

When you have to wake up earlier than usual - sethbannon
http://blog.42floors.com/waking-up-early/

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zw123456
I had suffered from insomnia most of my life until recently. I tried various
things some mentioned here and also prescriptions. But what has helped me is
pot. It may not be for everyone but for me it has helped immensely. But do
your research some types are better for sleeping than others. And please, this
is a sincere post.

~~~
yarou
It may be anecdotal, but I too have had success with pot. My sleep schedule
has been more regular, compared with the alternatives. At any rate they are
less harmful for you compared to say benzos or z-drugs like Ambien.

~~~
dbimault
Pot won't work long-term. The problem is that your body will build resistance,
and you'll have to use more and more of it.

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paulmd
My usual trick is to drink a couple big glasses of water right before you you
to sleep. You'll be ready to hop out of bed and empty your bladder bright and
early.

My understanding is that particular trick dates back to the Native Americans
at a minimum.

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troels
I'm guessing you're young.

~~~
mjklin
Yeah once you get up towards forty you're going to be hopping out of bed at
least once a night for a quick slash. Especially if you're on certain
medications.

~~~
yaddayadda
I'm in my mid-40's and this trick has worked for me for over a decade,
including just a couple of weeks ago. (@mjklin - I'm not an MD and I'm not
being flippant, if you're already having problems in this area you might want
to see a urologist about it. Nocturia is a problem for relatively few people
our age -
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nocturia#Prevalence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nocturia#Prevalence))

I can't use the water trick day in and day out, because I get habituated to it
and end up sleeping through my bathroom visit.

I also have to be careful about how much I drink; too much and the bathroom
visit happens in the middle of the night and back to sleep I go. But 10-12 oz
consumed rapidly within 10 minutes before my head hits the pillow seems to be
the sweet spot.

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jcrites
This sounds similar to a technique that I heard about some time ago for
overcoming jet lag:

Decide what time you want to wake up, locally, in the new time zone. 16 hours
before that time, stop eating and sleeping. If possible, try to arrange to
fall asleep by 8-6 hours before that time, for a normal night's rest.

When you wake up the next day, you will be famished. Eat a large, filling
breakfast. Supposedly the hunger/full cycle has an impact on the body's
circadian rhythms, and fasting followed by eating is an especially good way to
reset the clock to think "morning" is when you woke up and ate. I read some
evolutionary-biology hypothesis that starvation was a larger threat to ancient
mankind than sleep deprivation, such that when an individual becomes extremely
hungry, the body clock pauses to favor alertness, and then can be switched
back on with a large meal.

However it works, it's worked well for me when I needed to travel long
distances (compared to previous trips where I did not).

I totally believe that a similar technique could work on a daily basis to help
'anchor' your sleep to the desired time.

[https://hbr.org/2009/05/a-fast-solution-to-jet-
lag/](https://hbr.org/2009/05/a-fast-solution-to-jet-lag/)

~~~
eru
If you use a 16 hour fast on a daily basis, you'll end up with some
interesting intermittent fasting pattern.

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great_kraken
I have to say, I was hopeful up until he mentioned the hunger bit. The delayed
sleep phase disorder sounds exactly like me, and I already eat a strict low
carb diet, but that fact means that I'm never really hungry. In fact, I
believe many people who eat low carb experience the same reprieve from the
constant cycle of hungry-satiated-hungry as their blood sugar and energy
levels remain constant.

Maybe it's just because I'm not a breakfast eater. Oh well!

~~~
giggles_giggles
Yeah, I both have a shifted sleep phase as well as a shifted eating disorder,
where I consume most of my calories after 6pm and don't really get hungry at
all until 3pm or later most days, even if I go to bed famished.

Also, melatonin gives me depressive episodes. My brain chemicals just aren't a
fan of this guy's methods :(

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bravura
I'm curious if there are more up-to-date recommendations for his light
regulation technique, linked at the beginning of the article:

[http://humbledmba.com/become-a-morning-person-how-to-end-
ins...](http://humbledmba.com/become-a-morning-person-how-to-end-insomnia-f)

For example, the "NatureBright Per3 Deluxe Wake Up Light" recommended in the
2012 update is no longer available on Amazon.

~~~
tempestn
I actually just did some research on this a few days ago, and the most
promising thing I found was this: [http://re-timer.com/](http://re-timer.com/)

I've been using a NatureBright SunTouch Plus for a couple years, and it's
good, but not particularly convenient to sit in front of for half an hour a
day. The glasses are expensive, but would be great if they work. (And most of
the reviews I was able to find were positive.)

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makeset
Complete opposite of my experience. As a weight-class athlete I alternate
between high-carb in the off-season and limiting carbs to peri-workout hours
in the afternoon during periods of dieting down. I only wake up hungry during
the high-carb periods, even though I go to sleep with much higher blood sugar.

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DenisM
It's pobably highly individual, but I found that heavy red meats are bad for
my sleep, but fish is good. I also found wine to be bad, but light beer is
just fine.

I guess the lesson here is to play with various food compositions and
schedules, and see which one works for you.

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svantana
I've noticed similar behaviors in my own sleep patterns. But for me, another
problem arises - there's a huge chance I might wake up at 3 am, hungry and
unable to go back to sleep.

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Tsggdjbs
Are there any academic studies about how low carb diets and going to bed
slightly hungry impact morning energy levels? This is consistent with my
experience but my sample size is too small

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csl
I had huge problems falling asleep for several years (10 years or so). Then I
stopped reading in bed, avoided coffee after five and started to consistently
go to bed before midnight. Now I regularly fall asleep within 20 minutes or
sooner.

I'm just saying that for some people, you may want to _first_ try out the
general tips from sleep experts. Do that seriously for a good while (I think
it took me several months). Then you can try more advanced stuff.

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thoughtsimple
As I commented on the article, this will not work for me. I frequently go to
sleep hungry (fasting) and I will not be hungry for several hours after I
wake. My metabolism is obviously different. I usually have no trouble fasting
for 24-36 hours and I rarely feel uncomfortably hungry.

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kyberias
These days everything is attributed to the low carb diet. This time it's
waking up early.

~~~
taurath
True, its not a cure-all, and also not for everyone. Still, there is pretty
significant effects both physically and neurologically for most people.

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emcarey
I can relate to this article so much!! I'm in my late twenties and I sleep in
like a teenager. The mornings are so painful for me. I also eat a lot of
pasta.... so will try this new trick!

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ciupicri
So he wakes up earlier, but is his sleep as good as it was before? Sleep is
meant to be a recovery process and without the building material from food, it
might not be very efficient.

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adamzerner
What is the evidence for this other than this personal anecdote?

He mentioned DSPS. I have it too, and there's research on it. Check out
[http://www.circadiansleepdisorders.org/](http://www.circadiansleepdisorders.org/).
Light therapy seems to work best. Especially wearing glasses that filter out
blue light at night.

