How do you manage sleep cycles?

[DennisD]

I woke up today at 4pm and ate breakfast by 5pm.

I'm working for myself, so I have no OBLIGATION to be up at any given time. My only obligation is to communicate with my clients.

The problem is, I work internationally.
My biggest client is in Isreal, and my software business partner is in Tailand.
I regularly take on clients from the UK and California simultaniously, (8 hour time span) and I'm really messing up my sleep schedule.

It's getting hard to tell the passage of time. The time/date doesn't mean much to me anymore It's getting hard to even leave the house as I live in an unsafe neighborhood and don't dare go out after dark.

I feel as if I'm living the life of a Depressed person without actually suffering from depression.

My sleep goals are:
-Wake up before sunrise everyday.
-Breakfast and Educational Podcast.
-Start working on projects before talking to ANYBODY.

I feel like sleep patterns would be a problem for me even if I didn't have international clients. I'm sure some of you have had this problem at some point.
It seems a common landmine when working for yourself.
How do YOU regulate your sleep schedule?

 

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[Mattie]

Well if you listen to some people they say they need five hours of sleep or your missing an opportunity. Some say 7. I am there. I know when I get more clients online. You should have a sense of the same thing. When you deal with clients most.

It's no different than working 1st, 2nd, or 3rd shift. If you're in a bad neighborhood schedule the weekends or one day you do your errands during the day and get up earlier on those days.
You may feel depressed because if you're up at night time you are not getting any light in your eyes. Which this is what happens to people in Iceland. Seasonal Affective Disorder. They have lamps for this. Just important to be out in the sunlight sometimes.

 

[superb]

How about trying a biphasic sleep cycle - two four hour blocks in a 24 hour period?

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2011/03/biphasic-sleep/

I've not tried this but have been intrigued with it for a while...

 

[Mattie]

I know they did some studies on sleeping and dreaming. Waking up people at different times and they stopped the experiment in three days because people were getting depressed and violent. I'm not a big fan on short time spans, but I still have a lot of studying to do on the sleep thing. I'd just be careful with experimenting with short time spans. The brain does need that time to recover and heal the brain.

 

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[Michael Raphael]

Why don't you hire someone to manage positions at later position. Two-heads are better than one? Make the business more self-automated where you are not directly affected by the sleep-time delay. Eventually train the person to do your job and raise his/her pay accordingly. Now you go out and do the business and so will someone else (two-heads better than one again?)

Or just set a time limit and let your clients know.

 

[Stephanos83]

Sunlight is important. Supplement with vitamin D3 if you can't get any. I live in the UK, so daily affair for me.

I work a slowlane where I change 10 hour shifts every two weeks. 0700-1700, 1500-0100, 2300-0900 are the three shifts. With two kids I have to drop back to a day schedule since the wife doesn't drive.

I usually reset by waking up early with less sleep or staying up to get close to the desired sleeping/waking hours. Timing Vitamin D3 helps to set my body to a new schedule, but it takes a few days to a few weeks to fully adjust.

Once you've reset, you'll need a routine to maintain the schedule. Try to wake up and sleep around the same time every day. Get sun exposure and exercise during the day (this will help to feel tired at night). Don't eat within 2-3 hours of bed time. Disengage from from TV and artificial light one hour prior to bedtime. Reading a book is a good option.

It's all about routine. I wish I could have one, but until I replace the slow lane, I'm stuck. Your health will improve significantly if you do this and quality of work should improve.

Optional: sleep supplements like melatonin or valerian root.

 

[Andy Black]

I find my clients work around my hours.

I think it's really important that you get yourself into a routine that is both good for you now, and long-term.

For communication, I try to do calls sparingly, and use email/basecamp/google docs etc. Often I can check in on these via my smartphone at odd hours, but try not to make a habit of it, lest it become expected.

Clients who value what you do are often very accomodating. Try them maybe?

 

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[Angus]

You're F*cking up your circadian clock.
Extremally unhealthy, optimally go to sleep at sunset and wake up at dawn.

However, this is the best way you deal with your schedule, I do these things and I go to sleep at sunset and wake up at dawn, they will work perfectly for you too:

• Get as much blue light and sunlight as you can until 5 hours before going to sleep, get at least a 12 hours exposition.
• Buy a pair of blue blocking glasses, put them on 3 hour before going to bed, that way your body can produce melatonin (suppressed by blue lights).
• Use f.lux and turn it on 5 hours before going to sleep.
  
