A reader asks:
I’m in the midst of a chronobiologic Catch-22: I need to wake up earlier to use my light box (for depression) and to get to work on time, but when I set my alarm for the time suggested by the AutoMEQ (and my boss!), I’m not able to wake up and in fact I’m so deeply asleep that I sleep for another hour despite the alarm blaring away. Each night I tell myself that I’ll force myself out of bed the next morning at the necessary time, but when the alarm goes off, I don’t even become conscious enough to act on that resolution. How can I wake up early enough? I try going to bed earlier but, even though I dim the lights in the evening, I’m not able to fall asleep sooner than my usual time. Thanks for the help.
Answer:
It won’t work immediately to wake up at your target time. You need to start using the lights about 15-30 minutes before your normal (late) wake-up time, which will start to move your internal clock earlier. Every few days, you can advance your wake-up/light time by 15-30 minutes, depending on how early you can wake up easily. Over a period of time–which might last two weeks, for example–you will be able to approach your target (early) wake-up time. This cannot be done abruptly! If you have difficulty even with the small adjustments earlier, try low-dose melatonin (0.3 to 1.0 mg) 12 hours before your current wake-up time. As you move wake-up and lights earlier, also move the melatonin earlier.
