I’ve never really been able to hold a consistent sleep schedule. I always end up oversleeping or staying up too late. On January 20th, I picked my rabbit up from the veterinary hospital and was told to give her pain meds every 12 hours. The vet had given her the first dose of the day at 8 a.m.
This was only the second week of the semester and I was barely able to wake up at 8:30 on the day of my 9:30 class. I set my alarm for 7:30 so I would have enough time to actually wake up and make sure I was giving her the right dose. I ended up pushing her meds back to 8:30 every morning so I didn’t have to wake up as early.
The first few days were easy but it started to get harder to get out of bed at the sound of my alarm clock. I figured the problem might have been that I was staying up too late. I had adjusted my wakeup time but was still going to sleep around midnight. I used Headspace to help me fall asleep earlier than I was used to and it became easier to wake up the next morning.
I don’t have early classes most days so I felt like after giving my rabbit her medicine I had no reason to be awake for another hour. I decided against going back to sleep every morning because I really wanted to stick with my schedule.
There were two days where I overslept and gave my rabbit her medicine late but for the most part the schedule has been working. I have to wake up at 8 a.m. every day for at least another three weeks.
I’m hoping that even after my rabbit finishes her medicine I can keep up with my sleep schedule. Maintaining a regular sleep schedule can help you fall asleep and wake up more easily, according to a Harvard Medical School article. I have trouble falling asleep most nights and I think keeping this new sleep schedule can help with that.
Waking up early every morning even when I have no class has been hard, but I think I’m starting to get used to it. I get some extra time each day to just sit in my bed and relax before doing homework. I have time in the morning to wash my hair and let it air dry before going out for the day. If I didn’t have a reason to make a consistent sleep schedule I probably wouldn’t have done it. I’m glad I did though because I think this is going to benefit me in the long run.