I want to change my regular sleep pattern. Please help.

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

It is nice to see that you are so aware of your sleep rhythms. Advanced sleep phase syndrome (ASPS) is common in the elderly and not so common in your age. However, your symptoms match ASPS and I will suggest some techniques to delay your circadian rhythm.

Ensure that your room has the curtains closed at night. Try wearing a cloth eye mask if you are comfortable wearing it. Avoid going outside the early morning. The idea is to delay your exposure to bright light very early in the morning. If circadian rhythm disturbances are common in your family, or there is a long past history of the same in your case, you can consider investing in a bright light lamp. Our indoor lights are of negligible intensity as compared to sunlight (100 lux vs 10000 lux). So exposure to indoor light will not help much. However, there are bright lights that emit bright light of significant intensity. You can buy them online. Exposure to them in the evening can help in delaying your advanced sleep phase schedule. The whole idea is to minimize your bright light exposure early in the day and increasing it in the evenings. Melatonin supplements could help theoretically, but you need to take it late at around 11.30 pm, so the effect will last till early morning.

Sleep schedule is called so because it is a habit. It cannot be learned or unlearned in a day. You will not see results in a day or even a week. Regularly practicing sleeping late in the day for two to three weeks should help you.

I hope this helps.

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

In your case, you need Melatonin to keep you asleep in the morning and not to help you to fall asleep. So, timed-release should work better logically. I would recommend taking it as late as you can. If you take just before your sleep time, or maybe even an hour after you fall asleep, it is more likely to help you rather than taking it early. Again, remember that your intent is to avoid early morning awakening. Most people who take Melatonin is to help them fall asleep. That is why they need to take it earlier.

Also, there are personal variations regarding drug absorption and efficacy. You can tweak around and see which Melatonin helps you and what time of pill helps you most.

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

There is a technique to use bright light therapy. Usually, exposure to 30 minutes at a stretch per day is recommended. You need to keep it about 30-50 cm away from your face (as per the instructions of the equipment) and you can read a book during the session. Do not face the lamp. Let the light bathe your face from sideways. In your case, the ideal time of exposure would be between 5-7 pm.

Another helpful thing would be to wear sunglasses if you need to step out of home early morning. This will reduce exposure to bright light early in the morning.