I usually fall asleep around 22:30-23 and have to wake up around 6 for school. I’m a night person so I can’t really get to sleep before that. Also, the sound of my alarm is physically painful so I tend to be half-awake a while before it in anxious anticipation. High schoolers (I’m USian) need more sleep than most people, so I feel miserable on less than nine hours and deteriorate throughout the week. Idk how some people do it on even less sleep. My head buzzes and I can’t focus most of the time during the school day. On weekends I used to get 11-12 hours to make up for my sleep debt, but I haven’t been able to since daylight savings time. I can now barely get ten hours a lot of the time, leaving me tired enough to have a strong tendency to go on social media without much energy for else.
Any advice? I can provide more information if necessary.
Everyone’s gonna give you a bunch of sleep hygiene tips and they are probably all fantastic but they never worked for me in part due to ADHD but also in part due to genuine boughts of insomnia. At your age I just toughed through it getting 4-6 hours of sleep most nights and only staying awake because of my stimulants medications.
If the recommended sleep hygiene tips end up working for you I am happy for you but if they do not… there are less healthy methods of dealing with sleeplessness. I start my mornings with coffee now and lots of it, I cannot express enough how much this has helped me. This will eventually bite you in the ass when you have a full blown dependency but it’s great short term (like a year or two). Just avoid drinking coffee too late in that day when you can, I don’t do this but I should.
I also recommend loud music, blast it directly into your skull. Cold showers also help but they are miserable tbh. The occasional altoid can also wake you up for a short time. Basically anything that shocks one or more of senses. Taking naps also helps in a pinch but don’t go over 45 minutes if you can help it, set alarms. Also over the counter sleep medication can help but isn’t something you should take too regularly
Obviously none of this is healthy and you should do your best to establish good sleep hygiene but I am not a healthy person and this is what it takes to keep me functioning. Do what you must
That reminds me. One thing that did help with my awake-time energy levels, leaving me a bit more tired at bed time, was changing my approach to caffeine.
I used to have caffeine as soon as I woke up. But I learned that for me, it was better to wait at least 90 minutes before having my first caffeine. I cant remember the science. But it means that I don’t get that energy slump around eight hours later.
That leaves me with more energy at the end of work, to do things that I would have previously done when I was supposed to be sleeping.
Idk, though. @QueerCommie@lemmygrad.ml, it may not be the best idea to start messing around with caffeine if you’re young. At least without maybe talking to a medical person.
Caffeine doesn’t seem to work on me like that. I’ve tried eating chocolate covered espresso beans like pills or drinking tea in the morning, but it only kicks in at night (assuming I take it after 14:00, otherwise it’s nothing). Instead of a slump at the end of the day I finally have full energy. I suppose this means I’m more liberated in my free time and couldn’t give a good effort/attention if I tried in school, but that doesn’t make that time less miserable.