|
2004/03/08, 11:56 AM
Hey all,
I need some help getting a solid bedtime routine going. I work a really horrible schedule which is preventing me from going to bed and getting up at consistant times. Wed-Fri. I work from 4am-noon (sometimes as early at 3am) and on weekends I work 3pm-mid. I'm usually off on Mon and Tues, but I sometimes have to work 3am-noon on Tues (1 or 2 times a month). Also starting this month, I will be working a split shift on Wed and Thurs. 3am-7am and then 4pm-7pm.
AAAHHHH, this is killing me!! I'm usually so worn out that I can't keep up with my workouts regularly.
Can anyone give me some kind of advise to get a regular sleep pattern going. I try to be in bed by 6-7pm during the week, but I'm usually wide awake until at least 10pm. And then on the weekends, I'm up until 2 or 3 am when I get home from work and end up sleeping until 11am or later on my days off to make up for the lack of sleep during the week.
|
|
|
|
2004/03/08, 02:36 PM
Good God, what a roller coaster you are on!! Well, I am blessed when it comes to the routine of my bedtimes and sleep patterns so I honestly do not know if this will help at all....but I take melatonin when I know I need to rest but am not quite sleepy yet.
As with any other OTC suppliment, there is some controversy, so here are two good sites to check out. The second boasts the benefits and the first gives more in depth information on the good and bad sides of this hormone.
Either way, I hope you can find a solution to your problem, sleep is sooooooooooooo important for our mental and physcial well being!!
http://www.raysahelian.com/melatonin.html
http://altmed.creighton.edu/melatonin/
|
|
2004/03/08, 03:28 PM
I would recommend for starters, taking calcium at night. People should get about 1000Mg a day, with two servings of 500mg, because that is all the body can really absorb at once. It is recommended to take calcium with magnesium to get a 2:1 calcium to magnesium ration. The magnesium helps the body absorb the calcium
Just before bed is an ideal time to take calcium because it helps to relax similar to the effects of a warm glass of milk. Make sure you get calcium citrate as this is the most absorbable form.
In addition, valerian root is a good natural way to help calm yourself down and to help fall asleep. Many health / vitamin stores sell this as a sleep assistant / enhancer.
Some other things to try:
Make sure you get a good workout during the day to make your body tired. Next, try relaxing, even meditating to clear thoughts out of your head so you can be mentally clear to match your body's tiredness.
Take a warm bath before bed.
Have some white noise in the room. I use a noise machine that they in many offices where people do not want their conversations heard. It is a little machine that blows air and makes white noise.
Good luck, I know how bad it sux not being able to sleep. After following what I wrote above, I am finally starting to get some real sleeping patterns.
|
|
2004/03/08, 03:34 PM
Masturbate. It works for me.
--------------
Hecdarec in full effect.
|
|
2004/03/08, 03:55 PM
Sleep Now-
Great for travelers and shift workers, this is nature's way to help you get the good night's rest you seek without unpleasant drug side effects. Specially formulated with an exclusive blend of herbs, you can avoid sedative hangovers or morning grogginess. Getting a good night's sleep is a crucial part of good health.
BETTER LIVING THROUGH REST
1-800-425-9326
|
|
2004/03/08, 04:04 PM
Sounds like spam to me.
--------------
Hecdarec in full effect.
|
|
2004/03/08, 04:05 PM
I worked graveyard shift and went to school during the day for 6 years. I can sympathize with you. I spent most of my waking hours in a fog. I never had a hard time going to sleep but if I ever woke up (even after 1 or 2 hours) I couldn't ever get back to sleep. I think there should be a law against night work. Especially swing shift which I assume that is what you are working. I've known some people who were never able to adjust. There are many OTC medications that can help induce sleep. I've used Benedryl on occasion but it makes me groggy the next day. Actually I used to use Budweiser or Jack Daniels but that's another story. If all else fails you may want to try Hec's advice that might relax you. Have you been on this schedule for awhile? If not, your body may just need time to adjust. Sorry I can't help. Sleep is a necessity. Nothing will go right if you can't get proper rest.
|
|
2004/03/08, 06:03 PM
cafenervosa, i read in one of your other posts that you drink lots of coffee. I found that drinking coffee prevented me from sleeping if I drank it up to 6 hours before I went to bed. Call it placebo or call it reality, either way, cutting it out really helped me get better sleep.
|
|
2004/03/08, 06:09 PM
Hey guys thanks for the advise so far. I've been working this schedule for year now and I just can't seem to get any solid sleep. The split shift is starting this month and I'm pretty worried about how it's going to effect my workouts.
I haven't tried the herbal suppliments yet, but I took some tylanol PM last night and felt like I was halucinating all day today. I couldn't even concentrate on my running. I kept getting dizzy and a bit light headed.
I think I will try the melatonin and valerian.
Oh, and Hec, maybe it's just a female thing, but that only gets me more wired!
|
|
2004/03/08, 09:17 PM
The PM portion of Tylenol is Benadryl I believe.
|
|
2004/03/08, 09:57 PM
When do you fit your workouts in? Can you go straight to it from work, then follow a set agenda from then until you lay down?
