Do you have a “sleep window”?

[gummybear]

I have a terrible time falling asleep and basically need medication every single night (I switch it around - probably have 5-10 options). Even with, some nights I can’t sleep. However, I’ve recently noticed that I have a short time each night where I’m extremely drowsy (meds or not) - basically nodding off. If I immediately turn off the light and lay down I’m out in minutes.

However if I fight it - or miss it (being out, reading, watching tv etc) I’m screwed and I won’t fall asleep for hours. I googled and apparently this is an actual thing! It’s different for everyone but it is your body telling you to sleep. I think this might be very helpful. Mine is 10:30-11 fwiw.

[cville]

I have heard tell of this and am trying to find mine.

[sonrisa]

Yes. And it’s ridiculously early 4;30on-6:30ish) so I never get to take it. I still have dinner to cook most nights.

I have a second one around 5;30-7:30am for those times I woke up 1-4am and couldn’t get back to sleep.

both are really poorly timed and mess me up.

10:30-11 sounds ideal.

[gretchenindisguise]

I don’t, but my kids absolutely do and always have.

[orangello]

Mine is apparently 2-3pm 😂

[TR]

Sort of. It’s not a defined window, but in general, if I stay up too late, it’s over. And that’s past 11 PM for me.

[konapoppy]

Yes. If I’m not in bed between 8:45 - 9:30 (typically I actually fall sleep around 9:15), I will be up for at least another hour. It makes me wonder if I can ever have a job with lots of evening work.

But I am also a morning person and don’t remember the last time I slept past 7 am, regardless of when I went to bed. Most mornings I am up by 5:30.

[wanderingback]

Thankfully no.
I’m generally a night owl, but if I get ready for bed and lay down, either earlier than usual or later than usual I never have trouble falling asleep.

[lostrn]

So to be fair I worked night shift (7pm to 7am) from 2002-2015. Which of course screwed up my sleep. But I absolutely have a perfect window for falling asleep and if I miss it, which I do 99% of the time, my body ramps up and then I have trouble sleeping.
I'm going to flat out blame my husband...if he wasn't around I could be in pajamas around 8pm and asleep shortly thereafter and super pleasant when my alarm goes off in the morning

[charlatti]

Not for falling asleep, but if something wakes me up between roughly 2 and 3 a.m., I have a very, very difficult time getting back to sleep. That might not be the same thing.

[momin2013]

No, I don’t think I do.

[expectantsteelerfan]

Yes. This is why I have such an issue with DD trying to stay up late recently, because she often comes in and disrupts my falling asleep process, which wakes me up when I'm drowsy, and then it takes me forever to actually fall asleep. She doesn't understand and it leads to issues. I have actually asked dh to deal with her exclusively if it's past 9:30 because even if he's annoyed if he is kept up later than he wants to be, he can fall asleep in 2 minutes easily whatever time it is.

[abs]

Yep! It’s between 10-10:30. If I’m really tired I can fall asleep before but if I miss it then I’m up until 2 am.

It’s why I’m pretty protective of my evenings. Should be fun to navigate as DD enters high school, too.

[underwaterrhymes]

Between 8:30 and 9:30 is my sweet spot.

[fivechickens]

I think so? I get super tired between 8-9, if I don’t get in bed by then I have a hard time falling asleep.

If I do, and get woken up even for a few minutes, I could be up for hours.

[joy]

Not really, thankfully.

If I wake up overnight sometimes I will be really “awake” and know that if I try to go back, it will take over an hour. In those times, I put on a podcast and get back to sleep faster from the gentle voices talking.

I read somewhere (not sure if true) that parts of your brain rest overnight. The part required for alertness may be awake when you wake up overnight but the part that looks logically at situations is still resting. This is why things seem scarier and more awful overnight. I use the podcast as something for my brain to listen to rather the thoughts that normally would float by at that hour. Going back to sleep is far easier!

[dexteroni]

I do. It’s 10 - 11 pm, and I pass it nearly every night, and then I don’t get to sleep until 12:30, and I’m exhausted the next day. Every single day I say “I’m definitely going to bed earlier tonight” and every single day I don’t. I don’t know why I do this to myself. It’s problematic.

I’m reading the “I go to bed at 8:30 -9:00” replies in awe. How? When do you do the household stuff that didn’t get done earlier or watch tv or read or see your spouse? Do you not have pets that need a later potty break? Teach me your ways because I need to make some changes.

[W.T.Faulkner]

I used to. Then I started meds for ADHD and had two children, and now I have enough energy to get my ass beaten from 6 am to 9 pm every day and pass out immediately after.

