Category: Sleeping Patterns

How Often Do You Sleep on the Job? New Study Reveals Shocking Statistics About Work and Sleep

The Virgin Pulse Institute announced the results today of a sleep study conducted in November 2013 with approximately 1,140 Virgin Pulse members, from three U.S.-based companies. Researchers found that:

  • 76 percent of employees felt tired most days of the week
  • 40 percent of employees doze off during the day once per month
  • 30 percent of employees were unhappy or very unhappy with the quality or quantity of their sleep
  • 15 percent doze off during the day at least once per week to once per day

Participants noted that lack of sleep impacted their energy and motivation to participate in physical activities and eat healthy foods. They experienced difficulty concentrating at work or remembering tasks, and felt more irritable at work and home. Sleeplessness also made it harder to manage stress, further impacting their difficulties sleeping.

For the complete study visit: http://connect.virginpulse.com/asleep-on-the-job-report-from-virgin-pulse.pdf

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Important:
The Sleep Blog does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Instead, this website provides general information for educational purposes only. Always seek the advice of a qualified health care provider if you have questions or concerns regarding any medical condition or treatment.

Is Sleeping for Eight Hours Straight Really the Best Way?

We’ve posted before about alternative sleeping patterns and strategies for dividing your sleep into multiple chunks. These may sound like modern concepts designed to cope with today’s busy schedules; however, there is evidence that dividing up one’s sleep into shorter blocks is the historical norm. As Stephanie Hegarty writes in this BBC News article, “these [historical]references describe a first sleep which began about two hours after dusk, followed by waking period of one or two hours and then a second sleep.” and “During this waking period people were quite active. They often got up, went to the toilet or smoked tobacco and some even visited neighbours. Most people stayed in bed, read, wrote and often prayed”.

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Important:
The Sleep Blog does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Instead, this website provides general information for educational purposes only. Always seek the advice of a qualified health care provider if you have questions or concerns regarding any medical condition or treatment.

Flying Across Time Zones? Learn how to Conquer Jet Lag

 

 

Do you travel often? Have you ever wondered why a long flight can make you feel terrible? This condition generally occurs when traveling in the west-east direction and is known as “jet lag.”

West-East

The severity of jet lag is affected by the direction of travel. There seems to be evidence that for most people traveling west to east is more disruptive because they are flying against time zones and therefore are losing time. The greater the number of time zones crossed, the more difficult it is for your body to cope with changes.

Causes of Symptoms

Jet Lag is believed to be caused by disorders of homeostasis – the body’s ability to maintain constant internal parameters (including body temperature, blood pH, osmotic pressure, blood pressure, volume of body fluids, etc.). In short, our body can not keep up with adapting to the rapidly changing times of day, on which our physiology depends (metabolism, sleep-wake cycles, etc.). When we travel westward, we have trouble getting to sleep because the body is not ready to release sleep hormones – cortisol and melatonin.

Symptoms of jet lag

 

  • Sleep disturbance
  • Impaired concentration
  • Extreme fatigue
  • Lack of appetite and digestive problems
  • Disorientation
  • Drowsiness
  • Headaches

 

Tips for surviving the journey

After a few days in a new time zone, our bodies adjust, resolving the symptoms. You can use the following techniques to help reset you body’s clock:

  • Start varying your schedule before you travel
  • Get plenty of rest before leaving and while you are traveling
  • Eliminate consumption of alcohol and caffeine before and during your travel
  • Eat light meals
  • Exercise
  • A helpful way to minimize jet lag is to adapt to the local time and eat accordingly.
  • Also, exposure to sunlight during the day can be helpful.

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Important:
The Sleep Blog does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Instead, this website provides general information for educational purposes only. Always seek the advice of a qualified health care provider if you have questions or concerns regarding any medical condition or treatment.