As a flight crew, meaning a pilot or flight attendant, good sleep can be hard to come by. Flying, whether private or commercial, can make getting a good night's rest seem nearly impossible. The times can be at odd hours, and long hours. The job itself is physically and mentally draining with all the flying, dealing with customers, and trying to make sure that everyone is safe.
But, considering the alertness that is required for a job like flying, sleep is very important. A lack of sleep can lead to issues with focusing and concentration. But as a customer who is 30,000 miles in the air, the last thing you want to hear is that your pilot only slept a few hours.
Therefore, it's important as a member of a flight crew, no matter your role, that you manage to get a good night's rest. Continue reading to find out how to get good sleep as a crew.
Sleeping Challenges
Cabin crew workers are considered shift workers. This means they do not work the conventional 9-5, but instead, have work hours that fall outside of that range. Crews normally struggle with both sleep quality and sleep quantity.
Sleep quality is the amount of time that we are able to spend in deep, restorative sleep. This means getting into those later stages of sleep like N3 and Rapid Eye Movement (REM). These are the stages of sleep when our bodies repair themselves, consolidate memories, and prepare for the following day. Without having this type of sleep, you may wake up feeling groggy and unrefreshed.
Sleep quantity is the number of hours of sleep that you can get. Regardless of what stages of sleep you're in, the only thing that matters is the amount of time you had your eyes closed.
Both of these measurements of sleep can be threatened in flight crews because of the early mornings, late nights, and sleeping in various cities and accomodations. Schedules can be thrown off by delays and on-call schedules can make it hard to feel comfortable enough to truly sink into a deep rest.
So how to overcome these issues? Well, many things are out of our control, but there are some things that are within our control that can make up for some of these sleep struggles.
Sleep Hygiene
Basic sleep hygiene is extremely important for getting a good night's rest. Sleep hygiene consists of the environment in which you are sleeping, and trying to make it as comfortable and home like as possible. Sleep hygiene also consists of your bedtime routine, or the activities you do before going to sleep. This can include eating, meditating, showering/bathing, stretching, and any other activities that relax you enough to induce sleep.
Your sleeping environment should be dark, cool, and quiet. Sometimes in hotels with bright city lights, or parts of the world that don't get dark for very long, this can be hard to achieve. Bringing items like an eye mask can help create the darkness that your body needs for a good night of sleep.
Bedtime Habits
Sleep training is just as necessary in adulthood as it is for infants and babies. Our brain relies on clues that tell us when it's time for different parts of our day, including bedtime. Your bedtime habits can trigger your brain and body to begin to get ready for bed. This includes some of the behaviors discussed in the last paragraph, but also can include some sleeping accessories.
These sleeping accessories include sleep masks, earplugs, essential oils, and any routines or shows or books, etc, that you may use before going to bed each normally. Try to maintain some normalcy even if you aren't home. This can help your brain recognize that it's time to get ready for bed, even if you aren't going to sleep in your bed.
Plan to engage in these activities early enough for you to get anywhere from seven to eight hours of sleep, if possible. On nights you get home early, try and go to bed earlier to make up for the nights that you off of work late.
Use a sleep tracker
Sleep trackers have been shown to help people with sleep challenges understand what it is that they need to work on to get more rest. Wearables can be a great option if you don't mind wearing something at night. Your phone can also track your sleep, although it won't be as accurate.
These sleep trackers can let you know if you have a problem falling asleep, staying asleep, or getting good quality sleep due to multiple nighttime awakenings. This insight can give you a starting place while you're working on improving getting your sleep.
Prioritize sleep
When you get to a new city, it can be so tempting to forgo sleep to explore. Although you may have limited time, it's important that sleep is a priority in your schedule. Even if this means that you have to end your night early, or sleep in a little later than anticipated.
Sleep is not something that if you don't get, will go without consequences. It's vital to our health, your ability to do your job well, the integrity of your immune system, and virtually every other aspect of your life.
Short-term sleep deprivation can quickly spiral out of control and become a chronic condition. Avoid this by getting ahead of a problem before it even develops.
Sleep blocking
Sleep blocking is another tool that you can use to make sure you get good sleep with your hectic schedule as a crew member. To do this, simply look at your sleep roster and take note of the times you land and take off. This allows you to build sleep rules into your roster.
Examples of rules include, taking a nap if you land before 12pm. If you land after 12pm, then you have to stay awake for the rest of the day and go to bed early that night. That would assist you with getting you back on schedule for your home time zone upon your return.
If you are having extreme trouble getting to sleep, and think their may be an underlying cause for your fatigue, please click the orange button below to take a free online sleep test.
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