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My sleep schedule is really messed up. I stay up well past midnight and I feel like I need at least 1 nap during the day. How can I reset it? At times I find it impossible to stay awake when I should be awake. I would like to aim at being asleep at midnight and waking up at 8 (given what I'm doing that already is a difficult goal).

One contributor to the problem is I have swimming practice at 9:30-10:30PM and I'm supposed to eat a meal with protein and energy after it. Also, I live in a shared house and find it disturbing when the roommates close the door when using the bathroom at night. Actually that may be a reason why I take naps during the day: it's when fewest people are home and therefore is the quietest.

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  • You need to move the swimming practice - by the time you've done that and then eaten, you're wide awake, and won't sleep easily. Needs to be lunchtime ideally, otherwise, around 7 ish. It's not a good idea to do any exercise past about 8pm if you want to be asleep by 12. – Bamboo Oct 16 '15 at 12:07
  • @Bamboo I complained before and they just said it's the time the pool has available and the coaches have available – Celeritas Oct 16 '15 at 22:23
  • Very unfortunate - you might have to make a choice between swimming and sleep... – Bamboo Oct 17 '15 at 9:31
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As Bamboo mentioned,

You cannot realistically expect to be doing physical activity, at 10PM and come home, eat, then pass out easily, especially if you nap during the day.

Think of it this way, a common method before going to sleep is to remove yourself from electronics and bright screens etc.

The reason is because this will help cue the biological signals of our brain, that it is time for rest. If you stay up on a computer, looking at the screen, processing information (watching videos, learning about something etc), your brain activity will be high, and it takes a while for your body to slow down (think of car temperatures, it takes a while for your car to go from normal operating temp, to cold (hours of time).

I would ditch napping as the first thing, this will make you more tired (at least until you get into a CONSISTENT sleeping schedule)

NOTES:

  • Make Mornings Bright. Light tells your body's clock when it's time to wake up. Keep Nights Dark. At night, dim the lights to cue your body that it's time for sleep

  • WORKING OUT Needs to be before noon. A high-intensity cardio workout late in the day can disrupt sleep

  • Before your target sleep time: To prepare your body for bed, try doing something to relax. Take a warm bath or listen to calm music.

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  • Reading in bed helps me fall asleep quicker, especially with a dim reading lamp. – BrettFromLA♦ Oct 16 '15 at 18:51

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