I have always struggled with getting enough rest, for as long as I can remember. Through my college years, I would stay awake for days (usually playing ping-pong and video games) and then binge sleep on the weekends (and some Mondays). I never really thought anything of it.
A few years back, I took a job working at a hospital in New Orleans. I had the joy of working the weekend night shift, which meant I worked 7pm to 7am, Saturday and Sunday night, every week. I would get off of work Monday morning when the day crew would come in at 7am. I was alone the whole time. Sometimes late at night I would walk up to the ICU ward and listen to the breathing machines and monitors, just to stay awake. Sometimes I would go up to the NeoNatal unit to watch preemies in incubators. Sometimes I was so tired, I would hallucinate, and fall asleep sitting at my desk, perched on a tall chair. Sometimes between 4am and 5am I would pass out on the floor, with my backpack as a pillow, and sleep for 30 minutes because I couldn’t hold my eyes open.
To make things worse, I had to come in for two 8-hour day shifts on Wednesdays and Thursdays, every week. After six months, my body still hadn’t adjusted. I was either working, sleeping, or staring into space like a zombie. For six straight months.
Somewhere during that time, I realized that I couldn’t function without sleep. That’s also when I started drinking coffee to be able to function (and it’s been ten years, I still haven’t broken that addiction! LOL). Eventually, I quit that job because I couldn’t function. Things went back to normal- for a while.
Fast forward a few years. Now I’m working a job I love. I’m eating right, exercising, doing everything right. And yet, I don’t get enough sleep. How much is considered enough? How much does a normal person need to function properly? Would you even know what functioning properly would feel like?? Continue reading “Sleep Deprivation And You”