My partner has problems with this - he could have written this thread. I have also had problems with sleep in the past, but not so bad. My social worker said that you can change your sleeping pattern only gradually - by 15 minutes per night.
So maybe instead of trying to change it drastically, and then slipping back into your old pattern, you should just try to change it a little bit at a time and then it might be more permanent. So say you go to bed, on average, at 7am - try going to bed at 6:45, and then 6:30 the next day, etc. And say you wake up, on average, at 4pm, try to get up 3:45, then 3:30 the next day, etc. So you're slowly moving your sleeping pattern backwards to what it 'should' be.
Also maybe you could go to the doctors and ask them advice about how to get to sleep and sort out your sleeping pattern and stuff.
Try to make sure you get about 8 - 9 hours of sleep a night, and no more, because that can be just as damaging as getting say, 4 - 5 hours of sleep a night, which isnt enough.
Also how is your diet and exercise routine? Another thing you could try is not drinking any caffeine, or eating sugary foods for the last few hours before you go to bed, and try drinking some warm milk, or hot chocolate or something before you go to bed. And you need to get into an exercise routine, so half way through your day do some sit up's and some jumping jacks and push ups or something - it doesnt really matter how many you do, just as long as you're getting some exercise. This can really help your sleeping pattern.
Another thing you can try is doing relaxation exercises when you're in bed - for example, one is that you lie on your back and go through your whole body from your toes to your head flexing every muscle and then relaxing it again. So you squeeze your toes really tight and then relax, then your feet, then relax, then your calves, then relax, thighs - relax, back muscles - relax, tummy muscles - relax, etc etc, so you go through your whole body really slowly. Then after youve done that carry on lying on your back and do 30 slow, deep breaths. So in 1-2-3, out 1-2-3, in 1-2-3, out 1-2-3, etc. and each in and out together represents one breath. Do that 30 times and try to imagine yourself climbing out of your body and going downstairs and out your front door and walking anywhere you want to go (but dont actually move your body - stay relaxed).
I find this last thing incredibly helpful and quite often I realise in the morning that I fell asleep before Id even finished doing this exercise.
Breathing with your tummy muscles is a good thing to relax yourself as well - so put your hands on your tummy and your chest, and if you breath normally you notice that your chest goes in and out, but then try breathing with your tummy instead - so instead of your chest going in and out your tummy is going in and out. If you breath slowly and deeply with your tummy for a few minutes a few times a day that can really help with anxiety as well.
Anyway, I think thats pretty much everything I know about trying to get into a good pattern of sleep.
I really hope you manage to sort it out - I know it can be a slow process the 15 minutes change a day thing - but its much better and long lasting than trying to change it all in one night.
Good luck.
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