Day 23: 04/21

I fell asleep pretty quickly after going to bed last night.

I woke up around 11 and got up around 11:30. I had a bagel and a couple cups of coffee fro breakfast, then did some laundry, talked to my parents on the phone, and did some preparation for a couple of meetings.

I had a meeting from 4-5, then got lunch(?) and a cup of coffee. I went to the computer lab for a while and had another meeting from 7-8:30.

After that I went back to the computer lab for a long time.

I got home around 2:15. I wasn't really tired yet. I had some wine and tried to relax.

It's after 3 now and I'm still not very tired. If I weren't worried about getting up in the morning, I'd have a cup of coffee and work on a paper now, but I have my running class in5 hours and need to get SOME sleep before then.

breakdown:

• woke up around 11 (8 hours of sleep)
• 4 cups of coffee (last around 8)
• not much time outside
• not much exercise
• to bed around 4

Day 22: 04/20

Got up around 7:15, but had a dysfunctional morning and didn't make it to my running class.

After returning equipment to school I came home and took a nap. I fell asleep around noon and slept until about 2, not making it to my afternoon class.

Went to a meeting at 3:30, then went grocery shopping.

Got home and felt anxious and stressed out. Wanted to go for a run, but it was really rainy out.

It stopped raining later at night and I ended up going for a 6 mile run around midnight. I felt really good afterwards. Wish I could take running classes at night.

Went to bed around 3.

breakdown:

• up at 7:15
• 2 hour nap in early afternoon
• not much time outside during day
• long night run
• no alcohol
• 2 cups of coffee, last around 3

Day 21: 04/18

Set my alarm for 9, but hit snooze for a while and ended up going back to sleep until nearly 11. Still felt tired and had a hard time getting moving.

Left the house around 2 and drove up to Rainier and back for the doc.

Had late lunch and coffee then headed back to Eugene.

Got home around 9. Watched part of a movie in bed, then listened to podcasts until I fell asleep around 3.

breakdown:

• up at 11
• 4 cups of coffee, last around 6:30
• some time outside (gray and rainy off and on)
• not much exercise
• no alcohol
• asleep around 3

Day 20: 04/18

I had to get up at 7 to drop Robert off to run a race. I wanted to go back to sleep, but had to make a phone call at 9:30 and didn't have time to sleep any more.

Worked on the documentary all morning and afternoon.

Got home around 4:30. Robert and I went grocery shopping, then cooked out in the back yard.

We changed the sheets, which made the bed a lot more comfortable. We watched Life in bed until around 2. Finally fell asleep, but was waked up a couple times by noise from Robert's roommates.

breakdown:

• up around 7
• 4 cups of coffee, last around 6
• busy all day, but not much exercise
• lots of time outside
• 2 beers
• to bed around 2

Day 19: 04/17

I had to get up early for the last day of my workshop. I didn't fall asleep until 4 last night, so I only got 4 hours of sleep. I had a 5 hour energy shot after lunch, which helped a lot.

After my workshop I drove to Portland. Went out to dinner and had one beer. Tried to go to bed early, but couldn't sleep for a while.

breakdown:

• up around 8
• very little exercise or time outside
• 5 hour enery
• 1 beer
• asleep around 1

Day 18: 4/16

I didn't fall asleep until about 4 last night. Got up around 7:15 and was more or less on time for my 8am class. Had most of a cup of coffee and got to eat half a breakfast wrap in the car.

After class I went home and watched a documentary for my History of the Motion Picture class. I took a nap from about 11:30 to 2:30 and was a few minutes late for my 3pm class. Afterwards I got coffee and lunch at the library cafe and made some phone calls.

I had a meeting from about 5-6:30, then came home. I had a couple glasses of wine and chatted with a friend online, then watched TV with one of my roommates for a little while.

I retreated to my room around 9:30 feeling pretty tired. I talked to Robert on Skype briefly, then watched a few videos, hoping I would fall asleep quickly, but couldn't relax.

I started packing for my trip to Portland, did some laundry, and took a shower.

breakdown:

• up around 7:15
• napped for about 3 hours
• 3 cups of coffee, last around 4:30
• 1 glass of iced tea around 5
• 2 glasses of wine around 7
• tried to sleep around 2

Day 17: 4/15

After not being able to sleep until so late last night, I opted not to get up for my running class. I knew that I would have to choose between taking a nap and going to my 2pm class if I did.

I went back to sleep, not giving much thought to how long I would sleep and didn't wake up until noon! So much for getting on a good schedule. So frustrating!

