 |
| When you get into the "rhythm" the alarm clock may not be as "alarming" . |
Rhythm is important as we use it to dance, play music, participate in sports, leisure and recreational activities. I think of rhythm not only for the above, however when I participated in various events such as racing, horse jumping and dirt bike riding, I used rhythm to become at one with a machine or the horse. If something broke your rhythm, it was difficult to get back in the game so to speak.
Just recently, we all shifted our clocks ahead one hour. This change is always a big issue and gets much attention on the news, radio and other media outlets as the time change effects peoples sleep pattern. As a truck driver, our schedules can shift forward and backward more than an hour on any given day. We say “we get used to it” but do we really? It turns out that our natural sleep is regulated by two body systems sleep/wake homeostasis and the circadian biological clock. Sleep/wake homeostasis keeps us aware that there is a need for sleep that has been amassing since the moment we woke up. If this system of our body operated alone, we would just naturally become more tired each and every hour after we awoke. In its own way sleep/wake homeostasis creates a drive that equalizes sleep and wakefulness.
The circadian biological clock works in a different way and creates a rhythm regulating our periods of sleepiness and wakefulness throughout the day. The strongest sleep drive for a typical adult occurs between 2:00 – 4:00 am and in the afternoon between 1:00 – 3:00 pm. This can vary depending if you are a morning or evening person. The variation of circadian dips will be less noticeable if you have had sufficient sleep and become more intense if you are sleep deprived. There are many things that can change our circadian rhythm. Many teenagers have a difficult time sleeping before 11:00 pm due to high melatonin levels in the body. As drivers, we’ve passed our teenage stage and therefore dealing with melatonin levels that rise at night will not be our biggest problem. Our main issue as drivers is circadian disruptions that in a study are described as “jet lag.” These disruptions put us into conflict with our natural sleep patterns. If you were an east to west driver, the time zones change for you which give you some of the same effects as jet lag. The good news is that we stay on our home time for our log books. The bad news is that the customer remains on their home time. We still have other issues as the light from the sun will change at various times across the country. While it may be 9:00 pm for an east coast driver in California, the suns position and activity around you will scream out that it’s 6:00 pm in the evening. This can cause quite a disruption in you circadian rhythm. Therefore, it’s best to find a way to stay in your rhythm. To help with this, you can find a dark and quiet location in order to get proper rest. Otherwise, you will be swinging the rhythm three hours out of sync on a regular basis. There are a group of cells that react to light and dark signals which control hormones, body temperature and many other sensory functions that control our body which makes us feel like we are sleepy or awake.
Sleeping is much easier these days now that we have well insulated sleepers in the newer trucks. Pull the curtains, put on some noise cancelling headphones and do your best to stay in rhythm for everything works better when you’re in rhythm.