How to STOP being lazy

I could sleep for 14 hours if you let me.  In fact, I often do on the weekends.

Guys, I am missing out on life - and not just my own.  I am missing out on my kids.  I have weight to lose but also I need to get out there and start living.  No matter how much I sleep I could sleep more!

I want to know if anyone out there has the same problem and would especially like to know how you solved the problem.  I will let you know my progress too.

I am going to start in the morning by setting my alarm ON MY SIDE OF THE BED so that my husband can't turn it off and further I can't pretend that I didn't hear it.  I am going to exercise - even if it's just a little walk... and actually have a morning.  You know, like be normal.

Thank you for your words of support and advice.  I look forward to hearing your suggestions.  Oh - do you think I should try iron tablets?

I also could sleep constantly if you'd let me. I think it stems from OCD and the depression I have going on from it and other things.  IDK how to solve it. :/  Get a good night sleep.  Maybe try to only sleep for like 7 hours.  I hear over sleeping can make you even more tired.  GL on trying to be "normal."

It's so refreshing to hear others telling their stories - I mean it makes me feel less like a weirdo!

Tomorrow is my first day of forcing myself to get into a good routine.  I have a long way ahead of me.

I also have suffered from depression in the past and I think that may be where some of this habit has stemmed from for me.  I am no longer depressed though and no longer on any form of medication or anything so I need to just kick my own butt.

Just take it one day at a time... Once you start walking or exercising you will have more energy to get up and do things. Getting started is the hardest part.  GOOD LUCK!!

Yep, I'm a sleeper too.  I'm more prone to go to bed really early though instead of sleeping late.  I think it stems from boredom and just having the blues sometimes.  I've found now that if I have something really interesting to grab my attention in the evenings--like a fabulous book or a project at home-- I won't "feel so sleepy".  Maybe you can find something really interesting worth getting up for??

Ditto on alicat0421's comment as well...too much sleep has only served to make me more sleepy.  I try now to get up at the same time every morning- that simple change and a little light exercise has gone a long way toward resetting my system.

Best of luck, get out there, start LIVING as you said! 

I felt the same way for way to long. I finally couldn't take it anymore. I felt like the fatigue was taking my life over so I went to my doctor first and had some tests done all were negative. Now I knew it was me so I joined a personal trainer and she suggested taking a multi vitamin with iron and a super b complex - WOW within one month I have lost 20 lbs and feel GREAT!!!! I work with my trainer twice a week and do cardio the other three days - a month ago I couldn't wait to put the kids on the bus so I could go back to bed now I cant wait to workout. 

I would suggest speaking with your doctor to make sure it is not a medical problem and them take baby steps. You WILL get there. Keep in touch and let me know how you are doing. 

Consider having your thyroid checked.  I had similar problems (depression, too) and it has helped.

I find exercise helps.  I don't exercise a lot, but it does tend to perk me up.

In college, I would always put my alarm clock across the room.  I HAD to get up to turn it off.  It worked even better when I had my bed lofted in the dorm.  Once I'm up, I'm up. 

They also make alarm clocks that are REALLY loud and have wheels.  They roll around and hide.  Heh. Look!

Good luck!

Exercise really helps but you have to get up to do it. If you have a thyroid problem no amount of wanting will get you up and exercising. I have had hypothyroidism for about 20 years. When you have it and are not on medicine for it is one of the worst things in the world I think. You can't do anything, phyisicaly or mentaly. You just want to stay in bed all day and sleep. Before my doctor cought it my family could nto understand why I was so lazy all the time. ( I was 11 years old)Many years later they finally understood when my 3 sisters and my brother all got it. Now they know what it is like. Go get yourself checked and if it is not that, force yourself to work out and take your vitamins. It really helps. Somedays I have so much energy I don't know what to do with it. good Luck.

Cutting out coffee and caffeine has helped for me. It takes more than one day for caffeine to get out of your system but once its, I had more energy.

gah - i wish.  no matter how late i stay up, i'm awake with the sun (right now that's ~6 am; in a few weeks it will be closer to 5).

There are 2 things that I tell myself in the morning to make myself get up:  #1-I do not need more than 7-8 hours of sleep.  If I've slept 7 hours, then I have no excuse and I should be fine once I get up.  #2- I will let myself sleep in tomorrow.  Now, #2 is almost always a lie, but somehow my early morning brain always falls for that trick.  I also agree that once you get into the routine of getting up and getting a little exercise, it gets way easier, but I definitely no how hard it is to start, and honestly, even though it gets easier with time, it's never really easy.

Original Post by healthfirst:

There are 2 things that I tell myself in the morning to make myself get up:  #1-I do not need more than 7-8 hours of sleep.  If I've slept 7 hours, then I have no excuse and I should be fine once I get up.  #2- I will let myself sleep in tomorrow.  Now, #2 is almost always a lie, but somehow my early morning brain always falls for that trick.  I also agree that once you get into the routine of getting up and getting a little exercise, it gets way easier, but I definitely no how hard it is to start, and honestly, even though it gets easier with time, it's never really easy.

