When you MUST sleep

[avbug]

Why sleep? You're just going to wake up again, anyway.

 

[Singlecoil]

Once again, Avbug is right on...

 

[avbug]

Something I have found to be helpful in the past, especially when working uneven shifts or schedules, or doing demand-charter type work, is to pick a half and half schedule. Stay up late, sleep a little later. Or take shorter sleep periods where you can get them.

I don't sleep very much, though I have fantasies about going on vacation to a place where I do nothing but sleep.

There's a lot to be said for the "combat nap."

 

[WrightAvia]

I pretty much gave up on caffene...coffee and sodas with caffene in them. It has helped out a lot.

As far as Melatonin, I tried that stuff a couple of times and threw the bottle away. Way too wierd side effects.

My schedule is causing some problems with resting well. I work a 15.5 hour duty day, every other business day, 10 days a month.

I'm not complaining about my schedule, but it winds up leaving me with one day where I can be up at 3:40 in the morning and one day where I can sleep in. One night where I have to go to bed early, one night where I don't get home till 10:00 PM. Then when the weekend comes around, I can't go to bed early to save my life. So I wind up playing catch up at the hotel I lay over at...sometimes sleeping as much as 3 hours during the day.

Which means, a hard time sleeping at night when I get home, which means I wind up staying up late, which means I can't sleep in cause I slept too long at the hotel during the day, which means I'll need a nap on that day off, which means I can't go to sleep early to go into work the next day, which means I'll have to sleep for hours at the hotel, which means...

 

[Gulfstream 200]

Plus,

as much as I hate to say it...if you want good rest AVOID all the alcohol...

oh thats lame.

 

[mar]

I know what they say

They say alcohol interfers with REM and thus your sleep isn't as high quality as it would be without the alcohol.

But I swear I sleep better after a "nightcap".

Too much is too much and counterproductive towards good rest--I agree.

 

[rfeathe1]

I used to haul night freight & if I was tired & had a long night ahead of me the best fix was a 20 oz bottle of Mountain Dew--it would keep me going all night long. Sometimes I would nap while the FO flew, which was beneficial as well--kinda like Avbug's combat nap.

 

[fLYbUDDY]

Valerian is good. No side effects (totally safe) over the counter herb that will put you to sleep and give you a good night rest.

 

[Ty Webb]

Cast my vote for Valerian root . . . . take it more than 8 hrs before show, though, or you might be sluggish. Kava gives me more of a "hangover".

For the dreaded "O'dark-thirty" showtime, GNC has a Ginseng and Ginko Biloba caplet that seems to help you be sharp without the jitteriness of caffeine. They say to take 1 or 2 but I find that one works fine.

On the subject of Tylenol with booze- definitely a no-no (the Tylenol, not the booze!). As Falcon Capt. stated, you can damage your liver that way.

My years as an EMT taught me that if you like to have beverages on the road, before you go to bed, try Ty Webb's patented "Hangover Helper":

BEFORE you go to sleep, drink between a pint and a quart of gatorade or water, with two aspirins and a B-complex. The aspirin helps your body process the alcohol more quickly, the gatorade provides re-hydration, salts, and potassium, and the B-Complex seems to soak up the booze.

Oh, yeah, 8 hours is OK for about 4, if you have more, add an hour and a half for each additional beverage.

 

[Chunk]

Get the ole granparents to take the two little ones in the avatar <------ for a day or so.