Your body needs a pattern to recognize that triggers the sleep process.. if it isn't the clock, it needs to be some other rhythm. When you come home from your workout establish a routine - have a cup of caffeine-free 'sleepy time' tea and read the paper (or a fitness mag) for 20 minutes; then put on your jammies and get clothes out for the next day (night? ; ]), brush your hair, your teeth, and wash your face; then spritz your room with a lavender or eucalyptus scent and settle in for your snooze.
it's also important that your bedroom is specifically for sleeping (not watching TV, reading, laying around unable to sleep). If you can't sleep, get up and leave the room, sit on the couch and do a crossword puzzle then try again.
--------------
: ] ~ Danielle
Firm Butt Thin Thighs Flat Abs - repeat this mantra as needed whenever an unhealthy urge arises.
|
|
2004/03/10, 11:02 AM
Hey, good advise datdanigirl. I try to stick to a pattern of working first thing in the morning/night (2am ish when I wake up). I get on the elliptical machine for half and hour. That usually wakes me up and keeps me going for most of the day. Then I try to get in a second workout of weights and a second cardio--usually running--in the afternoon after work.
The difficult part is when I have to work a reverse schedule on the weekends, and now I've got this split shift garbage I'm dealing with this month. I maybe got 1 whole hour of sleep last night and I'm so exhausted I can't even go back to sleep now that I have a few hours to do so.
That's where I'm most concerned: when I get this tired, am I only doing more harm then good by trying to stick to my workouts. I'm not doing anything super hard in my workouts, it's pretty moderate, but it's sometimes 2 or 3 workouts spaced out though the day.
I just don't know if I should keep going at the pace I'm at or scale back on days I'm not getting enough sleep--or any for that matter.
|
|
2004/03/10, 11:48 AM
hey cafenervosa,
yesterday i read the post in the supplement forum on ZMA. http://www.freetrainers.com/FT/jsp/Message.jsp?f_ix=13&t_ix=1664
I went out and bought some yesterday and got the best night sleep i have had in months! It did not help me fall asleep any faster (this is a huge problem of mine) but the sleep was so deep and solid. I'd recommend it.
As a last resort, there are prescription drugs like Ambien. I like to stay away from medication, but if it gets bad enough you may want to look into it. Ambien supposedly will not give you a "hangover" and you will feel fresh in the morning. You just don't want to become dependant on it. Good luck!
|
|
2004/03/10, 01:42 PM
Cafenervosa.....when I am out to sea I work alot and my schedule is always changing preventing me from getting any good sleep or being able to form a sleeping pattern. Although I am not on a ship right now I still find myself having trouble sleeping at times. I do take melatonin and sometimes tylenol pm but I have found with tylenol pm if I take 2 I wake up and feel sluggish all day. What I do to try to relax before bed is read alittle in my book and that normally helps me relax to the point where I fall aslepp....
|
|
2004/03/11, 09:48 AM
============
Quoting from hecdarec:
Masturbate. It works for me.
=============
I'll second that!:big_smile:
|
|
2004/03/11, 10:06 AM
yeah it works for me too....lol
|
|
2004/03/11, 02:22 PM
Hmm.. well definitely listen to your body. A couple thoughts after reading your second post:
When and what do you eat?? If I am not getting enough of the good stuff I get exhausted even on a *regular* schedule.. first and foremost make sure you are feeding the machine.
It's certainly not doing any harm to your body to exercise whenever you have the time and inclination.... UNLESS it is at the EXPENSE of getting good sleep. Your body needs sleep just like it needs fuel.
In my youth I put myself through a few years of college by working two jobs - one was a midnight shift. Each week, I would sit down with my class schedule and work out when I was going to work which job and when I was going to sleep. Sort of a roadmap, making sure that there was some semblance of a routine (and that I never worked back-to-back shifts then tried to go to school!). My bedroom had black felt over the windows.. my cave that I crawled into at times. Extreme maybe but it was what I had to do to accomplish my goals at that time.
If it's possible, I would try to take some time at the beginning of each week.. fill in when you work, when you have other obligations, and when you want to sleep. Then you can plug your workouts into their places, and it will set your mind at ease too.
Worrying about it doesn't help the going to sleep, does it??:)
|
|
2004/03/12, 07:58 AM
datdanigirl,
I do try to eat good regular meals....at least 4 or 5 a day. For example I usually have spinach and egg whites for my first breakfast around 3am after my first workout (elliptical machine) and then another breakfast around 7-8am of oatmeal and blueberries after I finish the morning show.
Then I'll have a piece of fruit around 10:30ish to hold me over until I can go home after the noon show. Then I'll have a light lunch, go for my second and longer workout and come home and have dinner around 6ish and go to bed shortly thereafter. I think I'm doing ok nutrition-wise.
The tough part is on the weekends when I work nights and then have 2 days off afterwards. I can never get to sleep before 2 or 3 am on those nights and then come Tues. night when I have to get up at 1:45am the next day, I'm dead!!
I'm not sure if I can take the Mag. Zinc combo. I had a really bad reaction to a zinc pill once, I got absolutely sick to my stomach from it. I'm going to try the melatonin. The tylonol pm is making my brain all fluffy the next day!!
|
