5 ms·

I'm a night owl living on a 9-5 schedule, and I have the same problem. Most of the day I'm a little tired, then at night I get a burst of energy. It's frustrati

by hundoh 6y ago

I'm a night owl living on a 9-5 schedule, and I have the same problem. Most of the day I'm a little tired, then at night I get a burst of energy. It's frustrating. I think the ideal solution would be to find a good job that lets me work my ideal hours, but barring that I've found a useful strategy. After my wife goes to bed, I'll go downstairs for an hour or two and read, write, and think. By letting my brain burn off some of its energy, I find myself naturally drifting into a healthy calm tired. I'm never exactly wiped to the point where I can just fall asleep, but I calm down enough that I can still get to sleep at a semi-decent hour. Combined with WFH I actually get close to 8.5 hours by sleeping in later, so it's not bad.

hnick 6y ago
For a while last year, I did just accept it and stay up late until I felt more tired, usually around 1:30am. We were both working from home and I'd sleep in a little bit (which is also getting harder in my late 30s). This wasn't perfect but it was better. But now my wife is back at the office and is out of bed before 8am, which wakes me up and usually I can't get back to sleep easily so I've been struggling since. I've tried exercise both during the day and the evening in case it's a physical thing, but it either doesn't help or makes it worse. Sometimes my active brain state amplifies physical aches and pains and itches and it just runs away from me and is very distracting. I think what might really be missing is a sense of closure or achievement. A lot of things in life can give gratification without meaning, but the days I do something like finish fixing the shower or putting up shelves, it does seem a bit easier to switch off at night. Cooking is the closest I get most days.
- hundolo 6y ago
  I get that too. A couple of things that have helped me with that are a version of "Getting Things Done" (gets tasks out of my mind) and genuine solitude. By that I mean don't read anything, watch anything, etc. No inputs, just your own mind. Just sit there and zone out a little. Nudge your mind with reflective thoughts like, "What's important to me? What do I want out of life? How do I feel lately?" Meditation emphasizes stepping back and not putting judgment on things like that, which I think can be healthy, but this is kind of the other side of the coin and helps get a little more of that closure you're talking about.
- king_phil 6y ago
  Reading Tolstoi for an hour helps me a lot.

by hundoh 6y ago

hnick 6y ago

For a while last year, I did just accept it and stay up late until I felt more tired, usually around 1:30am. We were both working from home and I'd sleep in a little bit (which is also getting harder in my late 30s). This wasn't perfect but it was better. But now my wife is back at the office and is out of bed before 8am, which wakes me up and usually I can't get back to sleep easily so I've been struggling since. I've tried exercise both during the day and the evening in case it's a physical thing, but it either doesn't help or makes it worse. Sometimes my active brain state amplifies physical aches and pains and itches and it just runs away from me and is very distracting. I think what might really be missing is a sense of closure or achievement. A lot of things in life can give gratification without meaning, but the days I do something like finish fixing the shower or putting up shelves, it does seem a bit easier to switch off at night. Cooking is the closest I get most days.

hundolo 6y ago
I get that too. A couple of things that have helped me with that are a version of "Getting Things Done" (gets tasks out of my mind) and genuine solitude. By that I mean don't read anything, watch anything, etc. No inputs, just your own mind. Just sit there and zone out a little. Nudge your mind with reflective thoughts like, "What's important to me? What do I want out of life? How do I feel lately?" Meditation emphasizes stepping back and not putting judgment on things like that, which I think can be healthy, but this is kind of the other side of the coin and helps get a little more of that closure you're talking about.
king_phil 6y ago
Reading Tolstoi for an hour helps me a lot.