Most people will say that, to best cope with night shifts, you should maintain the same sleep schedule on days off. They’re not wrong. But they’re not really giving you realistic advice either. Family and social obligations need consideration as well.
Yes, strong circadian rhythms are necessary for good physical and mental well-being. But so too are strong personal relationships. How can we resolve this long-standing dilemma?
It turns out, you can get a lot closer to a normal schedule, without disrupting circadian rhythms, with a strategy called anchor sleep. I take a look at this topic as a HealthShift Feature:
Night Shift Workers: How to Sleep on Days Off
Breathing Hot Air
Breathwork is fast becoming the topic du jour in the health and wellness space. And, as with anything exploding in popularity, overblown and fraudulent claims abound. While many of the techniques are indeed useful – I regularly use 4-7-8 breathing to help with sleep – it’s important not to get caught up in the hype.
Are breathing techniques good for your health? | The Guardian
Time for some salt?
Researchers at McGill University have shown that increases in blood sodium concentration can influence the biological clock (at least in mice).
“This suggests that there could be ways by which we could speed up the clock, which could be useful to adapt more quickly to the time change associated with long distance travel, or when our work schedule is shifted by several hours,”
The researchers now hope to establish if natural increases in blood sodium levels – through eating – have the same effect and whether or not these also occur in humans.
Sodium found to regulate the biological clock of mice | McGill
Light of My Eyes
Timed sunlight exposure is by far the best way to maintain healthy circadian rhythms. But for many shift workers this is impractical, if not impossible. Light boxes have served as a viable alternative for years, but you have to sit still in front of them to gain the benefits. This severely limits what you can do during your 30 minute dose of light. Fortunately many new startups have recognized light therapy’s potential, and are developing wearables to solve this problem.
Some even have the added benefit of not looking (completely) ridiculous.
Best Light Therapy Glasses and Wearables for Sleep | Sleep Gadgets
Money Mistakes
When it comes to achieving financial goals, first determine what not to do. These common mistakes will seriously impede your progress, if not move you in the wrong direction entirely.
Top 10 Most Common Financial Mistakes | Investopedia
Stay healthy-
Jason Glenn