• Don't take melatonin unless you're trying to fight jet lag or you've been heavily exposed to blue light before going to bed.
• Sleep in a pitch black room for proper melatonin production.
• Always go to sleep at the same time everyday.
  
• Don't wake up with an alarm clock.
• Turn off wi-fi when going to sleep, optimally turn off electricity in your house.
  
• When waking up expose your body to really bright red led lights (you will have to buy a specific lamp) for some minutes.
  
• Take Vitamin D with your first meal of the day after waking up, do 5000 IU a day.
• Take Magnesium 1 hour before bed (a good form, not the Oxide shit they sell at Walmart, Doctor's Best Magnesium is one of the best forms).
• Lift heavy weights and eat a good diet (I guess everyone in here knows what I mean), that's F*cking obvious.

 

[Mattie]

Thanks for sharing. Good info! On the other hand was it necessary to the use F word?

 

[pickeringmt]

Sleep is something that is different for each individual, and the "rules" are based on averages.

I finished college, started a business, and continue to move forward on many things because I choose to sleep less.

Yes it can be hard, but life is hard - and having a business, college degree, and a future that I want is worth it.

I guess my main point is find what works for you. It will always change, but you don't need to push yourself to do things because of studies. If you look hard enough, you can find information to support just about anything - less sleep, more sleep, 20 minute naps every 2 hours

 

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[Coalission]

I wish I didn't have to sleep, when I have to get shit done I've gone 48 hours straight...when I decide to sleep like a normal human, it just happens whenever I'm exhausted. Right now I'm up throughout the night with my girlfriend and we sleep during the day, eventually we'll keep staying up longer and in turn end up waking up during the day. Probably not healthy.

 

[Angus]

Thanks for sharing. Good info! On the other hand was it necessary to the use F word?

yes

 

[DennisD]

External necessities have gotten me back on a normal sleep schedule.
Family+business obligations, early scheduled calls, etc.

Now that I'm here, I'm trying to establish linked habbits that keep me here.

 

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[garysvpa]

I woke up today at 4pm and ate breakfast by 5pm.

I'm working for myself, so I have no OBLIGATION to be up at any given time. My only obligation is to communicate with my clients.

The problem is, I work internationally.
My biggest client is in Isreal, and my software business partner is in Tailand.
I regularly take on clients from the UK and California simultaniously, (8 hour time span) and I'm really messing up my sleep schedule.

It's getting hard to tell the passage of time. The time/date doesn't mean much to me anymore It's getting hard to even leave the house as I live in an unsafe neighborhood and don't dare go out after dark.

I feel as if I'm living the life of a Depressed person without actually suffering from depression.

My sleep goals are:
-Wake up before sunrise everyday.
-Breakfast and Educational Podcast.
-Start working on projects before talking to ANYBODY.

I feel like sleep patterns would be a problem for me even if I didn't have international clients. I'm sure some of you have had this problem at some point.
It seems a common landmine when working for yourself.
How do YOU regulate your sleep schedule?

Outsourcing is the best solution to your problem.

Hire someone that can help you with your task.

Sleep is often sacrificed in order to excel at work, but it plays an important role in our physical health.

 

[Kyle Tully]

It's getting hard to even leave the house as I live in an unsafe neighborhood and don't dare go out after dark.

Move.

 

[Gale4rc]

I woke up today at 4pm and ate breakfast by 5pm.

I'm working for myself, so I have no OBLIGATION to be up at any given time. My only obligation is to communicate with my clients.

The problem is, I work internationally.
My biggest client is in Isreal, and my software business partner is in Tailand.
I regularly take on clients from the UK and California simultaniously, (8 hour time span) and I'm really messing up my sleep schedule.

It's getting hard to tell the passage of time. The time/date doesn't mean much to me anymore It's getting hard to even leave the house as I live in an unsafe neighborhood and don't dare go out after dark.

I feel as if I'm living the life of a Depressed person without actually suffering from depression.

My sleep goals are:
-Wake up before sunrise everyday.
-Breakfast and Educational Podcast.
-Start working on projects before talking to ANYBODY.

I feel like sleep patterns would be a problem for me even if I didn't have international clients. I'm sure some of you have had this problem at some point.
It seems a common landmine when working for yourself.
How do YOU regulate your sleep schedule?

Here is a good reason why I wake up every morning early:

My target audience is up early. When I distribute content, if I want to get the most of it I need to be posting it where they're at , when they're up.

