Sleep consistency

Medical Q&A [Moderated]
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Hey guys,

I am struggling to get to sleep at night :frowning: I think there’s multiple factors at play. I don’t feel like I’m getting enough sleep: I wake tired and my brain is foggy.

I am trying to improve my sleep hygiene and have checked out links Austin has posted in response to previous questions (How to Sleep Better).

Consistent sleep and wake times are recommended to improve sleep, which is a bit of a problem for me. I do various group training sessions in the morning throughout the week with varying start times, for example:

Mon- wake 4.50am to swim

Tue- wake 5.45am to paddle

Wed- wake 5.15am to swim

Thur- wake 6am to drop my kids to sport

Fri- wake 6.20am to drop my kids

Weekends- vary and I sometimes sleep in until 7am, as I am tired, but then can’t sleep at night.

I really want to improve my sleep, but if I want to do these activities which I love with people I enjoy seeing, my wake times vary wildly, which is likely leading to my difficulty in falling asleep at night. I don’t want to get trapped in either/or thinking, but I’m not sure what to do? I don’t have the flexibility to do these activities at other times due to work and family commitments.

Do you have any recommendations? How important do you think consistent sleep/wake times for improving sleep?

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Consistent wake times are more important than consistent sleep times, in general.

Aside from that, I would aim to optimize as much of the modifiable sleep hygiene variables that I could. This includes getting bright light (ideally sunlight) as soon as possible after waking up, among other things.

Lastly, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) may be worthwhile to pursue, as it can improve insomnia even if you aren’t able to achieve perfect consistency. Consider a consultation with a sleep medicine physician as well.

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Thanks for your advice Austin. Much appreciated.

I’m working on my sleep hygiene and have found a psychologist that specialises in CBT-I if needed.

You say consistent sleep wake times are most important. It makes me wonder about the cost/benefit of my highly variable wake times especially when I swim two days a week.

The benefits of swimming (enjoyment, cardio, social connection) might be outweighed by the cost of lost sleep which is about 2.5hrs a week/130hrs a year? That’s something I need to weigh up, but I’d be interested to hear your thoughts.