I live in a 0br studio apartment with my family, so we all live in the same room.
I need to wake up at 5am every morning (including weekends) to walk to school because it takes 2 hours to get there since we can't afford to take the bus. I get home at around 10pm because I have night classes so I need to go to bed right away to get my 8 hours of sleep as per what doctors say to maintain optimal health.
The problem is, my sister stays up until 2-4am talking to her friends on the phone/computer, and refuses to turn the lights and TV off the entire time and she doesn't care about anyone. So I end up only getting a couple hours of sleep every night.
I'm becoming stressed because the scholarship I get for school has raised their GPA minimum since so many students are achieving a 3.6, I now have to maintain a 3.8 GPA as a Physics major and my grades have been dropping because I can't get enough sleep.
I bought IEMs and tried putting the earphones in my ears, but I couldn't hear my watch alarm and I woke up at 2pm in the afternoon and missed classes.
Are there any techniques I can use at home to fall asleep for 8 hours then be able to wake up at exactly 5am without oversleeping?
I don't know about techniques to wake up a certain time but the following will help:
-- Physical activity for 30+ min. during the day will make you sleep easier.
-- You can take melatonin and Valerian root to help you sleep faster and enter a deeper sleep.
-- Wear one of those "beauty mask" things that cover your eyes and ensconce you in blackness, will also make it easier to fall asleep and make you feel more rested.
-- Don't use any electronic device like stereo, music player, computer or television for at least one hour before you plan on going to bed.
Also if possible try to get a bicycle to cut down the time you walk. Maybe you can find a used folding bicycle or one of those Dutch type bicycles that are made to be out in the elements without rusting.
Personally these are my recommendations
1) get a noise maker. People sleep better with noise makers and it will kill out any noise you hear. Studies show people sleep better with white noise, which I can't sleep without it.
You could use a phone that has a white noise app, which I do when traveling. Then use air plugs for them, which your sister won't hear and your phones alarm will still wake you up.
2) Get a sleep mask, I wear on every night. You might look silly, but what would you rather look, silly for get sleep.
3) Set an alarm 9-10 hours before you need to go to bed, because I feel if you try to get to bed 8 hours before time, it will become 7.5 if not 7 hours. I personally set my alarm 10 hours before before I need to wake up. My phone alarm tells me to turn off computers, put things down, take a shower and get ready for bed. So I make it into bed 9 hours before I wake up. I doubt I get 9 hours of sleep as I wake up to pee and things of that nature, but I'm so much more rested.
4) I take melatonin every night, if you don't have trouble falling asleep ever, don't start taking anything unless your over 50 years old.
5) studies show a cold head helps people sleep better. Lower the temperature, use fans, there's pillows that are cooler like buckwheat...etc helps you sleep better.
Hey, theres some foods you can eat which will help you sleep better, even if your sister is making a racket.
These foods elevate nitric oxide which though not understood very well as a neurotransmitter has not only been, in deficit linked to insomnia, but when elevated, allows people to fall asleep much easier, it also gets them to REM sleep faster and longer (causing vivid dreams but you wake up feeling much more refreshed)
Some of the best foods to eat for this are as follows:
What I recommend is making a huge salad, (think popcorn bowl, not cereal bowl) of Swiss Chard and Arugula, and wash it down with some pomegranate juice. Be sure to chew the food as the nitric oxide process happens from saliva in the mouth, and not in the tummy!
When you do this the first day, your levels get very elevated, then eating them in normal amounts or drinking even an ounce of pomegranate juice per night (shot glass full) and swishing it around in the mouth can maintain the elevated levels. You should be more clear headed on a consistent basis. Although fair warning, sleeping deeper means its a bit harder to get up at first though once youre up and rolling youre a lot more energized.
Another thing you can do, is just make a cup of chamomile tea before bed. It will just kind of level your mind to sip that, and it can make it easier to fall asleep. Sometimes when we get irritated at something it becomes worse than it was really is (though I dont doubt annoying sisters can be worse than expected lol) and a cup of nice chamomile can take the mental edge off.
Techniques to sleep better?
Hybrid Mode
