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.
The reason our sleeping schedules are affected by lighting changes is because extreme lighting conditions – as well as the cold – affect our lives:
Many of us are completely different people in summer and winter, with different sleeping patterns (or lack of), different work out patterns, social patterns, and so on.
Especially in the case of winters, many of us have mental, cognitive, or emotional responses to the total darkness, and our behavior changes as well. This is even more true if you are not into winter activities like skiing, skating, and so on.
Negative responses to the long darkness generally result in things like seasonal depression or sleep disorders – the darkness can either cause sleep disorders or make them worse. The most common ones are:
Our ability to have a healthy biological clock and sleep pattern is largely regulated by external cues, especially changes in light, that are much harder to acquire in the long, dark Alaskan winters.
Melatonin is a hormone that helps you regulate sleep, and it is light sensitive. These changes in light stimulate or inhibit melatonin:
In the darkness, we lack these changes in light to cue melatonin changes.
Additionally, there are other compounding factors that hurt sleep in Alaskan winters
Long story short, maintaining a healthy biological clock requires a lot more effort during the winter and if unmanaged it can easily lead to an erratic and sleep deprived sleep schedule.
There are some hallmark symptoms that you are suffering from a sleeping disorder caused by long, dark days, including [SleepEducation]:
Sleep deprivation has many health side effects too.
Some tried and true ways to combat sleep in Alaskan winters are:
Consulting with a sleep specialist to express concerns, difficulties, or seek further guidance is also an extremely effective way of ensuring that your sleep preparation is curtailed to your unique sleep struggles.