Alaskan winters are characterized by a lot of darkness. This makes it easier to go to sleep at night, but waking up can be a struggle. However, if you work a standard 8-5 job, are in school, or do anything that requires you to wake up energized, then these dark mornings may be quite the struggle. Here are a few things you can do to help you wake up energized, even if it's dark and cold outside.
Alaskans’ sleeping schedules are unique. While it sounds reasonable to think, “Summer in Alaska is for long, fun days and winters are for lots of sleep,” it’s actually not quite that simple. As you go further north, things get even more complex. Our extreme lighting conditions affect our lives in many different way – ways that can be incredibly disruptive towards sleep.
It’s no secret that we are living under unique circumstances in Alaska: lots of light over the past few months, and lots of darkness to look forward to for the next six months. Though it might seem counter intuitive, winter in Alaska actually makes sleep more difficult for many people, especially as you move further north.
Simply put, the excess darkness can be extremely disruptive to three things that are essential for the onset of sleep:
Thus, there are many ways for your circadian rhythm to be negatively affected as winter approaches. It is crucial to understand this before preparing for and preventing insomnia as we head into winter because you need to know what and how to prevent it. Let’s look at circadian rhythm more closely.
Much of the year in Alaska, we live in either the extreme darkness or extreme lightness. These extreme lighting conditions affect our lives in many different ways:
Alaskan summers can make having a sleep schedule feel impossible. If you’re reading this, you are likely one of those people.
Summers and Winters in Alaska can both be hard on getting enough sleep. The extreme lighting conditions don’t provide the transition from light to dark and dark to light in the morning/evening that prompts us to get tired and wake up. Because of this, setting a good sleep routine can be extremely hard.
Alaskan summers can hit your sleep schedule hard. If you’re reading this, you are likely one of those people. And it’s not just the midnight sun, or lower down in Alaska the “twilight night.” Alaskan summers can make it hard for many Alaskan’s to sleep because:
Much of the year in Alaska, we live in either the extreme darkness or extreme lightness. These extreme lighting conditions affect our lives in many different ways:
Other than a few months out of the year between “spring” and “fall” in Alaska, living here poses unique sleeping related to either receiving mostly (or only) daylight or mostly (or only) darkness. These extreme lighting conditions affect our lives in many different ways, most of which can be very disruptive towards sleep.
Living in Alaska poses unique sleeping challenges most months out of the year. Other than a few months out of the year between “spring” and “fall” in Alaska, we are dealing with darkness that lasts most (or all) of the day, or light that lasts most (or all) of the night.