This article is a coincidence for me - since I started working from home full time, I've been going to bed at 4 - 5 AM and getting up at 2 PM every day, but I actually managed to pull off 11 PM - 6:30 AM for the last few days. I've been much more productive and felt a lot better about myself, so yeah - it's a good idea!
If you're on the 5 AM - 2 PM thing, an easy way to force yourself into a normal cycle (or at least the way that always works for me) is to do an all nighter and go to bed at 10 PM or so the next day. Just for god's sake remember to set an alarm ;-)
Even more important than setting alarms is actually getting up when they go off. A really bad habit to get into is the habit of sleeping through alarms. Never set an alarm unless you need to get up, and always get up when you set one.
Very true - there have been times when I've woken up hours late and found my alarm deactivated, with absolutely no recollection of turning it off. The things one can do while asleep are amazing..!
I have accidentally managed to train myself to get up, cross the room, turn my alarm off and go back to sleep... all without any conscious thought. It's not very helpful.
In high school, I asked my mother one night to wake me when a meteor shower was happening. In the morning, I was angry at her, because she didn't wake me. She informed me that not only did she wake me and we saw the meteor shower, we had a full conversation about the meteor shower before I went back to bed.
In college, I once climbed out of my loft, walked over to my desk, turned off my alarm, climbed back into bed, went back to sleep, and didn't remember doing so when I woke up.
If you're on the 5 AM - 2 PM thing, an easy way to force yourself into a normal cycle (or at least the way that always works for me) is to do an all nighter and go to bed at 10 PM or so the next day. Just for god's sake remember to set an alarm ;-)