I had breakfast and a cup of coffee and made a campsite reservation, which took MUCH longer than I anticipated. I was on hold for a very long time, and when I finally got off the phone my class had already started.

I decided to go for a run to make up for missing my running class this morning. I ran 3.5 miles and got home just in time to shower and get to the coffee shop where I was meeting my documentary group to do some planning.

I had a UFO meeting from 7-9 and then came home. I talked to Robert on the phone and watched the latest episode of Lost. It's midnight now and I'm not feeling very sleepy.

I just had a glass of wine and am in bed trying to relax. Have to get up at 7.

breakdown:

• up at noon
• 3 cups of coffee, last around 5
• ran outside in the afternoon (sunny out)
• wine around 11
• tried to sleep around midnight

Day 16: 4/14

I turned off my alarms, knowing that I really needed some uninterrupted sleep, and assumed I'd sleep for 10 or 11 hours, getting up at 7 or 8. In fact I slept for 13.5 hours, getting up at 10:30!

I know I really needed it, but it wasn't as dramatic a shift as I'd hoped for. Regardless, I felt energetic and it seemed I'd be able to have a productive day and hopefully wear myself out before too late.

I did some housework, had breakfast, and did some preparation for class. I went to my 2pm class and then ran some errands. I got home around 5.

I tried to bake 7 layer bars, using a recipe very loosely. They are delicious, but the texture is all wrong. Too gooey and sticky.

I snacked on those and some fruit, rather than having a real dinner.

I talked to Robert on the phone for a long time and then did yoga for about an hour. After that I worked research for my documentary and had a glass of wine.

Around 3 I was just starting to get sleepy. I listened to the most recent episode of This American Life and tried to go to sleep. I didn't fall asleep until about 4.

breakdown:

• up at 10:30
• little exercise
• little time outside
• 1 glass of wine in evening
• bed around 3, asleep around 4

Day 15: 4/13

I got up around 7 for my running class and did not have time for a nap because I had to meet with my documentary group at 11 and we had an interview scheduled at 1 and a meeting with our professor at 3:30, so I pushed through on three hours of sleep, finally getting home around 5. I had a 5 hour energy around 1, which definitely helped me stay alert. I opted not to drink a lot of coffee because it makes me have to pee frequently and I was too busy to take a bunch of bathroom breaks.

When I got home I wanted to go straight to bed, but I knew this was my best hope of getting on a reasonable schedule and I didn't want to screw it up. I was too exhausted to do anything useful, so I watched a few episodes of the Office on Hulu.

Finally at 9 I gave up the fight. I turned on my fan so that nothing would wake me up and I turned out the lights and fell asleep immediately.

breakdown:

• up at 7
• exercise in the morning
• busy all day
• 5 hour energy at 1
• inactive in the evening
• no alcohol
• white noise (fan) and dark sleeping environment
• to bed at 9 (asleep right away)

Day 14: 4/12

I wanted to get up around 9, but slept through my alarm and didn't get up until 11. I had breakfast, did some school work, and went to class. After class I had a cup of coffee, then came home briefly before going back to campus for a meeting. I then spent a couple of hours in the computer lab and talked to my sister on the phone and came home and had dinner.

breakdown

• up at 11
• 3 cups of coffee, last around 3:30
• 1 glass of wine
• very little time outside
• very little exercise
• tried to go to sleep around 2:30

Day 13: 4/11/10

Had the second day of my workshop today. Slept through my alarm and got up around8:15 again. Got to class just in time. It was sunny in the morning, but rained on and off in the afternoon. Didn't spend much time outside because of my class, anyway. Got home around 5. Was totally exhausted. Fell asleep around 8 and got up again around 9:30 to do some homework. I rotated my mattress, which I've been meaning to do for a while, and changed my sheets. Hope that helps me sleep tonight. It's raining hard now and the sound is soothing, but I don't feel sleepy. It doesn't help that I'm stressed about a big project that's not coming together as planned.

Breakdown:

• up around 8:15
• very little exercise
• 3 cups of coffee, last around noon
• nap from 8-9:30pm
• 1 glass of wine around 2:30

Came across this and thought it was pretty cool.

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/night-moves/

04/10/10

Had a weekend workshop at 9. Got up around 8:15 and made it on time, but was very tired. Didn't have time for coffee before class. Finally got some at noon on my lunch break. Afterwards I met some friends for food and then had a 5 Hour Energy shot. We were supposed to have a pre-production meeting, but most of the people we're working with couldn't make it, so we just hung out instead. I got home around 12:30 and fell asleep around 3:30.

breakdown:

• up at 8:15
• very little exercise
• 2 cups of coffee at noon
• 5 hour energy shot around 6
• to bed around 3, asleep around 3:30

Day 11: 04/09/10

I hit snooze too many times and my alarm stopped going off. I woke up at 7:40, threw on some clothes and left for school. Luckily I was able to park fairly close because it's Friday. I literally ran most of the way to class and was five minutes late. I got out at 10 and came straight home.