[devonpow]

Yep. I wear an oura ring to track my sleep and it has defined my ideal sleep time as being basically 10-6. I can catch a second wind after 10 but then I’m up way too late and groggy in the morning. Likewise if I sleep too late I’m groggy when I wake up (like this morning I naturally woke up around 6:30 and felt ok but still decided to go back to sleep. When my alarm went off at 7:30 I was so tired. I’m really trying to work on going to sleep early enough that I can wake up on time but without an alarm so I wake up at a natural point in my sleep cycles. I have yet to achieve this).

[basilosaurus]

Yes and no. If I'm falling asleep while reading it watching TV if I don't immediately take advantage it will dissappear entirely. However it's not tied to an exact time and rarely happens. Hence prescriptions most nights

[Jalapeñomel]

Oct 26, 2024 9:41:53 GMT -5 dexteroni said:

I do. It’s 10 - 11 pm, and I pass it nearly every night, and then I don’t get to sleep until 12:30, and I’m exhausted the next day. Every single day I say “I’m definitely going to bed earlier tonight” and every single day I don’t. I don’t know why I do this to myself. It’s problematic.

I’m reading the “I go to bed at 8:30 -9:00” replies in awe. How? When do you do the household stuff that didn’t get done earlier or watch tv or read or see your spouse? Do you not have pets that need a later potty break? Teach me your ways because I need to make some changes.

I prioritized sleep years ago, and I will never go back.  Household stuff can wait. My phone goes into Sleep Mode at 8:15 pm every night and the tv goes off as well (no tv in my bedroom). My pets don't go out after 8 pm (when I had dogs that go out).  Sometimes I don't get to hang out with my spouse until the weekend. 

I also have a job that I have to be ON. Like ON ON ON at 7:41 am---if I'm tired, I make mistakes that will never be forgotten for all time. LOL

[scm1011]

No. I can basically fall asleep at any time of day lol.

[redheadk]

Yes and it’s a little too early for when I actually want to go to bed. Dd goes to bed at 9:45/10, Dh goes to bed around 10:30 and my preference would be 11:30 so I can decompress alone in a quiet house. I fall asleep so much faster if I go to bed at 10:30, though.

[SusanBAnthony]

Oct 26, 2024 9:41:53 GMT -5 dexteroni said:

I do. It’s 10 - 11 pm, and I pass it nearly every night, and then I don’t get to sleep until 12:30, and I’m exhausted the next day. Every single day I say “I’m definitely going to bed earlier tonight” and every single day I don’t. I don’t know why I do this to myself. It’s problematic.

I’m reading the “I go to bed at 8:30 -9:00” replies in awe. How? When do you do the household stuff that didn’t get done earlier or watch tv or read or see your spouse? Do you not have pets that need a later potty break? Teach me your ways because I need to make some changes.

When do you get up in the morning though? I get up at 5:30 and get some stuff done then, or read. I go to bed at 9 (literally always have my whole life) and get stuff done or relax or hang out with H from 7-9 pm.

[sent]

I think so. I have to go to bed after 10:30 pm. When I used to have to take DS to bed at 9 pm, I would fall asleep with him and then I'd be wide awake at about 1 am and couldn't fall back asleep until like 4 am. Then I would naturally want to wake up at 9 am but the kids had to be at school so it was a real struggle to wake up.

Thankfully once he started first grade last month, DS stopped making me take him to bed. Now I can fall asleep after 10:30 pm like my body wants to and it's much easier to get myself out of bed around 6:40 am - 7:15 am depending on what I need to do in the morning. The sweet spot would be if I could get myself out of bed between 5 - 6 am and be productive until I have to wake the kids up.

[chickadee77]

Nope. But I wake up nearly every morning at 3am like clockwork, and if I engage with anyone/anything at that time, I'm up until at leat 5am, if not for the day.

[wise_rita]

Not at all. If left to my own devices I think my circadian rhythm would have me sleeping 2am-10am.

Alas parenting and modern day society will not allow me to live in my natural state.

[tacokick]

Is it possible to have it at like 2:30 pm? That’s the only time I can feel myself nodding off.

I have always had a hard time falling asleep but I stay asleep once I do. I generally fall asleep late and get up late. Luckily I rarely have to be anywhere before like 9 or 10.

[mrsukyankee]

Between 10pm and 11pm. And if I wake up any time after 3am, I'm likely to remain awake.

[jorja]

Oct 25, 2024 23:27:41 GMT -5 lostrn said:

So to be fair I worked night shift (7pm to 7am) from 2002-2015. Which of course screwed up my sleep. But I absolutely have a perfect window for falling asleep and if I miss it, which I do 99% of the time, my body ramps up and then I have trouble sleeping.
I'm going to flat out blame my husband...if he wasn't around I could be in pajamas around 8pm and asleep shortly thereafter and super pleasant when my alarm goes off in the morning

Right there with you. Nights for 15 years, and I think if I could go to bed at 8/9, I’d be golden, but I never can, so 1/1:30 it is (and a nap most afternoons).