NIGHT SHIFT AND JET LAG - and not feeling tired

What's money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do. - Bob Dylan -

I like getting up and doing what I want to do, not being so tired and groggy that I am falling asleep every time I sit down or not being able to remember simple things through out the day. Having a clear mind and fresh body... sometimes you can power through it but for the most part, the longer I was on nights the harder it was to get my system back onto days afterwards.

Most of us are aware the circadian rhythm controls how aware and alert you are among other things. I tried all the usual tricks, but after working nights I was left messed up... usually the second day off was the worst, hitting my wall in the afternoon. My rule was to never make major financial decision or cook with fire while on nights or right after.

There was an article Starving yourself may fend off jet lag, seemed interesting and hopeful.

Basically, by starving yourself for 14-16 hours you reset your internal clock, letting you wake up about an hour or so before that time the next day. The idea being you don't want to miss an opportunity to feed when situations change in the wilderness.

Taking that idea on my last night shift, I eat dinner at 5:30 pm work my night shift till 7:30 am without eating (just drinking liquids with not calories) and then eat a breakfast of oats, eggs, milk etc the next day after I get home about 8:30 am. I then goto sleep till 2-3 pm, get up have dinner at 5:30 PM again. Goto bed around 10-11 pm without eating anything since supper... then magically wake up before my alarm usually around 7 am.

The day I wake up I am 80-90% functional, more importantly I don't crash or power-out. What determines my alertness is more based on how much sleep I get now not how many nights I have worked.

What I find hard is not snacking at night, when I do I tend to be less alert as I think it doesn't re-enforce my rhythm.

What doesn't help is that I live in Fort Nelson which in june has almost 24 hours of light and in December has almost 24 hours of darkness...

Something I have come to realize since I have been manipulating my sleep patterns is that what my parents said was right all along.

Don't eat before you goto bed. Make sure you eat a good breakfast for a good start to the day :)

Another example of fasting that works