 

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[DennisD]

Outsourcing is the best solution to your problem.

Just hopping on this now. Just hired someone fulltime.
Right now, that's only put MORE work on the table, as now I have to train if I want things done the way I need.
But hopefully after the training things will calm down a bit.

 

[garysvpa]

Just hopping on this now. Just hired someone fulltime.
Right now, that's only put MORE work on the table, as now I have to train if I want things done the way I need.
But hopefully after the training things will calm down a bit.

Is there any progress?

 

[DennisD]

Is there any progress?

Yes. Still on board, takes away some of the work so I can focus on other things. I'm not getting a nice 6-8 hour sleep nightly while still having time for the little pleasures (tea, reading, etc) during the day.

 

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[contract]

I get 8 hours of sleep a night, and sleep/wake amazing.

Unfortunately.. I stay awake 2-3 hours later each night due to my internal clock.

I reset every other week, by staying up 22 hours instead of the normal 16.

Takes around 3-4 days to reset, wake at 6pm, wake at 11pm, wake at 3am, then finally... Wake at 5am again on track.

It's weird waking up at 7pm one day, then 5am for a full week.

At least I maintain 100% focus, brainpower, etc during those days.

You're not alone, lots of people deal with sleeping problems.

Though, I wouldn't even call it a "problem" when it's natural.

Society thinks 9-5 is the right way. The reality is, there is no right way.

Can't stand the "lazy" association with people who sleep different.

It's not true at all.

 

[Bouncing Soul]

How about trying a biphasic sleep cycle - two four hour blocks in a 24 hour period?

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2011/03/biphasic-sleep/

I've not tried this but have been intrigued with it for a while...

Ask any parent about biphasic/polyphasic sleep. I felt like I was going to die a few months in. I was REALLY screwed up and non-productive.

 

[jockinbox]

Check out
The 4 hour body by Tim Ferris

The highest I've gotten is level 3, I'm sure I can go higher but I can't because of the business I'm in

Current sleep looks like this

Sleep 6 pm - 10 pm
Learn skills/work on my website
Nap 5 am - 6 am
Workout 630-730
Business 930-530

Total sleep 5 hours & I feel fine

The higher I go in levels the better I function, but it's a difficult habit to form when everyone around you needs you at certain times

 

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[nzerinto]

I woke up today at 4pm and ate breakfast by 5pm.
I'm working for myself, so I have no OBLIGATION to be up at any given time. My only obligation is to communicate with my clients.
The problem is, I work internationally.
My biggest client is in Isreal, and my software business partner is in Tailand.
I regularly take on clients from the UK and California simultaniously, (8 hour time span) and I'm really messing up my sleep schedule.
It's getting hard to tell the passage of time. The time/date doesn't mean much to me anymore It's getting hard to even leave the house as I live in an unsafe neighborhood and don't dare go out after dark.
I feel as if I'm living the life of a Depressed person without actually suffering from depression.
My sleep goals are:
-Wake up before sunrise everyday.
-Breakfast and Educational Podcast.
-Start working on projects before talking to ANYBODY.
I feel like sleep patterns would be a problem for me even if I didn't have international clients. I'm sure some of you have had this problem at some point.
It seems a common landmine when working for yourself.
How do YOU regulate your sleep schedule?

I initially had the same problem as you did. I'd work crazy hours for my clients, responding to each and every one of their emails, often within minutes of them sending them. I'd be replying to emails at 1-2am while lying in bed, and doing the same when I woke up at 6-7am. Unfortunately I have OCDs and seeing as I practice Inbox Zero, having even just 1 email in my inbox would bug me....I've finally started to let that go a bit!

I realized that it helps no one (including said clients) if I'm stretched to the bone and burning the candle at both ends - I'm less productive, constantly tired and therefore not at my sharpest, which once again wastes everyone's time, and don't even ask about costly mistakes due to this, and often spending inordinate amounts of time with some clients at the cost of others, which is absolutely unfair.

So now I've got a few strict rules that I go by:

• Be extremely prejudiced with your time. Make it infinitely clear to your clients that chatting to you via Skype, or calling you out of the blue is not going to fly (unless it's extremely urgent, which is hardly ever the case). I try to schedule every single call with clients, that way I can structure my work-day around them. I find it quite hard to refocus on something after I've been distracted, so the less distractions in a work day, the better it is for me.
  
