Sleep Tips For People With BROKEN sleep (shift workers, parents with newborns, during high stress work loads ect)
Today we are going to talk about; SLEEP, again, but this time we car going to talk about sleep hacks for the people who can´t just hit the pillow for 8 hours straight.
Maybe you have kids, work demands, shift work, family circumstances or a very broken sleep pattern and you need more than the GENERAL Sleep guidelines.
It probably has not gone past you - if listen to media, or if you have been reading my blogs, you know by now how important sleep is. If you have any doubts, you can head back to previous blog posts to find out more, links are in the description below.
Yet, why is it that you and so many people still fail in giving themselves a healthy, good, 8-hour sleep?
Well, one of the most common struggles I hear about is that their circumstances just won’t allow it. This much is true for those who work in shifts or for those working parents trying to juggle their social and workout schedule, family, jobs & babies and in the UAE also the right timings for workouts (without getting fried in the sun).
In this post, I am going to share how you can navigate through having less than ideal 8 hour window for sleep. We are going to talk about how you can make the most out of that little time you have when it comes to your sleeping patterns & schedules.
Did you know that there are different sleep schedules?
Most commonly known: Is to sleep in one segment, most commonly through the night, this 8 hour thing recommended by the government is actually just one of 3 sleep schedules that have been identified and researched. Often, for "majority of people" and those with normal work timings, they can sleep through the night in just one block of time. This is called the monophasic sleep schedule.
The second most commonly known sleep schedule often used by those who work from home & have a more flexible schedule, on the other hand, can sleep twice a day – one at night & one quick nap in the afternoon. This one’s called the biphasic sleep schedule.
Now, for those who are have more broken up patterns & carry heavier loads a.k.a. those who work in night shifts & those who are working parents, the polyphasic sleep schedule might just work best. This type of sleep schedule involves sleeping over 2+ periods each day. These periods could be quick naps all throughout the day balanced with a shorter time of sleep during the night. You already know this, as normally from babies that sleep like this about three months old. Even if you have not done so since then, anyone can engage in this type of sleep schedule.
There are three popular polyphasic sleep schedules that have been researched and described–
Allow me to explain each very briefly.
The Uberman Sleep Schedule involves six 20-minute naps over the course of the day, distributed evenly & totaling to 2 hours of sleep each day. This could be relevant for the ultra endurance athlete during competition, but not recommended for any long term use.
The Everyman Sleep Schedule, on the other hand, includes sleeping for 3 hours at night & taking 2-3x 20-30 -minute naps in the morning & afternoon, having a total of 4 hours of sleep each day. This could sustain you through hard periods.
Lastly, the Triphasic Sleep Schedule involves shorter sleep periods of 90-120 min that happen after dusk, before dawn & in the afternoon. You’ll have a total of 4-5 hours of sleep each day with this schedule. This might be the solution for you.
Any of these three would work well, depending on which is most suitable for your time & schedule. Is that even effective, you may ask. Well, reports & research have claimed Polyphasic Sleep Schedule to increase one’s productivity, memory & learning, especially for one with a nontraditional workload & schedule, such as shift work or on-call work. Its important to note, that his is COMPARIED TO NOT SLEEPING AT ALL OR GETTING LESS THAN 4 HOURS PR NIGHT.
So what’s the lesson here?
Lesson is that there are ways to get around buys times, and there are ways that you can costumes your sleep pattern to your responsibilities and obligations.
Sleep is something you can train and work on, and while you might want to use some of the ways described before, here are some Other Things as a night shifter or a working parent to improve your broken Sleep
#1 Make the environment favorable for sleeping.
Sleep in your cozy bedroom. Keep the lights dim, the room cold & get in your favorite blankets & use your favorite pillows.
#2 Eliminate distractions.
Avoid doing any activities apart from resting in your bed to eliminate distractions for sleep. Disconnect from your phone! You can check it once you had your good sleep.
#3 Strive for a healthier lifestyle.
An unhealthy lifestyle + Heavy Work Shifts = Disaster
If you’re working in shifts & have an irregular schedule & engage in a very unhealthy lifestyle at the same time, you will most likely suffer sleeping disorders & fatigue.
To improve your sleeping experience, make sure to engage in healthy diets & exercises, even just a 15-minute walk outside can be so helpful.
Where to start:
Start by identifying a possible solution for you from the advice listed above. And then TEST it out in real life.
Remember when it comes to sleep its not enough to do it once, give your self 7-10 days to allow your body to get into the routine before deciding if this is a good solution for you. And make sure to review, tweak, implement your strategies and continue doing so while you work out your best sleep schedule.
Thank you so much for tuning in, if there is one thing I want to leave you with is this.
Start taking tiny small, imperfect action something that takes you max 5 min. But do it now, while you are motivated.
I hope you found your answer on how to take the next step on your journey in this episode. Make sure to check out the other resources I have about sleep in the blog section - or follow the buildingthrivinglifestyles Instagram so you never miss an article.
