It’s kind of a bad cycle, struggling to sleep because I’m worried I won’t wake up on time, so I either miss my alarm or wake up sleep-derived.
How do you manage this? I missed an important early morning meeting today for overseeing today and I’m trying not to be too hard on myself.
Jo said:
i think this is a lot of us
I agree 
One thing that’s helped me in similar situations is setting up a solid bedtime routine to signal to my body that it’s time to wind down. This could be things like avoiding screens for at least 30 minutes before bed, doing some light stretching or breathing exercises, or even listening to calming music or an audiobook. Also, creating a calming environment dim lights, a cool room temperature, and maybe even some white noise can help your mind relax.
@Zane
I’ll try these thank you!
Relate
Same here. Do not think you can do much about it. I would consider using sleeping pills for such cases.
Me too it just makes me panic all night lol
Warning - absolute word vomit ahead. Apparently I’m in the mood to type an in depth tutorial tonight.
That is totally normal lol. Personally? I found the most effective thing for me in this case is reducing stress surrounding the upcoming early wake up. I tackle this by doing a few things:
1 - starting my bedtime routine early, even if I’m not sleepy. I would rather give myself that few extra hours nice and comfy in bed so I don’t feel like “oh, I need to be up in 7 hours - I need to sleep NOW.” I wind down, I’ll browse social media if I feel like it, watch a couple videos reply to messages etc. whatever it is I feel like doing.
2 - get myself as comfy as possible. How? Pyjamas. Bed. Am I in pain? Take some pain relief if I must. Am I cold? Get another blanket. Is it too quiet in here? Pop some white noise on/turn the fan on if you have one and turn it away from you if it’s bothering you. Again, Adjust pillows etc etc whatever it is you have to do. Get in your favourite sleeping position and continue doing whatever it was in step 1.
Are your eyelids starting to feel heavy but for whatever reason you are fighting it? Don’t. Just put the phone/book down and leave it. You’ll get back to it later. Submit to the sleep gods and let it be lol.
If step 3 doesn’t happen by a specific time (For me, I wait til around midnight), I pop myself a single melatonin tablet (literally 2mg) and continue while I wait for it to kick in. Again, it will either work and I’ll refer to step 3 and if it doesn’t, I tell myself it’s okay and the night is young. There is time.
STILL awake after half an hourish of taking melatonin? Personally, if I really do have somewhere to be early and I want to at least try and get at least 6-7 hours (my ideal is 8 but hasn’t happened for me yet post surgery 
), then I take one single sleeping pill which was subscribed to me by my doctor. He said off the top of my memory “first try and relax naturally. If that doesn’t work, take one melatonin, then take two. Last resort, take this sleeping pill. At maximum you take two, but try not to become reliant on them” and that’s exactly what I do!
However, if I no I have no early morning appointments and nowhere to be all day, then I take the time to try another melatonin first. Then I usually force myself to get out of bed, go to the toilet, have a cup of water etc. basically just do something to remind myself “hey, I actually am pretty tired after all” lol.
Absolutely last resort - take a second sleeping pill. Repeat steps 2-3 until sleep comes - or doesn’t. Make up for it later with either an early morning/afternoon nap or earlier bedtime 
such is life.
Honestly? Waking up late doesn’t bother me in the slightest. I only like to wake up a little earlier for the sole purpose of taking my medication somewhat early, as I have to take a follow up dose exactly 12 hours later. One time I didn’t get out of bed and take my meds until like 10:30am and that was because I didn’t sleep the night before. I then had to wait until at least 10:30pm to take my evening meds. I was EXHAUSTED lol. On the bright side, I did fall asleep relatively quickly that night silver lining.
Sorry for the novel, truly hope this helps though.
SAME HERE! Lol
I can relate.
I live on Maui and occasionally have to fly the first flight at 6am to Oahu for trainings. I wake up every dang hour until 3:30am when I have to get up and get to the airport. By noon my body and brain think it’s 5pm and I’m exhausted with 3 more hours in training and a flight back.
Wow, me too. Absolutely the worst before an early trip to the airport or a difficult, standardized exam.
it’s a vicious cycle! stressed bc you can’t sleep and then you can’t sleep so you get stressed. been there often! the best thing I’ve done to mitigate is - sounds obvious - de-stressing activities haha. meditation, magnesium & l-theanine supplements, & difficult things during the day like hard workout, cold plunge & sauna. those last 2 really help me regulate my stress, but all help. I track all of them using the OptiSelf Sleep app (free) and it lets me know what works and what doesn’t. good luck!
How is your sleep ?
Do you wake up in the middle of the night ?
Do you wake up with morning headaches ?
Riley said:
How is your sleep ?
Do you wake up in the middle of the night ?
Do you wake up with morning headaches ?
I sleep heavily and wake up groggy but still not rested 
Riley said:
How is your sleep ?
Do you wake up in the middle of the night ?
Do you wake up with morning headaches ?
I sleep heavily and wake up groggy but still not rested
Okey you could have sleep apnea or upper airway resistance syndrome, see a sleep specialist ask for polysomnography and drug induced sleep endoscopy
Can relate, I just let it happen and be prepared for it to happen if I can
What helps me is getting up early more often so it doesn’t feel like a shock when I have an early meeting. Most mornings I spend doing relaxing things and having coffee, so I really enjoy my earlier mornings.
Some times, rarely, I have to wake up at 4:30am for work, and those nights I have given up trying to sleep… I just pull a all nighter, survive the shift and then nap when I get home… got annoying going to bed before 9pm and just laying there trying to sleep, and still being tired anyways the day after, so I just enjoy the night now, and be tired like I would have been anyways.
Me too. I suffer from anxiety I did not know I had until my wife who has anxiety pointed it out. Whenever anything out of the norm is happening, dr apt, school event for one of my kids, I have a hard time sleeping and get anxious beforehand