  This article is pretty pertinent to this point
  
  Most importantly, I can prepare for the calls. I'll have all documentation in front of me, notes about what needs to be discussed etc, and that way we aren't wasting time humming and ha-ing and trying to remember stuff, and then remembering it later and having to have an email exchange about it. Just keep in mind, time is a finite resource.
  
  
• Try not to respond to client emails in the morning (or at least not before 10 or 11am). The minute you do, you generate more work for yourself, because now the countdown begins before they are responding to you (particularly if they are in the same timezone as you are), and you've got another email to respond to. I do have outsourced staff, and as many of them are in different time-zones, I do need to message them early in the morning to make sure they have tasks for the day, but generally this doesn't spark an email conversation, so it's less time consuming
  
  
• Know your limits. When I started, I would be constantly trying to please clients by taking every little project on-board. I finally realized that I wasn't doing the client a favor if I did take that project on board at the cost of the time I'd have to spend on primary projects...
  
  
• Make sure you have solid time for yourself each day (1-2 hours at least). Get outside, get fresh air, get exercise, otherwise you'll burn out super quick (again, speaking from experience).
  
  
• Wind down at the end of the day. Don't climb into bed when you can't do any more work - your brain won't have had a chance to tone down. Instead try to stop doing work 1-2 hours before bed minimum, and try not to look at anymore screens after that time. This one is tough, because what do you do when you aren't looking at your computer for work, your TV for relaxation, or your smartphone for play/communication etc?! Read a book is probably your only option, seeing as you said you are in a bad part of town and going for a walk at night isn't an option.

One of the interesting things about the points above is that I realized after I started to instigate these rules (in many cases not telling clients what I was doing), that clients schedules just started to fit around mine, and I realized that (silly me) they are just as busy as I am, and sometimes by me being too responsive to their queries, actually made them busier as well....go figure!

 

[Steele Concept]

I'm certainly not perfect but what helps me the best:

• Hard exercise during the day (I train jiu jitsu)
• Meditation twice a day (keeps the mind from spinning in bed)
• Magnesium at night I use Natural Calm
• Sometimes some warm Chamomile Tea
• A warm shower at night after I train
• Sex before bed
• Wind down time around an hour before bed
• Dark room
• Cool sleeping environment, comfortable but cool

Exercise and exhausting oneself during the day is the best way to sleep like a rock IMHO. Just look at Fight Club - that dude was an insomniac, fictional but exhaust your body and it loves nutes and rest

 

[Red]

Unsung culprit of restless/delayed/poor sleep: sugar.

I now fall asleep faster, whenever I lie down (as opposed to lying in bed for an hour to "wind down" -now it's about 10min max) & sleep more deeply. Sugar inhibits deep sleep, resulting in "shallow" & restless sleep. And unfortunately, sugar is in everything. I know it can't solve your time zone issue, but it can help you make the most of the sleep that you do get by making it quality & restful.

 

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[Steele Concept]

Spot on Red - avoid the sugar. I forgot to mention - at night after training and showering I'll usually smoke some Cannabis indica. Not right before bed but getting high and reading is relaxing to me. I am a legal MMJ patient in my state and the right strains can be super relaxing - especially after exercise.

 

[smarty]

It's getting hard to tell the passage of time. The time/date doesn't mean much to me anymore It's getting hard to even leave the house as I live in an unsafe neighborhood and don't dare go out after dark.
I feel as if I'm living the life of a Depressed person without actually suffering from depression.

You want to hear the truth? Okay, here it is: YOU are making it hard and only you can fix you.
You have chosen that you must be online for your holy client at THEIR time. Why are they not online on YOUR time?
Well, because you feel obliged to be like that.

Peace of mind above ALL. Then money.
The client must know your time difference and you may set some agreement for that so you don;t have to kill your soul and drive.
If some client won;t be reasonable on this point, screw that. Find a handful clients who are happy to work with you and understand the time difference.
You might be working in fear and scarcity that your clients may leave you. It's like living with the fear that your wife is eventually going to leave you. Guess what? That's gonna kill your motivation and she's gonna leave at some point.

What you fear, you attract. What you look at, disappears.

 

[garysvpa]

Yes. Still on board, takes away some of the work so I can focus on other things. I'm not getting a nice 6-8 hour sleep nightly while still having time for the little pleasures (tea, reading, etc) during the day.

Oh I see. Don't worry, everything will fall into the right places at the right time. Just be motivated and have a calendar to keep track of your tasks.

 

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