Sleep problem, is this what's going on?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

The last six months thanks to some shakeups at work, I ended up with a (for me) absolutely hellish schedule that required me to get up way earlier than I'm used to. Plenty wouldn't mind or would even like it, but I'm not a morning person. Mercifully this ended last week and I now have a schedule where I don't have to go in until 11:30AM, and I was able to catch up on sleep. However I'm still feeling tired a lot, even after 8 hours. I have a theory that I racked up too much of a sleep defecit the last six months and it's going to take awhile to even out. Even during that time I was sleeping in quite a bit on weekends but wasn't feeling fully awake or refreshed, then there was my little Chicago trip. So is this something where I'll have to just adjust over the next couple weeks instead of just sleeping in a little bit now?

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

I tend to feel much more tired if I try to overdo sleep. Let's say, as I do fairly regularly, have to get up very early to get the first flight out. As I'm a night-owl by nature, I find going to bed before 11pm really difficult, once I'm actually in bed - I'd be lucky if I could sleep before 12:30... but I often can't sleep out of anxiety of missing the flight.

Long story short, the sleep "deficit" doesn't really exist. You just need to adjust your expectations and try to sleep a normal amount and set a routine. Don't try to catch up, because your rhythms have changed and if you try to force them to change back by sleeping more, all it'll do is screw them up leaving you feeling more tired. 

The thing I've noticed as I've gotten older, but since I turned 30... I just can't sleep-in any more.

[J-Mann]

The sleep deficit is a real thing, though I think it applies to shorter periods of time than the six months you're referencing.

You might try downloading a sleep monitoring / progression alarm app on your phone (I have one called sleep time). Good ones will monitor how well you sleep and try to wake you in accordance with the end of a natural cycle rather than an arbitrary wake-up time.

The science behind sleep shows that the brain operates in roughly 90-minute cycles during sleep, and if you're trying to wake up in the middle of one of those, it's tough, regardless of how much sleep you've gotten. It's why you can feel refreshed after a 10-minute snooze -- your body never enters a deep sleep -- but like a wreck if you nap for 30 minutes. At that point, you might as well put in a full hour-and-a-half.

So try to sleep for 4.5, 6 or 7.5 hours rather than the vaunted 8 hours.

[bedstuy]

I have an alarm clock that wakes me up by slowly getting brighter.  It has definitely helped me wake up more naturally, especially in the winter. 

[dead0man]

A. everybody is different
B. you can't really "bank" or "catchup" on sleep
C. the 90 minute cycle is true, but it's hard to take advantage of
D. drugs can help....a lot, both for staying awake and getting to sleep, but which drugs work well from one individual to the next isn't consistent, you'll have to experiment.

For me it's easier to extend the day than shorten it.  I'm often up for 18-20 hrs straight.  If the sun and much more importantly, real life didn't get in the way, I think I'd prefer a 28 or 30 hour day.

dead0man-15 years working mids after 5 years of working various shifts

[Frodo]

opebo is not worth losing sleep over.