Bad sleepers, tell me the secret to getting up early without feeling destroyed!!

[LaDamaDeElche]

DD has started high school and in the country we live it's an 8am start. Due to the distance from home, the alarm goes off at 6:30am. I know this isn't crazy early, but my natural body clock has always been to wake up around 7:30. Getting up earlier just makes me feel destroyed. I don't think it helps that I'm also a bad sleeper, so for the amount of hours I'm in bed for, I'm not sleeping for all of them or having a good quality of sleep. I'm also a language teacher and don't get home from work until 9pm most nights, so early nights aren't a possibility for me as I have to have dinner (lunch is the main meal here, so I have something light), shower (hot country, so this is a must), get ready for the next day and try to have a bit of chill time before I get to bed. Ideally I'd like to be in bed for 10pm, but this just isn't possible.

Does anyone have any tips for how to not feel so tired or get a better quality of sleep?

If she’s in high school why are you getting up at the same time? Do you have to drive her?

No, she has ADHD so she's a couple of years behind in executive functioning

No excuse needed for having to get up with her - what a ridiculous first response to your post. My DD is 11 and have just started secondary and I could most certainly not lie in bed whilst she got up and got herself ready in the first term of high school as could no other parent I know. No help to your sleep issue but just in response to the PP’s reply regarding not getting up now they are in high school 🙄

Have you always had trouble sleeping OP?

I sympathise OP, I’m a terrible sleeper too, not found the solution to that yet but I do have a sunrise alarm clock and it makes the getting up a little less awful, especially in winter.

Would you not take a sleeping pill once or twice a week to help you sleep?

Or a relaxtion app to listen too???

Sleep mask helps me.

I'm a bad sleeper too. My room has to be completely dark and cool. Sleep mask for the light that gets round the curtains.

I find I can function on less sleep as long as I have one or two early nights.

I used to listen to pod casts to help me focus my mind if it was too busy. I would just set it to switch off after 30 mins.

Coffee in the morning, and nap in the afternoon ? Could you try either of these ? I assume you don't start work until later in the day.

The calm app is really good. The bedtime stories help. I’ve also found a lavender and coco butter cream that i put on just before bed- I’ve found the smell alone now makes me sleepy as I associate it with bedtime.

I've always found that for me a good hot shower feels like the equivalent of an additional 2-3 hours sleep

Valerian tea, it tastes awful but does the job.

magnesium supplements before bed and a sleep mask. Try to have 30 mins in bed winding down before you go to sleep like reading etc

oh and lavender pillow spray

It might be drastic but can you do anything to change your working hours? I know I would find it very difficult to relax enough in the evening with such a late finish. I’m not a bad sleeper, but it’s a fragile balance, and if I do anything in the evening it can bugger up my sleep.

Is it just you and DD? No one else to get up with her?

We live in France, my DS started secondary (collège) at 10, and yes 8am starts.

Could you both have something nice to start the day so it’s a relaxed routine?

Not quite the same, but 1 year old here was up early often until recently (still sometimes). Instead of up and getting and despairing it’s still dark, I have started getting up and making a ‘fancy’ pot of loose leaf tea, and spend 20 mins having first tea and reading news whilst toddler plays and sprinkles rice cracker everywhere!

( feel you pain, school starts 7.40-8am here too. I’m dreading it)

Get yourself a sunrise alarm clock or a smart bulb that will do similar. It has completely changed my life. I used to be so groggy getting up, particularly in winter, but it’s so much easier now.

I have no secrets to give just solidarity. I start work at 8 am and sleep very badly. I'm often wide awake between 3 and 5 then manage to doze off for a bit before I have to get up at 6.30. It's a bit shit really.

The main thing that has improved my sleep has been regular yoga. It’s changed me from being someone who struggled to get to sleep and who woke regularly through the night and struggled to get back to sleep to someone who falls asleep quickly and can get back to sleep with ease.

The other thing that I’ve found helps was actually recommended to me by a midwife. She suggested having a very dim red light on in the bedroom to help the baby feel safe and sleep. The ‘baby’ has been in his own room for over 18 months now but we still sleep with the red light. It’s really dim but stops light changes from waking me, also stops the glow from dp’s clock etc.

I have a sunrise clock that I use in winter but in the main I’ve adjusted to waking up at 5.30 and it’s not too difficult now.

I also try to reframe it as a positive eg getting up earlier means I get to sit with a cup of tea rather than rushing straight into my day.

I have terrible sleep (menopause), what has worked recently is cbd nighttime oil - used for a week and it seems to have reset me - I’ve just had two normal nights not using it. Too early to say for sure but just adding a thought.

@Tickledtrout

Have you always had trouble sleeping OP?

Pretty much since DD was born. Before that I was an ok sleeper, although did have bouts of insomnia from time to time.

@ItsReallyOnlyMe

Coffee in the morning, and nap in the afternoon ? Could you try either of these ? I assume you don't start work until later in the day.

Some days I start work at 9:30 unfortunately. I normally don't work between 12 - 3, so try and fit a nap in, but I can't always nap. Too much in my mind, as I'm thinking about the classes later on 🤦🏽‍♀️

@DateLoaf

Valerian tea, it tastes awful but does the job.

I've never heard of this. I'll look into it. Thank you!

@workwoes123

It might be drastic but can you do anything to change your working hours? I know I would find it very difficult to relax enough in the evening with such a late finish. I’m not a bad sleeper, but it’s a fragile balance, and if I do anything in the evening it can bugger up my sleep.

Is it just you and DD? No one else to get up with her?

We live in France, my DS started secondary (collège) at 10, and yes 8am starts.

Unfortunately not. I live in Spain, so if you're English pretty much the job you do is either teaching or working in an English bar/restaurant, unless you have native like fluency in Spanish, which I don't, only conversational Spanish. The job market is pretty rubbish here, for the Spanish too!

@Martinisarebetterdirty

I have terrible sleep (menopause), what has worked recently is cbd nighttime oil - used for a week and it seems to have reset me - I’ve just had two normal nights not using it. Too early to say for sure but just adding a thought.

I've heard a lot of good things about cbd oil from fellow insomniac friends. Definitely worth a try. Thank you 😊

Thank for all the advice everyone. Very helpful. I'm definitely going to look into some of these things. I woke up at 8:15 today, but still feel destroyed after a night tossing and turning!! I have a completely blacked out room, thanks to the brilliant Spanish blinds and AC on, but even complete darkness and a cool room doesn't seem to help these days. A poster suggested a sleeping pill and I did used to take them from time to time, but they don't always work that well. I still wake up. I think the cbd oil could be something to try.