I finally got to eat something and then got an hour long nap before I had to return to campus to meet some my group from my documentary class. After the meeting I finished a paper, which I'd been trying to write for a week. I was tired and rushed and I don't think it was very good. I had class from 3 to 4 and got home around 4:30.

I thought about taking another nap, but decided not to. I did a little yard work and sat in the sun for a little while. Then I worked on some homework and did some laundry.

At 9 I left to pick up a couple friends to go to another friend's birthday party. We stayed for about 2 hours. I took one shot and drank about two thirds of a 22 oz. beer.

I got home at about 12:30 and took a shower and ate. I went to bed around 1:30.

breakdown:

• up at 7:40
• about 5 cups of coffee throughout the day, last around 7.
• not much exercise, but fairly active in morning and afternoon
• outside briefly in the morning and longer in the late afternoon
• about 2 1/2 drinks
• to bed around 1:30, fell asleep around 3

Day 10: 04/08/10

My alarm started going off around 6:30, but I didn't manage to get out of bed until 7:15. I had a cup of coffee and a light breakfast and went to my running class. It was cool, but sunny out. I ran three miles, then came home ate some more and took a shower.

I debated whether or not to take a nap. I thought about working on a paper, but decided I was too sleepy to concentrate. I decided it would be okay to take a nap, but only for an hour or so. At about 10:30 I set an alarm for 12:30, assuming it would take me at least half an hour to fall asleep. I ended up sleeping until 1:15 and had a very hard time waking up. I wasn't ready to go in time to make it to my 2:00 class.

At 4:30 I picked up some equipment from school and then went to a drop-in yoga class. After that I had a quick dinner with a friend and then went to a University Film Organization meeting, which went unusually late, ending around 9:30.

I got home around 10 and worked on homework and ate. I had a hard time concentrating on my homework and kept getting distracted.

I finally decided to call it quits and go to sleep around 4.

breakdown:

• up at 7:15 (about 5 hours of sleep)
• exercise early in the morning
• late morning nap
• yoga at 5
• 2 cups of coffee, last around 2pm

Day 9: 04/07/10

After hitting snooze for a long time I finally got up at about 10:15. I drank some coffee and went to campus. My only class of the day was cancelled, but I had to turn in a form, meet with a group, and work on a project in the computer lab.

It was warm and sunny out, and since I had to move my car out of the two hour zone and then return to campus after completing my first task, I did quite a bit of walking.

I had an iced latte around 2 and then got another cup of coffee around 6 when I was working in the computer lab, but ended up drinking less than half of it. I was pretty tired, but my stomach was bothering me.

I got home around 8. I was really tired, so I decided to try to go to bed early. I had a snack and did some laundry and then watched the latest episode of Lost in bed and drank a glass of wine.

When it ended I wasn't really feeling sleepy, but decided to try to sleep anyway.

I put on a playlist of podcasts and turned out the lights around 11:30. I felt relaxed, but not sleepy. The last time I looked at the clock it was around 1, and I still didn't fall asleep for quite a while after that.

breakdown;

• up a little after 10
• walked outside in the sun late morning and early afternoon
• about 3 cups of coffee, last around 6
• 1 glass of wine around 10
• tried to sleep around 11:30
• fell asleep around 2

Day 8: 04/06/10

I fell asleep around 3 last night. Something woke me up at about 6:30 this morning, shortly before my alarm went off. I stayed in bed until about 7, then got dressed and had a quick light breakfast before going to my running class.

I ran 5 miles and then came home, drank a protein shake, took a shower, and went back to bed. I decided not to bother setting an alarm to get up for my afternoon class, which I didn't really need to go to. I napped from about 10 to 2:30.

I didn't feel sleepy anymore after I woke up, but I felt fatigued. My muscles were sore and I didn't feel up to doing anything active. I did some homework and watched some videos and ate a lot. It seemed like no matter how much I ate I was still hungry. I went to the grocery store around 1.

