I am fortunate that I have never gotten as far off schedule as some people, Until recently, my circadian sleep cycle was running from about 2 AM to 8 AM (or later if I could get away with it). This doesn't mean that I actually slept that long. I wanted to get more sleep and be on a schedule closer to the rest of family. I was able to move it back to about 10 PM to 7 AM over a period of several months. (and I am currently getting about 8 hours of sleep a night!). Here's how I did it.
I started by making myself get up everyday between 7 AM and 8 AM (had to for work anyway) then making sure that I was exposed to as much sunlight as possible during my waking hours. I don't have blinds in my bedroom window so when the sun comes up it shines in my face. My work desk is at a window that faces south and on sunny days I will just bask in it like a cat. I try to avoid being exposed to excessive amounts of light in the evening. After 5 PM I am off the computer for the night, although I do watch some TV, there is a theory that the light/visual stimulation acts like sunlight keeping a person in a state of wakefullness.
I slowy begin inching back the start of my bedtime routine in half hour increments. My routine might include a warm bath, reading a book, Sudoku puzzles, etc. each of us will be a little different.
I have also been fortunate that my RLS has gone into semi remission. I think this is key. It would very hard to adjust your sleep schedule if your RLS isn't under control with medication or otherwise. For me it's a combination of the right diet, exercise, supplements (multi plus iron, calcium, B-complex, E, C, fish oil, and Magnesium as needed) and the right meds to control my symptoms. This will be different for everyone and it can be a little tricky to find the right combo for you. I am now asleep by 10 PM on most nights.
I would really like to be a morning person like my husband (up at 6AM to greet the sun) and I think I might eventually get there. I remember delivering newspapers in the early morning hours when I was a teenager and I really enjoyed the peacefulness of that time of day. It was like having the whole world to myself, sort of like being up all night but in a good way.
![Wink :wink:](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
I guess you have to really want and prefer a daytime schedule. I think many people enjoy being up at night and sleeping during the day and that's OK, but if you hate being on a different schedule you might be able to fix it in small increments until you reach a schedule that works for you.
Hope this helps someone.