There is an old adage: an hour before 12 is worth two afterwards. Any truth to that? The Chinese royal families thought the best time to sleep was between the hours of 11 pm and 2 am. For sure many people report that going to bed much later than normal and sleeping 7-8 hours does not result in feeling refreshed.
So for people with Autistic Spectrum Disorders and compromised executive functioning abilities — what to do?
Routine and patterns creating ingrained habits may assist. So first, figure out how to get to sleep at a set time. Then start moving that time back so you can sleep when it is dark and get up when it is light – or as close that as possible. In the evening stop both mental and physical exertion a couple hours before going to bed and plan to be in bed by around 10 pm. Do boring if need by, relaxing tasks the couple hours before bed. Using either a prescription or other means plan to go to sleep around 11 and up by 8 or so.
By Martin W. Schwartz
The best time to sleep varies from person to person, but as a general rule the internal human clock (Circadian Clock) gears people to sleep when it is dark outside and remain awake during hours of light.
Some people, like this writer, are “night owls” meaning that their Circadian rhythms are such that becoming tired does not set in until the “wee” hours of the morning (between 2 AM and 5 AM). For us, going to sleep early is a chore, often requiring the use of prescription (Ambien, Sonata, Lunesta) or non prescription (.3 mg of Melatonin) sleep aids.
Although the Circadian clock can be “reset” in a sleep laboratory or by a routine that gradually has the person going to sleep 10 minutes earlier each night, for “night owls” it is very easy to slip back into the old routine simply by sleeping late on a single day.
For people with no disturbances in their Circadian rhythms, the best time to sleep is about 5-6 hours after eating their dinner, which works out to sometime between 11PM and Midnight. Going to sleep the same time every night, seven days a week, avoiding late evening snacks with caffeine, theobromine (chocolate) or salt, will help to prevent insomnia by keeping the Circadian clock in synch with the actual time of day/night. And AVOID NAPS during the day. If you must take one it should be no lnger than 45 minutes.
Sleep deprivation is a huge problem in industrialized nations and other than spending time in a sleep laboratory, medical science has come up with very little to treat chronic or intermittent insomnia.
