Sleep Tips- Not waking up at same time so early!

[Catrin]

Melatonin has worked for several of my clients, both adult and children. The psychiatrist I work with recommends it a lot.
I could never exercise at 9 PM. In fact, if I exercise after 4-5 PM, it will keep me up.
I find it ironic that 4:30 AM is "waking up early," for most. I wake up at that time, regularly, especially in the summer, when I ride early. I get up at 4:50 2 days a week all year, to go to the gym at 5:30. I go out and ride at 5-5:30 at least one day a week, until the snow flies. Other days I sleep until 6 or so, but when I stopped teaching, it felt very indulgent to sleep to 7 AM as I started doing (and staying up later). I go to bed around 10-10:30 and have no trouble getting up early.

I normally rise at 4 am during the week, and settle down at night shortly before 10:00, earlier if I am tired. I've long had problems both going to sleep and staying asleep, so I've been experimenting recently with winding down an hour or so before bed. No electronic stimulation for at least a full hour - two hours is better, I lower my lights and I installed Flux on my computer that automatically dims/changes the tint on my monitor an hour before scheduled sunset. I've been told it works even better to move to candlelight that last hour as apparently the color of candlelight doesn't interfere the way that bright white light does, but I've not gone that far. The result is I am now sleeping until my alarm goes off, and going to sleep is much easier. I started all of this at the same time I started my Primal/Paleo experiment a month ago (which is no longer an experiment but permanent) so it is difficult to know if it is a combination of giving up all grains which certainly does change my insulin patterns or just my particular style of winding down. Low blood sugar can also wake us up at night. I also try to sleep in during the weekend without an alarm, but am generally up by 6:30. I cannot exercise any later than 7:00 or I can't get to sleep.