Tag Archives: how to get a good night’s sleep

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Bedroom Darkness: The Shift Worker's Answer To A Good Night's Sleep

If you’re struggling to get a good night’s sleep when you work shift work, then it’s highly possible that light – or more specifically too much of it, is a major contributing factor.

Of course it’s a fairly well-known fact that in order for you to sleep better, your bedroom needs to be as dark as physically possible.

In fact even the light from your alarm clock or strong moonlight can affect your ability to fall and stay asleep.

So what can you do to help improve your sleep and thereby reduce your shift work fatigue?

1. Eliminate light from your bedroom – completely. This may include installing blinds, shutters or curtains, but just make sure that they are wide enough to cover gaps around the windows to eliminate any light from sneaking in.

2. Use eye masks or eye shades. Shop around and find ones that black out the light completely and are comfortable to wear. Eye masks that are not too bulky and are made from natural fibres are best as they are less likely to cause irritation whilst you are sleeping.

3. Turn off your light when you go to bed. Might sound silly, but many people actually fall asleep with the light turned on, only to wake up a few hours later feeling groggy and disorientated.

So if you work shift work, getting enough sleep is usually one of the hardest things to overcome. But if you begin to apply the above steps into your bedroom routine, you will start to notice a dramatic difference in your quality and quantity of sleep.

Quite simply, more sleep you acquire – the more energy for you.

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Trouble Sleeping? Then Take Inventory On What Thoughts Are Going Through Your Head!

If you’re a shift worker who has trouble sleeping then there could be a myriad of reasons why this is the case, but today I’d like to discuss something that one of my subscribers recommended.

Now I don’t ordinarily ‘name names’ (so-to-speak), but I will tell you that ‘Eric’ replied to my one my ‘Healthy Shift Worker’ email tips, and shared with me what he does to help reduce his stress and get a good night’s sleep.

So, what was Eric’s recommendation?

To close the door to your bedroom and take a few deep breathes and think about all of the things that your hard work goes toward.

For example time with the family, vacations, hobbies, and anything else that makes you smile and enjoy life, because not only will this help you fall asleep – but it will help you to fall asleep on a good note.

Sometimes when we go to bed at night (or day) – depending on your shift schedule, it can be VERY HARD to get to sleep because our brains are working overtime. They can be buzzing with all of the things that happened at work that day, making it near impossible to fall asleep.

So I would like to ask each and every one of you who is reading this article right now, to take a leaf out of Eric’s book and be grateful and thankful for your shift working job.

Because many times we question ourselves why we get up at these ridiculous times of day and go into work to a job that we may not necessarily overly enjoy.

So just take inventory and remember your ‘WHY’.

Remind yourself ‘why’ you go into work each day and why you work so hard in your shift working job, because when you do – your whole mindset and attitude towards work can change for the better.

Not to mention it also helps you to get a good night’s sleep 🙂 Thank’s for sharing Eric!

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Is Constant Worrying Stopping You From Getting A Good Night's Sleep?

Today I’d like to write about something that one of my subscribers mentioned that was causing her a lot of grief. Why? Because I think her situation affects a vast majority of the population – whether you work shift work or not.

Now this lady mentioned that she can’t sleep because she’s constantly worrying.

And if this is something that you can relate to, then read on.

You see I know exactly what she’s going through. I spent many, many years constantly worrying about family matters and a realm of other things – that I had absolutely no control over.

Crazy, but true.

It caused me so much grief, added to my fatigue, disrupted my sleep patterns and even made me physically sick.

And it wasn’t until I stopped worrying and started to change my thoughts, that my life started to change for the better.

Now if you’re familiar with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, then you’ll know what I’m talking about. If not – then that’s OK.

Because the good news is that you can quite simply, change your life by changing your thoughts.

Sound a bit “out there” for you. Well just stick with me here.

According to teacher and professional speaker Jean Barlow – “90% of what you worry about never happens”.

But interestingly enough – so much of us worry about ‘this and that’ – stuff that we have absolutely no control over, but it ends up having an enormous impact on our overall health and well-being.

So try taking some advice from self-development guru Dale Carnegie:

“If you can’t sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there worrying. It’s the worry that gets you, not the lack of sleep”.

So from this day forward, I want you to start changing your thoughts. Get rid of all of the negative, self-destructing and irrelevant thoughts from your head – because they are not helping you one iota.

By clearing your mind of things that you have no control over and cannot change, you will begin to notice that you sleep much more soundly and wake up feeling more refreshed.

And that my friend, has got to be good news if you’re a shift worker!

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5 Things You Absolutely Must Avoid If You Want To Get A Good Night's Sleep!

Sleep deprivation is no doubt one of the hardest things about being a shift worker. Trying to catch up on lack of sleep can certainly be a very difficult thing to do. In fact let’s not kid ourselves here, it can be darn right impossible on some days!

And this is definitely the case if you work long hours, work a lot of early shifts in a row, or heaven for bid – work the notorious night shift.

So for today’s tip, I’ve decided to include 5 things that you absolutely must avoid 3 hours before bedtime if you are serious about wanting to get a good night’s sleep – no matter what time of the day or night that may be for you!

1. Eating – people are 7 times more likely to experience heartburn if they go to bed within 3 hours of eating, and you really don’t want to be going to bed on a full stomach.

2. Sugar and Caffeine – both keep you awake so avoiding these is a must.

3. Alcohol – Can actually help put you to sleep however it does disturb your sleep pattern. So the sleep that you do end up getting, won’t be the restorative, refreshing sleep that shift workers desperately need.

4. Drinking any liquid – can wake you up from your sleep. You want to avoid having to get up to go to the bathroom whilst you’re trying to sleep.

5. Strenuous exercise – Your body temperature needs to be low in order for you to be able to sleep. And it can certainly take quite a few hours for your body temperature to drop if you’ve had a hard workout at the gym.

So the next time you’re struggling to get to sleep, take a look and see if you’re guilty of doing any of the things above. If so, then now might be time to start changing some of your habits for the sake of your sleep and definitely your health!

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Is Your Bed Stopping You From Getting A Good Nights Sleep?

Do you wake up in the morning with a sore neck, back ache or perhaps you’re just aching all over?
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Well your bed might actually be the cause of you not getting a good night’s sleep.
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How so? Well if you answer ‘yes’ to any of the following questions your bed is probably to blame.
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1. Do you have any saggy or lumpy bits in your mattress?
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2. Is your mattress over 7 years old?
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3. Have you ever visited a friend’s place or stayed at a hotel and had a better night’s sleep in their bed?
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Well it might be time for you to buy a new mattress.
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You see your bed should not only be comfortable (no lumpy bits), but it must also give you plenty of support as well. Studies have shown that people sleep much better if their bed is under 7 years old as it is much stronger and therefore can provide you with much better support.
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The size of your bed is also important. If you’re a couple then you should be sleeping in a Queen Size bed at the very least. A double bed is way too small for two people because you end up bumping and kicking each other during the night and neither of you end up getting a restful night’s sleep!
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So have a good look at your mattress … if it’s old and starting to show it’s age, it might be time for an upgrade.
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P.S – Oh and don’t forget your pillow! A good pillow will ‘cradle’ your neck and support your head to keep it in alignment with your spine. If it doesn’t then it might be time to send it to ‘pillow heaven!’