Dealing With Night Shift, Jet Lag, And Drowsy Driving!
jet lag
How to Deal with Night Shift, Jet Lag & Drowsy Driving:
What Is Sleep? jet lag night’s sleep
Sleep was long considered just a block of time when your brain and body shut down. Thanks to sleep research studies done over the past several decades, it is now known that sleep has distinct stages that cycle throughout the night in predictable patterns. Jet Lag
How well rested you are and how well you function depend not just on your total sleep time but on how much sleep you get each night and the timing of your sleep stages. Your brain and body functions stay active through out sleep, and each stage of sleep is linked to a specific type of brain waves (distinctive patterns of electrical activity in the brain). night’s sleep
Sleep is divided into two basic types:
- 1. Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.
- 2. and non-REM sleep (with three different stages).
Typically, sleep begins with non-REM sleep.
In stage 1 non-REM sleep:
- You sleep lightly and can be awakened easily by noises or other disturbances.
- During this first stage of sleep, your eyes move slowly, your muscles relax, and your heart and breathing rates begin to slow.
You then enter stage 2 non-REM sleep:
- Which is depend on slower brain waves with occasional bursts of rapid waves.
- You spend about half the night at this stage.
When you progress into stage 3 Non- REM sleep: Your brain waves become even slower, and the brain produces extremely slow waves almost exclusively (Called Delta Waves).
- Stage 3 is a very deep stage of sleep, during which it is very difficult to be awakened.
- Children who wet the bed or sleepwalk tend to do so during stage 3 of non-REM sleep.
- Deep sleep is considered the “restorative” stage of sleep that is necessary for feeling well rested and energetic during the day.
1. Dealing With Working The Night Shift:
Someone who works the night shift is at greater risk of:
- Developing Type 2 Diabetes.
- Gastrointestinal problems.
- Heart disease and heart attacks.
- Depression.
- Cancer.
- Being fatigued constantly.
- Causing or being in an accident or becoming injured both on and off the job
- Obesity.
- Increased stress – An increase in stress also increases other health issues – all of them.
- The inability or problems getting pregnant in women employees.
Try to limit night shift work, if that is possible. If you must work the night shift, the following tips may help you:
- Increase your total amount of sleep by adding naps and lengthening the amount of time you allot for sleep.
- Use bright lights in your workplace.
- Minimize the number of shift changes so that your body’s biological clock has a longer time to adjust to a nighttime work schedule.
- Use caffeine only during the first part of your shift to promote alertness at night.
- Calories. Bring a snack, dinner, or whatever you want to call eating food at 3 am. Hydrate throughout your shift and be sure to actually take the time to scarf down your food. Eating small snacks every few hours is not only good for your metabolism, it also helps keep you awake.
- Get rid of sound and light distractions in your bedroom during your daytime sleep.
- Hone in on Your Snuggle Technique. Getting home and into bed as the sun is hitting its full stride can be very off-putting. You need to find ways to make yourself feel like its alright to sleep for long periods during daytime hours. This could be very dark curtains, drinking hot beverages before hitting the sack, a special blanket, soothing waterfall sounds, whatever works for you.
- Keep Your Heart Rate Up. Get outside and exercise once in a while. Lots of people start their day jogging at 6 am, no reason you can’t end your day the same way.
If you are unable to fall asleep during the day, and all else fails, talk with your doctor to see whether it would be wise for you to use prescribed, short-acting sleeping pills to help you sleep during the day.
2. Dealing With Jet Lag:
Be aware that adjusting to a new time zone may take several days. If you are going to be away for just a few days, it may be better to stick to your original sleep and wake times as much as possible, rather than adjusting your biological clock too many times in rapid succession.
Eastward travel generally causes more severe jet lag than westward travel because traveling east requires you to shorten the day, and your biological clock is better able to adjust to a longer day than a shorter day.
Fortunately for globetrotters, a few preventive measures and adjustments seem to help some people relieve jet lag, particularly when they are going to spend more than a few days at their destination:
1. Adjust Your Biological Clock:
During the 2-3 days prior to a long trip, get adequate sleep. You can make minor changes to your sleep schedule.
For example, if you are traveling west:
- if you are traveling west delay your bedtime and wake time progressively by 20- to 30-minute intervals.
- If you are traveling east, advance your wake time by 10 to 15 minutes a day for a few days and try to advance your bedtime.
- Decreasing light exposure at bedtime and increasing light exposure at wake time can help you make these adjustments.
- When you arrive at your destination, spend a lot of time outdoors so your body gets the light cues it needs to adjust to the new time zone.
- Take a couple of short 10-15-minute catnaps if you feel tired, but do not take long naps during the day.
