am more efficient then than early mornings.

Over the last 18 months I have greatly improved my sleep by going to bed earlier. If I can be lying down with the light out by 10.30 I'm asleep within minutes. If I stay up later I find it much harder to nod off. No matter what time I go to bed I'm awake at about 7.

On a perfect day I head off to bed about 9.15pm. I've spruced up the bedroom with throws and cushions and fresh flowers so it's a real treat to go in there, I light candles and read while I do the bedtime routine - cleanse, tone, brush teeth, handcream etc. When it's time to sleep I open the window, put a familiar audio book that I know inside out (Harry Potter or Anne of Green Gable work well) on an hours timer on my phone and play it very quietly at 0.6 of the usual speed. I'm normally asleep within 5 minutes.

Of course it also helps that all of the above refers to sleeping in our guest room! DH is a night owl who doesn't go to bed before midnight waking me up as he bumps about the room. When he does go to sleep he wants the windows shut and then snores, farts and screams (night terrors) the night away. I love him dearly but can't overstate the blessed relief of no longer sharing his bed every night.

Why do you accept the child getting up at 4/5am? Just put them back to bed. There's no way I'd be like ok let's get up at that time?! Unless there's an underlying issue then just put them back to bed until 7. Yeah they might whinge a bit the first few times but its weird that you would completely change your sleeping pattern when its theirs that needs changing.

Just do it OP. Think of it as self-care and looking after your health.

I go to bed around 9, asleep before 10. DD2 is 5 but don’t think I’ve ever recovered from the years of broken sleep.
I still feel tired a lot of the time but better than if I stayed up late!