Changing your sleep patterns - in a hurry

[Hustle]

Hustle....pack the car the night before, shower, etc. If you have to leave at 4:45am, there's no need to wake up earlier than 4:15am, 4:30am should be realistic. Get up, splash some water on your face, brush your teeth and go.

Remember, I'm travelling with my wife, who will insist on a shower and the whole nine. If it were just me, that'd be a no-brainer; but we will be starting to pack tonight. All that will be left Saturday is to take the stuff out to the car and go.

I think I'm going to with the nap sequence and stay up through the night, which I believe is what most are suggesting. Hopefully I can get up ass early tomorrow, meaning I'll be more than ready for a nap by Friday afternoon. Of course, then I'm probably just making up for lost sleep and not making inroads toward my current sleep needs...

Dammit, this was a lot easier before I started thinking about it. I'll probably just go with No. 2 and play poker all night. Not quite as fun as SixToe's suggestions, but we live in an apartment, my wife packs everything perfectly the first time, and I rather enjoy my somewhat hairy toes. So poker it is.

 

[Flying Headbutt]

Yeah, just stay up dude. Listen to George Noory on coast to coast on WMAL and then sleep on the plane.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

Whatever you decide, just go with the flow -- however it turns out, relax. I have tried every approach, and eventually I realized the stress of worrying about how much sleep I'd get was worse than the lack of sleep. Why? Because it affected the quality of my sleep and my waking hours too. Pick a plan, and even if it doesn't go exactly on schedule, don't stress. Listen to your body, and don't obsess about it.

 

[Eagleboy]

I just took a 6 a.m. flight for a vacation last weekend. I got up at 3:45 a.m. after packing the night before to shower and brush my teeth quick for the flight. It took us 25 minutes to get there, with me arriving around 4:15.

I couldn't sleep on the flight, but what I did was just go to bed at midnight and sleep for nearly four hours. It wasn't great, and the events of the day kept me awake until 3 a.m. that day, but the little sleep helped me.

 

[Dyno]

Hustle -- Where are you planning to park at BWI? I have a basic idea of where you live (because I think I live near you) and I think, if you want to be in the security line by 5:30, you might want to leave a little bit earlier than you planned, unless you're valet parking your car at BWI or someone is dropping you off. Even then, I think you might be cutting it a little bit close.

 

[BTExpress]

We need to be in the security line no later than 5:30. Which means we need to leave here a little before 5.

Where do you live, the Airport Hilton?

On my last trip I went to my usual remote parking lot . . . LOT FULL.

Angrily headed to the terminal (and its $12 per day rates).

First garage . . . GARAGE FULL.

Second garage . . . Levels 1 through 6, FULL.

Fortunately, a handful of spots were open on Level 7. Of course, then I needed a shuttle to get me from this remote garage back to the terminal.

Left the house at 6:30 a.m. . . . was about 8 a.m. before I was in the security line.

 

[CentralIllinoisan]

Yeah, just stay up dude. Listen to George Noory on coast to coast on WMAL and then sleep on the plane.

East of the Rockies, hello.

 

[Hustle]

So here's the update. It's now 12:38 a.m.

I got up at 7:45 (a solid 2 hours earlier than normal) and went straight to work. Put in my time, came back home, immediately went to bed; crawled in at 5:45 or so.

I lay there and lay there and lay there; I try and take myself to as many happy places as possible to drift off to sleep. Each time I think, sweet, hello dreamland! And each time that didn't work, I'd get a little frustrated, worked up and wake up a bit.

Finally, a little after 8, I gave up for good. I got up and helped my wife pack and get the house ready with some minor cleaning up. I had some dinner and, for good measure, drank a beer and a glass of scotch.

We finish up around 10:30. We hop into bed and this time, I manage to get comfy and drift off to sleep. But, as expected, I wake up an hour later, wide awake. And here I am.

But this hasn't been a total waste. I downloaded a handful of Iron Maiden songs that will help pass the time on the plane.

 

[Brooklyn Bridge]

Nothing says Beddie bye like "Aces High." Good luck on your trip.

 

[shotglass]

Keep downloading now, babe. Don't even give sleep a thought. You'll be fine.

 

[Hustle]

I would if the player wasn't full... I had to boot a few marginal tunes off to make room for The Clairvoyant.

Now I'm just playing poker, waiting for 3 a.m. to arrive.