Didn't feel tired until after 3. Fell asleep around 4:30.

breakdown:

• up around 7
• lots of exercise early in the morning
• long afternoon nap
• 2 cups of coffee, last around 4pm
• no alcohol

Day 7: 04/05/10

I fell asleep around 2:30 last night and slept until a little after 11. I got out of bed at about 11:30 and ate and got dressed. Got to school around noon. Worked on a project, went to class, then had coffee and a bagel with Rose around 4. We then stopped by her house and went shopping for yoga mats. I got home around 7 and ate dinner and did some yoga. It's now 12:30 and I'm not tired yet. I'm drinking a glass of wine. Hope it helps.

breakdown:

• awake at 11, up about 11:30
• 2 cups of coffee, last one around 4
• yoga around 9:30pm
• 1 glass of wine around 12:30am

Days 4,5, and 6: 04/02-04/04

Day 4: 04/02

I woke up at about 7. I was very tired, but made it to my 8am class. Afterwards I stopped at the grocery store and then came home and took a nap for about 2 hours. I was supposed to work on a group project, but we postponed our shoot because it was raining so hard.

I went to my 3pm class and then had coffee and met with a friend to talk about an upcoming film project. Then I came home and did some housework. Robert got here around 10. He was pretty tired, but we drank some coffee, thinking about going out. We ended up staying in because we were tired and the weather was crappy. I had a glass of wine and fell asleep around 2 or 2:30.

breakdown

• up at 7
• napped for about 2 hours in the afternoon
• lots of coffee
• wine around 11
• fell asleep around 2

Day 5: 04/03

I got up at about 10. Met my group to work on our project around 11. Came home and made lunch for Robert and myself. We watched some videos, then went to the rec center around 9 and worked out for about an hour. We had dinner and hung out for a while and then around 12:30 went to a neighborhood bar. I had three drinks. Went to sleep around 3.

breakdown:

• up around 10
• outside a lot early in the day
• 2 or 3 cups of coffee throughout the day
• worked out around 9pm
• 3 drinks late
• asleep around 3

day 6: 04/05

We slept until nearly noon. We got brunch around 1 and then ran some errands. We went for a short run. We were both tired. Robert left around 8. I went to campus and worked on a project until around 12:30. Came home and ate and had a small glass of wine. Watched the most recent episode of Lost and got very sleepy towards the end. Fell asleep as soon as it was over.

breakdown:

• up around noon
• rainy most of the day, cleared up in the late afternoon
• exercise in late afternoon
• coffee throughout the day
• wine around 1
• asleep around 2:30

Day 3: 04/01/10

I hit snooze for a long time and didn't get out of bed until 7:15. Barely made it out the door in time to get to my running class at 8. Ran 3 miles. I had a really hard time keeping moving, maybe because I didn't sleep enough.

Came home around 9 and took a shower. Took a nap from around 10:30 to 1:30. Woke up starving, threw on clothes, had a snack and barely made it to my 2:00 class. Got out just before 5. Had a dinner meeting until about 6:30, then film club until 9. Was hungry again after that and got a vegetarian burrito from Qdoba. Just looked up the nutrition info and found out it was 1320 calories! Not worth it.

Watched a movie with people from club, then got home around midnight. It's almost 2 now and I'm feeling kind of tired. Have another 8am class tomorrow, so gotta get up early.

breakdown:

• uo at 7:15 with only about 3.5 hours of sleep
• ran 3 miles in the morning
• took a 3 hour nap late morning-early afternoon
• 3 cups of coffee, last one around 6pm
• last meal around 9:30
• attempted to sleep around 2:30

Day 2: 03/31/10

I fell asleep fairly quickly last night, probably by 2:30. My alarm went off at 7, but I didn't need to get up, so I turned it off and went back to sleep. Woke up at 10:3o and got out of bed. Still felt tired, but not sleepy.

When I got up it was gray out, but not raining. I ate breakfast, got dressed, and did some homework before going to my 2:00 class. After class I got a falafel pita from Pita Pit, went to the grocery store, and headed home.

I talked to my mom on the phone, did some homework, wrote a blog entry, had a snack, did some more homework, then ate dinner. I started to feel more energetic later in the evening. Around 11 I wasn't feeling tired at all, so I did some pilates and yoga, made up my bed, and took a shower. It;s now 1:45 and I still don't feel sleepy at all, though I do feel pretty relaxed.

It's a little chilly because the heater in my room's not working, but I've got plenty of blankets, so I should be all right. All my roommates have gone to bed, so the house is unusually quiet, which is nice.

I'm feeling a little bit hungry, which always keeps me up unless I'm totally exhausted, so I think I'm going to have a light snack and maybe a glass of wine. I'm trying to get in shape, so I don't want to overeat, but it'll be worse if I can't fall asleep and then can't get up for my running class in the morning.

