Hey everyone, well it's currently 0119 in my base time zone and I'm wide awake yet again....
Just wondering if there are any other 'night owls' out there who have had spells of being unable to sleep very well and what you did about it.
I've always been a night person by nature and easily able to be awake all night with a good book or staying up late to study as I feel more alert from about 9pm onwards, not a morning person at all really! After that could happily sleep until I woke naturally (or the alarm clock woke me up)
Every so often I'll have a week or two where my sleeping patterns go out of whack but nothing very major.
I've been flying a fair while now & know how the job tends to affect my body clock and adjust accordingly, i.e. sleep when tired, eat when hungry and so on. However lately I've noticed that I seem to be constantly tired and wanting to sleep all the time regardless of if I woke up only a few hours before- OR- completely wide awake and unable to 'shut off' enough to relax and fall asleep. Lately I have been sleeping through not one but two alarm clocks- luckily not before work but am starting to wonder if I am going deaf!!!
In the past I've had several possible reasons given to me; the obvious one is something medical however other than tiredness I feel okay and haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary. The second (being a woman) is being iron deficient but I don't think that's an issue as I think I've been eating pretty well and I also take supplements every so often just in case. The third one people tell me is 'you could be depressed'- well I don't think I am, I do get the odd bout of homesickness being o/s but nothing I can't cope with and I feel generally happy and ok with life, so I don't think it's that. The sleep being out of whack isn't bothering me that much, I'm used to it as a long haul FA but the not being able to 'tune out' is driving me a little bit nuts...
Could it just be a 'summer thing'? I live in a very hot climate and we are coming into high temperatures and people tend to hibernate inside and not do a lot. Admittedly I have been a bit slack when it comes to the gym so am wondering if anyone else has noticed their energy level slump and tend to get sleepless if they stop/reduce exercising? I went out & about today thinking it'd help but lo & behold I fell asleep watching tv and around 9pm and am now awake & unable to sleep. (Should probably get out the safety manual/company newsletters
)
Being where I am I'd rather not go to a doctor just yet, don't want them to start poking & prodding unnecessarily, so am after some strategies that you've found successful or that help you to manage a bit better which I could try first before sitting in the waiting room.
Thanks for any suggestions!!
