Thread: Red Eye Tips
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Old 07-25-2021, 09:05 PM
  #59  
rickair7777
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Originally Posted by phrogfella View Post
2. Research says that you can only shift your circadian rhythm ~1.5hrs/day. You can’t shift your body to a redeye schedule the day prior, you have to start days prior. When I worked nights, I shifted my sleep schedule to something resembling a swing shift so that I could keep a foot in the day for when I was off and a foot in the nights for when I was working. I wasn’t perfectly rested for either but was functional for both without having to shift back and forth. If you’re only doing 1-2 redeyes at a time it’s probably better to keep yourself on a normal sleep schedule and just power through the night flights.
I avoid multiple redeyes like the plague, I'd be at UPS or FDX if I wanted to do that. Be healthy and well-rested the day before and you can power through one or even two easily. After that, it goes downhill.

With a family I can't live my life on anything but day shift. If I was single, I'd probably just do the vampire thing (at FDX/UPS), and live in manhattan where there's stuff do 24/7.


Originally Posted by phrogfella View Post
4. Use an eye mask and ear plugs to stay asleep longer during the day. This gets me anywhere from an extra 30 minutes to an extra hour or two per day.
Mask, definitely. Ear plugs? Better come up with some foolproof wake-up technique. I know this because I still remember as a JO on a warship my XO waking me up with the entire ship except me at battle stations... not a drill either. That was the end of the earplugs.

Originally Posted by phrogfella View Post
5. Don’t eat or exercise within a few hours of going to bed otherwise you won’t go to bed.
Yes, definitely no serious exercise within about three hours. Sometimes you have to eat but keep it light and healthy-ish. Filet Mignon or big pasta dish won't help. Actually any significant meat consumption will tend to make your sleep restless and prone to dreams... something to do with metabolizing protein.


Originally Posted by phrogfella View Post
101 level is being rested for work. 201 level is being rested for when you get off of work so that you can work to live rather than live to work.
That's why I try to avoid stoopid crazy schedules... I *try* to bid the days off my wife wants but I'm not doing a month of HI redeyes to get every single one of them.
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