I used to be a morning zombie.
I'd have to literally wake up 3 or 4 times in the morning before I can pull head off the pillow. I hated mornings and could not focus on anything in my early classes without a dose of Starbucks' too strong too burnt coffee. Now that may have had something to do with the fact that I never had a sleeping schedule (I would go to bed anywhere from 1 to 4 am and wake up anywhere from 6:30 to 11:30 am). On a typical day, or night, I would get anything from 4.5 to 11 hours of sleep, never with any regularity.
About 6 weeks ago I decided as we say in Arabic, Nem bakkir w fee2 bakkir w shouf el sse77a keef betseer :P
I started going to bed everyday at around 12am, and setting my alarm at 8am. In addition, considering there is a street light outside each of my two windows, I went ahead and bought a sleep mask. It's amazing the difference it's made. Now barring that terrible first night of insomnia as I adjusted to a new sleep schedule and something attached to my face, I have reached an awesome stage. I now feel very sleepy when I go to bed and promptly go under within 5 to 10 minutes. For the first couple of weeks I woke up at 8 with the alarm, but then I started waking up by myself at 7:15am. And I wake up all refreshed, energized, and ready to jump out of bed and start my day.
Encouraging a regular circadian rhythm is known to decrease fatigue and insomnia and increase REM sleep. It decreases the risk of cancer. In addition, melatonin is only produced by the pineal gland in darkness, which means in our world of only dim city darkness, we may not be producing much. It's important and related to everything from sleep disorders, the immune system, hormonal balance, memory, cancer, the heart... and it is also a very good antioxidant.
I guess what I'm saying is, sleep in a regular pattern, and sleep in the dark!
Cheers.
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