 #1 is not universally true, the range is more like 5-10, and different people have different needs. I thin mine is around 8, for optimum functioning. If I get less on a consistent basis, I start to burn out and end up sleeping on the couch in the evenings which ends up screwing up my sleep pattern plus wastes my evenings...anyway my point is it's good to pay attention to what amount makes you function the best, and aim for that.

#2 I think is a great method! I do the same with going to the gym...it's so hard sometimes...I lie to myself and say I will only go for 10 minutes, but end up staying an hour, because just getting there is the hard part! Sometimes it takes A LOT of self-talk and discipline :)

And one other thing....if you have something to look forward to getting up for, it makes it easier. I also have a hard time getting up...and this may sound a little weird but the thing that gets me out of bed these days is going to weigh myself! We need plenty of sleep for effective weight loss, and I always look forward to getting up to see how much I dropped "overnight"! On weekends, breakfast with my bf also works :)

iron tablets: do you have anemia? Your doctor can check you for this.

Do you snore? Do you wake up tired no matter how much sleep you've had? Maybe you have sleep apnea.

Are you on medications that can interfere with the quality of your sleep?

Are you depressed? Hypersomnia (sleeping too much) can be caused by many things.

That alarm clock thing is sweet.  IDK what my problems is.  I  had my Iron checked before.  It was 10 years ago, though.  I have terrible bags under my eyes as if I had been up all night when really I'm sleeping for 8 hours. lol.. 

So, How was today?  Your first day of setting the alarm clock?

Haha, I think EVERYONE has a problem with getting out of bed .

Perhaps you should start off your day with a cup of coffee?

Maybe you're lacking in certain vitamins.. I think One A Day has vitamins that target energy.

Also, doing just 15-20 minutes of cardio in the morning will give you a "happy boost" throughout the day!

I'm like this too, there is no time or place that I can't go to sleep!

I used to sleep as late as possible, right into the afternoon if I could, and would always just ignore my alarm clock.

After doing a bit of googling, the trick seems to be 'practicing' so much that eventually getting up as soon as the alarm clock goes off becomes habit, controlled by the subconcious, rather than having that internal discussion with yourself about just another 10 minutes, one more snooze, etc.

This has worked for me, and I can now quite happily get up at 7:30am when the alarm goes off, no matter what time I go to bed! I can actually get stuff done with my days now.

Here is the link, if you're interested to try it =]

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/04/how- to-get-up-right-away-when-your-alarm-goes-off /

Good luck!

Well I use to have the problem of wanting to sleep all the time.  Now it seems I can't get enough and somedays can't sleep at all.  Stems from my lifestyle, being overseas didn't help any either.  But when I had problems waking up, I always set 3-4 alarms clocks.  One by the bed and the others to where I knew I could here them but had to actually get out of bed to shut them off.  That seemed to help me out quite a bit.  Then the motivation comes from within and those around you.  Maybe get your husband involved in exercises with you.  The exercises you both could do, walking, jogging, biking, hiking, fun activities to help each other.  The more he realizes your goals and wants then he may be inclined to go on a diet with you and be your motivation.  Good luck on the sleep and hopefully the numerous alarms will help until you get a pattern of sleep down.  If you want to talk further for motivation send me a message.

haha I thought I was going crazy with my sleeping problem.
When I was back in the States I was fine. I'd go to bed around 1a, get up at 6a to work from 730a-10p most days. Sure, some days I was a bit tired due to the nature of my job but I was fine.
Then I move to Korea, jet lag screwed my sleeping schedule up and now it's normal for me to be up until 4am. It doesn't matter if I get 6 hours sleep or 12 hours sleep... I'm still exhausted.

I'm trying to reset my inner clock so I can be up by 10a (I don't work until 1p) and try to go to bed by 1a... still plenty of sleep!

I also am like this! I love hearing others stories. I am going to start taking some advice off of this board as well!

I personally find that setting my alarm helps me. Go to bed earlier and get up earlier. Try to get atleast 8 hours sleep every night.

I do find that if I stay in bed for a long time that I am more tired if I wake up and then just fall asleep!

During the winter is my worst time for sleeping all day. I get SAD which isn't just sad, it's Seasonal Affective Disorder - a stupid sortof illness that means when it's not sunny, I get really angry and depressed. It's like I'm solar powered!

I've found that the best way for me to function under these conditions (hey, if you've suffered from depression, you know that there isn't really a quick solution, just ways of dealing with it) is to make myself socialise. The more I'm around people, the less I can convince myself that everyone hates me and I'm an annoying waste of space (it's not true, but mental illnesses can trick you into feeling worthless! Meanies!). And the way I get a good night's sleep is to really tire myself out during the day. Really keeping busy forces me to sleep deeply and dreamlessly (oh yeah, I have some sleep disorders too....what a fun life I have! hahaha just kidding) and means that by morning I'm much more likely to feel ready to get up and make the most of my day. If I went to bed still switched on, I'd sleep shallowly and could carry on napping all day.

 

Hope this has helped!