I've got bad sleeping technique.

juxtapilot

Snowflake
I have this problem, and it's becoming more and more frequent where I wake up too early. I always set my alarm ring 9 hours after I set it. I probably doze off about an hour after setting it. Ideally I'd like to have 8 hours of sleep. The problem is that I nearly ALWAYS wake up an hour or two early. So when I set it to get up at 6 am, I will wake up at 4 or 5 am. It's really annoying. I think it's because I am always worried I will oversleep and end up waking myself up. Anybody have any good ideas on how to actually get better at this sleeping thing?

P.S. Not sure where to post this... so feel free to move.
 
My response to fear of oversleeping is to just not go to sleep...happened the last couple days. Also, it's horrible if you have to fly...
 
My response to fear of oversleeping is to just not go to sleep...happened the last couple days. Also, it's horrible if you have to fly...

I'm doing pretty well at the not sleeping part right now. My flight school grounded their fleet so I'm not too worried about having to fly for a week or two. :mad:
 
Don't be so convinced that you need 8 hours of sleep. I used to think I needed 8 hours but I found that my average is about 6.5-7 hours. I've never been one to stay in bed all morning, usually I'm up and out by 7am.

In short the article suggest that if you suffer from insomnia, it's better to get up and out of bed that sit around laying there worrying about it.

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1812420,00.html
 
Okay real answer... sounds like your paranoid of oversleeping. Which as a pilot is usually a good thing.

How you fix it is buy more alarm clocks, make sure they use separate power sources so they won't all fail if the electricity goes out (batteries / cell phone.) You won't have to worry about oversleeping, and you'll be sound as a pound.

Works for me anyway.
 
I sometimes have a glass of milk before I go to bed. I think there's something in it that facilitates good quality sleep.

My personal experience has been that drinking alcohol later in the evening can cause an early wakeup.
 
Okay real answer... sounds like your paranoid of oversleeping. Which as a pilot is usually a good thing.

How you fix it is buy more alarm clocks, make sure they use separate power sources so they won't all fail if the electricity goes out (batteries / cell phone.) You won't have to worry about oversleeping, and you'll be sound as a pound.

Works for me anyway.

That's exactly what I do.

If I"m paranoid of oversleeping, I'm not going to sleep well at all.

Generally, I'll set my battery-powered travel clock, my wristwatch and my cellphone to the time I want to wake up. That way, I'm pretty sure at least one was set correctly and I don't have to worry about "operator error".

BTW, best airline pilot alarm clock on earth. Love it!

http://www.brookstone.com/sl/product/10167-night-glow-travel-alarm-clocks.html

Rock solid and idiot-proof.
 
Better check with the AME first though. Especially if you're going on duty the next morning.

One bad pee test and you might as well kiss it all goodbye!
 
I wish I can wake up before my alarm clock. It seems that I always need around 9 hours of sleep. If I wake up before that, then I'm very tired and grouchy. I also hear that when you get older you sleep less, so yeah. NyQuil is only good when you don't have any alcohol laying around.
 
As long as you're not draggin all day, your body has had enough rest. If your body wakes up on its own without any stimulus from the outside, you probably have had enough rest. Sounds like you're properly rested if you need an hour to fall asleep. Drinking milk, staying off the booze, melatonin supplements, and even working out 2 hours before you go to sleep will help you rest better, if you're really worried about it. Now if the lack of those two hours is causing you to fatigue, then i'd go see a sleep specialist...
 
...In short the article suggest that if you suffer from insomnia, it's better to get up and out of bed that sit around laying there worrying about it...

That information above is generally correct. There is also the concept of good "sleep hygiene" That involves:

1. going to bed and waking up at the same time....7 days per week.
2. No alcohol (including nyquil!!!! it's 25%/50 proof alcohol PLUS a sedative in the form of dyphenhydramine)
3. if you are lying in bed thinking about how you cant sleep...get OUT of bed (as above)
4. No TV or computer about 2-3 hours prior to sleeping (it induces alpha waves...which screw up sleep)
5. The bed is for sleeping and sex only; not TV, not reading, not eating etc.


For more information goto:

http://www.stanford.edu/~dement/

PS: I know much of this stuff b/c I went to medical school with Dr. Dement's son...and had several cool conversations with Dr. Dement over the years. Dr. Dement is one of the pioneers of sleep medicine (and that link is to his website at Stanford)
 
5. The bed is for sleeping and sex only; not TV, not reading, not eating etc.

True true true. The bedroom's for showering, make sexy time and sleep. Preferably in that order! :)
 
I have this problem, and it's becoming more and more frequent where I wake up too early. I always set my alarm ring 9 hours after I set it. I probably doze off about an hour after setting it. Ideally I'd like to have 8 hours of sleep. The problem is that I nearly ALWAYS wake up an hour or two early. So when I set it to get up at 6 am, I will wake up at 4 or 5 am. It's really annoying. I think it's because I am always worried I will oversleep and end up waking myself up. Anybody have any good ideas on how to actually get better at this sleeping thing?

P.S. Not sure where to post this... so feel free to move.

Do you ever get up when you wake up that hour or two before you have to? If you are awake and feel refreshed, I would say it is your body's way of saying you don't need that much sleep. Most adults don't really need a full 8 hours of sleep, 6 - 7 hours is plenty for them. Try getting up and seeing how your days go. You may find that you get by just fine and you just gained 2 hours to your day!:nana2:
 
There's lots of good stuff in this thread... I've got the paranoia real bad. I'm going to try some stuff, maybe I'll buy another alarm clock too...
 
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