Suggestions.
1) Keep a sleep log. This will help you get some insight on what's going on. Track When you A) go to bed, B) fall asleep, C) wake up, D) get out of bed, E) exercise, F) eat), and consume G) alcohol, H) nicotine, i) caffeine, and J) any other drug.
2) Try waking up at different times. Maybe your alarm is set to wake you up when you're at your deepest sleep.
3) Maybe the caffeine and nicotine are stimulating you, so you don't feel tired during the day. However, if you cut it off, you would notice that you need more rest. Try cutting down (I know would be difficult to accomplish) on both or at least the coffee (again, both would be best and it's your health!) and see if your need for sleep increases or you actually start sleeping better.
3a) Also, caffeine has a half-life of 5.7 hours. So if you drink two 8oz cups of coffee (a medium at most coffee places I think) at 6pm, you would still have about 8oz of coffee worth of caffeine in your system at 12am (probably even more since there's a delay between drinking coffee and getting caffeine in your blood stream). You might be able to fall asleep, but your sleep quality could be affected.
4) Maybe you have something medical going on. Perhaps, you would want to go check out a doctor and see what they say.
Great advice. I think I'm actually going to start keeping a log like you suggested. After I've built up some notes I'll consider taking them to a doctor just to see what they say about my sleeping habits.
* When do you go to bed? -Usually around 9pm.
* How long are you in bed before you fall asleep? -Anywhere from 20 minutes to 4 minutes.
* What is your night time routine? -I know its bad, but I'm usually on my phone while in bed before I go to sleep.
* What kinds of activities do you do in bed? -Sleeping, sex, on my phone before bed.
* Any drug use? -Caffeine and Nicotine.
* Do you wake up throughout the night? -If I do I don't notice it.
* How many hours of sleep are you getting per night? -Anywhere from 6 to 8.
* Are you tired or sleepy throughout the day? -Not at all. Usually I have to force myself to go to bed
* Do you feel like you need more sleep? -Sometimes, yes. During busy weeks sometimes I'll only sleep 6 hours or less.
* Any other sleep problems going on? - I have some trouble falling asleep, but I'm not really worried about that because I know it's my fault.
At what time would you wake up if you didn't use your alarm?
Is your room completely dark?
If I didn't have an alarm I would end up sleeping for about 11 hours. My room is not completely dark.
Well, shoot. This is a difficult one.
Suggestions. 1) Keep a sleep log. This will help you get some insight on what's going on. Track When you A) go to bed, B) fall asleep, C) wake up, D) get out of bed, E) exercise, F) eat), and consume G) alcohol, H) nicotine, i) caffeine, and J) any other drug.
2) Try waking up at different times. Maybe your alarm is set to wake you up when you're at your deepest sleep.
3) Maybe the caffeine and nicotine are stimulating you, so you don't feel tired during the day. However, if you cut it off, you would notice that you need more rest. Try cutting down (I know would be difficult to accomplish) on both or at least the coffee (again, both would be best and it's your health!) and see if your need for sleep increases or you actually start sleeping better. 3a) Also, caffeine has a half-life of 5.7 hours. So if you drink two 8oz cups of coffee (a medium at most coffee places I think) at 6pm, you would still have about 8oz of coffee worth of caffeine in your system at 12am (probably even more since there's a delay between drinking coffee and getting caffeine in your blood stream). You might be able to fall asleep, but your sleep quality could be affected.
4) Maybe you have something medical going on. Perhaps, you would want to go check out a doctor and see what they say.
Great advice. I think I'm actually going to start keeping a log like you suggested. After I've built up some notes I'll consider taking them to a doctor just to see what they say about my sleeping habits.
Maybe you have a sleep debt and your body is trying to tell you.
What is a sleep debt?