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Daytime Sleeping
Written by Jonathan Green   
The world is a busy place 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Some communities actually seem to come to life, after most people are supposed to be in bed.  You have 24 hour restaurants, all night casinos, and more.  Also, there are health care workers.  You cannot exactly tell everyone to go home, lock up, and come back tomorrow.  For many workers, daytime sleeping is essential; but, for others it can literally make a normal life impossible.

Circadian Rhythm Disorders

Normally, your body has an internal clock that regulates when you wake up and when you go to sleep.  But, what if that clock does not work properly?  You can never maintain a schedule.  Oftentimes, people with this type of sleep disorder cannot hold down a regular job, because they literally cannot maintain a schedule.  It is extremely hard if not impossible to stay awake or go to sleep when necessary.

Sometimes, a specialist may put the patient on a schedule of when to wake up and go to sleep, in an effort to train the body to listen to that internal clock.  However, the process may take weeks to complete; and, it may have to be repeated periodically.

Unfortunately, even treatment will not help individuals with circadian rhythm disorders.  So, these people have to find work-from-home jobs or professions that allow them to work on their own schedule.  It may never be possible for them to hold down an 8-5 job.

Working through the Night

Then, there are the people who do not normally have a problem with sleeping, but they have to work odd hours in the night, or rotating shifts.  It can be hard to know when to go to sleep and wake up. It can also be difficult to sleep, because the rest of the people in the house are awake and going about their day.

If you have to work the night shift, and you must sleep during the day, there are several things you can do to get a good’s night sleep during the daytime.  First, it would be helpful to have a bedroom at the back of the house.  Then, while you are sleeping, your family can be at the other end and not constantly worried about waking you up.

Next, you can get blinds that block out the sunlight from your room. Curtains are even available that will make you room seem like nighttime.  Then, you can set an alarm to wake you up at the appropriate time, so you can hang out with the family before you have to go back to work

Finally, maintain a strict schedule.  You need to go to bed, and get up, at the same time every day.  You internal clock needs to be set, whether you sleep at night or during the day.

Crossing Time Zones

Jet lag can be a real problem with you sleep schedule, especially if you are traveling overseas.  When it is daytime at home, it will be nighttime there-or some point in between.  You will arrive at your destination ready to go to bed, and everyone else is just starting there day.

However, there are several things you can do, in order to make the transition a little easier:

  • Adjust your bedtime
  • Exercise
  • Try to avoid stress
  • Change the time on your watch
  • Drink plenty of fluids
  • Take melatonin supplements
  • Avoid carbohydrates and foods that tend to make you sleepy.
The first thing you need to do is adjust your bedtime.  You may have to go to bed earlier or later, to help facilitate the transition to a new time zone.  Of course, you should keep up your healthy exercise routine, and avoid stressful situations that will tend to keep you awake.  Then, change your watch to reflect the new time, so you do not see what time it is back home, and try to revert back to that schedule.

Drinking plenty of liquids seems to help keep stress levels down.  Also, it is generally the people who are not hydrated properly that develop blood clots, when traveling a great distance.  While drinking that bottle of water, take melatonin supplements.  It is the melatonin in your body that helps regulate your internal clock. 

Finally, avoid carbohydrates and foods that will make you want to go to bed, even if it is not time yet.  For example, everybody knows that turkey at Thanksgiving makes everybody feel tired and sleepy. You might also want to avoid overeating.  A lot of people get tired when they eat too much.

Sometimes, if you sleep in the daytime, it is because your occupation requires you to work at night.  Travel can also be a culprit for messing up your internal clock.  But, sometimes that clock is all out of whack and you have a circadian sleep disorder. In some cases, you can make the necessary adjustments to fit in with your circumstances.  In the worst cases, you circumstances will have to be adjusted to you.  Either way, you body simply has to have rest to rejuvenate and keep you going strong.
 
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