[umbra]

I understand the idea of setting a wake time and working backwards from there (based on current average sleep) to determine a likely bedtime. What I’m not sure about is — if one doesn’t have to get up at a particular time — what’s the best way to determine the wake time to use?

I work remotely full-time and have the luxury of doing so 24/7. This means I don’t have a set work schedule (like 9 to 5) — as long as I put my hours in for the week I can work anytime I want.

I was thinking that I’d really like to figure out what my personal best wake time might be. Would it be a good idea to go to bed only when tired and just let myself wake up naturally for awhile to see what my chronotype is? Or just arbitrarily pick a wake-up time and go from there?

[Chee2308]

Hello @umbra

That is an interesting question. I think the best advice is try to go back to the times when you were sleeping without any problems, pre-insomnia. What time were you sleeping back then? Then work out your new schedule based from that or close to it. But ultimately, this is a your personal question and I hope you can start seeing that as such. It’s kind like asking which shoe size (7.5-8.5) you should buy if you normally wear an 8. The answer is whatever makes you feel good, give everything a test drive first and then makes changes as you go along. You won’t just be sleeping for one night only, surely this is not “do or die”. Good luck!

[umbra]

Thanks for the thoughts, Chee2308. I had considered going back to “pre-COVID” times, but then I was getting up to provide meds on a schedule to my pet (who has since passed). I think my personal sleep cycle may have changed in the interim — I used to be an early riser and go to bed pretty early too. But I’ve discovered that I like being up late and sleeping in more than I have ever been able to do in my life so far given responsibilities/work schedules etc. That’s why I was trying to figure out how to determine what really suits my personal rhythms as they are now. You’re right about this not being a “do or die” situation — definitely self-experimentation is in order!

[Chee2308]

Hello @umbra

Great! If you have this luxury then you can go to bed based on how sleepy you feel. Nobody said you need to stick a timetable except yourself, of course. Only you can judge yourself. Sleeping when really sleepy is a very natural instinct, animals do it all the time and everyone seems very happy. By sticking to a timetable, you only make it likelier to feel sleepy by a certain each night. It does nothing to your ability to sleep nor guarantee that sleep will happen. So if you are okay not feeling sleepy and staying up, don’t mind not sleeping by a certain time each night, are not stressed over it, and know that eventually you will sleep, then congratulations! It means you have overcome your insomnia and insomnia doesn’t have control over you anymore.

[Author]

Posts