As I wrote in this post, I was trying a few methods to get back in synch with the normal waking world. Recall, I was trying:

1. Open my blinds during the day and rely entirely on sunlight to light my rooms.
2. Only use dim lighting at night
3. Avoid tv screens and computer monitors at night (especially computer games). Shift to reading paper books and listening to podcasts at night, and do the computer stuff during the day.
4. No big meals after sunset
5. No matter when I go to sleep, wake up at the same time every day (I chose 7:30 AM)

So, after a couple months, I would say the two most important tactics are (1) and (5). Even when I slip up and go to bed way too late, it really helps to just get up at 7:30 the next morning anyway. The funny thing is that it doesn’t even feel that bad, when your body is more-or-less trained to be awake in the morning. And, whenever I get up, I go look at the sunlight out my window for a minute or so. Supposedly this helps your mind register that it’s morning and resets your internal clock.

I have tried to follow the other rules, but I admit I regularly fail at (3) and (4)… I do a lot of programming/etc and sometimes I want to continue with that at night. I have been better about not eating meals too late, though at times I cheat and eat snacks. I can’t help it… it goes hand-in-hand with programming.

So far, it’s been a complete success… with only a couple exceptions, I have gotten up between 7:30 and 8:00 every day since that earlier post.

Based on the description I read of Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome last night, I think this is the main sleep problem I have had all my life. Left to my own devices, I will stay up a little later each night, and sleep a little later every morning… until I’m going to sleep at 6am and waking up at 2pm… and it just keeps going forward until I “lap” normal people. It’s like my internal definition of a day is like 25 or 26 hours long.

Based on what I’ve read, and see others trying, I think I might be able to help my brain learn a more typical day-night cycle. So, rather than fighting fatigue all the time, I’m going to try a couple things to see if it can be corrected:

• Open my blinds during the day and rely entirely on sunlight to light my rooms. (I normally never do this)
• Only use dim lighting at night
• Avoid tv screens and computer monitors at night (especially computer games). Shift to reading paper books and listening to podcasts at night, and do the computer stuff during the day. I’ve been doing just the opposite, as I like to “compute” late at night; I’ll have to give that up.
• No big meals after sunset
• No matter when I go to sleep, wake up at the same time every day

I already have 0 caffeine intake, so I don’t have to suffer through that common suggestion. I already meditate, though I don’t do it every day. I already sleep in total darkness. I eat a pretty decent diet most of the time, so I’ll go ahead and check that one off as well.

The blog post I linked to above quotes a book (which I’ve reserved at my library) claiming that your internal organs work on a clock independent of your circadian brain clock. And, more importantly, they adjust their schedule much more slowly than the brain. The liver can apparently take two weeks to catch up, for example. So, I will keep in mind that I might feel all kinds of sub-optimal effects for a couple weeks when changing my sleep schedule, and I should just suffer through it and let myself readjust.

Stock trading is very intense and stressful, and while I don’t think it’s keeping me from sleeping, I am going to start taking supplements of folic acid and omega-3 fatty acids (above and beyond my normal diet and multivitamin). They are connected with coping with stress effects and generally enhancing mood. Maybe I will feel less “fried” after a particularly hairy day in the markets…. we’ll see!