- Feb
- 2
- 2017
What’s Your Sleeping Pattern?
“Animals hibernate as a way to adapt to their surroundings. They hibernate to escape the cold and because food is scarce. As humans we can’t do that, but we can find a good sleeping routine,” says Northwell Health’s Penny Stern, MD, Director of Preventive Medicine. See her expert advice to an employee who is new to the night shift.
Q: I recently was assigned to work the night shift. It’s hard for me to go bed when the house is full and active. What should I do?
It’s especially important for shift workers to get enough sleep and most do not. Ideally, you should try to emulate the pattern you would follow if you worked the day shift.
People come home, eat dinner, interact with family members or others, and then go to sleep at a reasonable hour. The way to accomplish this on a night shift schedule is to come home in the morning, perhaps have a light meal, spend some time on tasks that need to be done, and then go to sleep.
You may need to consider black-out curtains if there is too much light in your sleeping area. If noise can be kept to a minimum, that would also be helpful. If there is simply too much noise, consider ear plugs.
Sleep is essential for everyone. Sleep deficits are associated with a host of problems and being chronically sleep-deprived sets up people for all sorts of health issues.
Week four of the Stress Less Wellness Challenge will help make you more aware of your sleeping patterns. Join Northwell.edu/myWellness and earn points when you track just one time a week.
What’s your best sleeping pattern? Comment below!