I have 2 alarms set on my phone and 2 on my clock radio, so I should get up no matter how tired I am.

breakdown:

• awake 10:30, our of bed around 11
• out and about around 1 (class, errands)
• inactive in late afternoon and early evening
• exercise around 11pm (pilates and yoga)
• 2 cups of coffee, 1 in the morning, 1 around 7pm
• dinner around 9
• snack and wine around 2am
• attempted to sleep around 2:30

Day 1: 03/30/2010

It's the first week of spring term and this morning I started my first running class. I set two alarms: one for 6:30 and one for 7. The earlier one was set to the clock radio, and I don't even remember hearing it. The second one woke me up and I hit snooze a couple of times. I had trouble sleeping last night. Didn't fall asleep until at least 2.

I fell asleep listening to podcasts on my lap top. They usually play for a while and then the computer goes to sleep. I was surprised that my playlist was still going this morning. Not sure why. That may have contributed to my sleeping through the first alarm.

I got out of bed shortly after 7 and drank a glass of water. I then got dressed and had a light breakfast of Multigrain Cheerios with yogurt and half a banana.

I got to campus just in time for my 8am class. We ran 4.5 miles in the rain.

Afterwards I went home and dried off and lay in bed for a while to get warm. I then took a shower and ate an egg with some soy bacon and cheese.

I got on the computer for a while after that and then went back to campus at 2 for my History of the Motion Picture class. I had a bagel with cream cheese and a small cup of coffee with soy milk during class.

After class I had to go replace my cell phone that I dropped in a puddle and then came home again.

I had some hummus and cucumbers for a snack and then ate some instant Indian food for dinner.

Later I got hungry again and ate a couple of clementines. I also had a glass of red wine.

I was tired from getting up early and not having gotten enough sleep, and wasn't very active, but did not take a nap.

I spent most of the evening on the computer and also talked to my husband on the phone for a while.

After getting off the phone around 11pm I was hungry again, so I cooked some salmon and green beans with lemon butter sauce.

It is now 1:35am. I am finally starting to feel a little sleepy.

After I turn out the light it will be totally dark except for the light from my laptop, which I'll keep on so that I can listen to podcasts, which help me to relax. My roommate is watching TV in the living room, but it's not too loud, and with podcasts on it will barely be audible. It's quiet outside right now. I guess the rain finally stopped.

I should change my sheets and make up the bed more neatly. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow. It's kind of a mess right now. My unfolded clean laundry is at the end of the bed and the covers are kind of jumbled. The temperature in my room is pretty comfortable. It's a little cool, but with the blankets and my cat curled up next to me I'm cozy. I'm wearing sweat pants and a comfortable tank top.

I'm hoping the exercise I got early in the day today will help me to fall asleep relatively quickly.

I'm not feeling especially stressed or tense so I can't think of any good reason why I shouldn't be able to sleep now that I'm finally getting tired.

Breakdown:

• awake around 7, up shortly thereafter, light breakfast
• cardio between 8 and 9
• relaxed and ate in late morning and early afternoon
• class and errands for rest of afternoon
• ate and relaxed in evening
• healthy food, one glass of wine
• attempt to sleep listening to podcasts around 1:45, feeling kind of sleepy

Intro

Since adolescence I've suffered from Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome. My father also has the sleep disorder, and his mother's diaries suggest that she did as well.

I finally gave up on high school and got a GED because I simply could not wake up for morning classes.

Over the years I've become more disciplined. I've learned to force myself to function on virtually no sleep. But now at 28 it's still a real struggle to get out of bed before noon.

I know that I don't have the best sleeping habits, and I'm trying to improve them. I should keep my bedroom tidier, try harder to avoid doing homework and other activities in bed, make myself get in bed and turn out the lights at a reasonable hour even if I'm not tired, etc.

I don't know how many of these changes I can really stick to. If I don't feel tired, trying to sleep just makes me feel anxious. It's difficult not to do homework in bed when it's the most comfortable place to sit in my house and has more surface area to spread out books and papers than my desk.

My goal with this blog is simply to keep a log of my activities and see if any obvious patterns emerge.

Things I plan to track are:

• what time I woke up
• what time I got out of bed
• how active I was during different times of day
• how much sunlight I got and when
• whether and when I took a nap
• what I ate and when
• alcohol consumption
• what time I started trying to sleep
• how dark my sleeping environment was
• what sounds I could hear in my sleeping environment
• what time I fell asleep
• whether I woke up during the night and for how long