2. Avoid Alcohol & Caffeine:
Although it may be tempting to drink alcohol to relieve the stress of travel and make it easier to fall asleep, you are more likely to sleep lighter and wake up in the middle of the night when the effects of the alcohol wear off.
Caffeine can help keep you awake longer, but caffeine also can make it harder for you to fall asleep if its effects haven’t worn off by the time you are ready to go to bed. Therefore, it’s best to use caffeine only during the morning and not during the afternoon.
3. What About Melatonin?
Your body produces this hormone that may cause some drowsiness and cues the brain and body that it is time to fall asleep.
- Melatonin builds up in your body during the early evening and into the first 2 hours of your sleep period, and then its release stops in the middle of the night.
- Melatonin is available as an over-the-counter supplement. Because melatonin is considered safe when used over a period of days or weeks and seems to help people feel sleepy, it has been suggested as a treatment for jet lag.
- But melatonin’s effectiveness is controversial, and its safety, when used over a prolonged period, is unclear. Jet Lag
Some studies and that taking melatonin supplements before bedtime for several days after arrival in a new time zone can make it easier to fall asleep at the proper time. Other studies and that melatonin do not help relieve jet lag.
3. Drowsy Driving:
Most people are aware of the hazards of drunk driving. But driving while sleepy can be just as dangerous. Indeed, crashes due to sleepy drivers are as deadly as those due to drivers impaired by alcohol. And you don’t have to be asleep at the wheel to put yourself and others in danger.
Both alcohol and a lack of sleep limit your ability to react quickly to a suddenly braking car, a sharp curve in the road, or other situations that require rapid responses. Just a few seconds’ delays in reaction time can be a life-or-death matter when driving.
When people who lack sleep are tested on a driving simulator, they perform as badly as or worse than those who are drunk.
- The combination of alcohol and lack of sleep can be especially dangerous.
- There is increasing evidence that sleep deprivation and inexperience behind the wheel, both particularly common in adolescents, is a lethal combination.
- Of course, driving is also hazardous if you fall asleep at the wheel, which happens surprisingly often.
- One-quarter of the drivers surveyed in New York State reported they had fallen asleep at the wheel at some time.
Often,
people briefly nod off at the wheel without being aware of it they just can’t recall what happened over the previous few seconds or longer. And people who lack sleep are more apt to take risks and make poor judgments, which also can boost their chances of getting in a car crash.
Opening a window or turning up the radio won’t help you stay awake while driving. The bottom line is that there is no substitute for sleep.
Be aware of these warning signs that you are too sleepy to drive safely:
- “Trouble keeping your eyes open or focused, continual yawning,
- Or being unable to recall driving the past few miles”
- Remember, if you are short on sleep, stay out of the driver’s seat!
Here’re Some Potentially Life-Saving Tips For Avoiding Drowsy Driving:
1. Be well rested before hitting the road:
- If you have several nights in a row of fewer than 7–8 hours of sleep, your reaction time slows.
- Restoring that reaction time to normal can take more than one night of good sleep because a sleep debt accumulates after each night you lose sleep.
- It may take several nights of being well rested to repay that sleep debt and make you ready for driving on a long road trip.
2. Avoid driving between midnight and 7 a.m: Unless you are accustomed to being awake then, this period of time is when we are naturally the least alert and most tired.
3. Don’t drive alone: A companion who can keep you engaged in conversation might help you stay awake while driving.
4. Schedule frequent breaks on long road trips: If you feel sleepy while driving, pull off the road and take a nap for 15–20 minutes.
5. Don’t drink alcohol: Just one beer when you are sleep deprived will affect you as much as two or three beers when you are well rested.
6. Don’t count on caffeine or other tricks.
7. Drinking a cola or a cup of coffee: Drinking a cola or a cup of coffee might help keep you awake for a short time, it won’t overcome extreme sleepiness or relieve a sleep debt.
8. Avoid Eating Too Much: Eat something light, and avoid heavy, greasy foods.
9. Get Massage: Get a good massage or do self-massage with sesame-seed oil.
10. Yoga: Try some yoga or gentle stretching.
Conclusion:
If you have ever had to stay up all night, you know just how important sleep can be. It can be worth the effort to ensure your sleep each night is tip-top.
Avoid the belief that you’re just not a good sleeper and that 5 hours of sleep is all that you require. Take steps to enjoy the best possible night of sleep. You will enjoy the difference. Jet Lag
If you find this article useful, don’t forget to share it with your friends and family, as you might help someone in need. Thanks.
Disclaimer: “Nothing in this article makes any claim to offer cures or treatment of any disease or illness. If you are sick please consult with your doctor.”
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