NPR: BPPdian Rhythm: Sleep Struggles in Morning Radio

BPPdian Rhythm: Sleep Struggles in Morning Radio

Filed under: City Living, Personal/Private

This morning we talked to Dr. Ana Krieger about sleepwalking. It was an interesting conversation, especially for BPPers, who spend an enormous amount of time thinking and plotting about when to sleep and how to get more of it. No one who has ever worked an a.m. shift for more than a week will find this surprising.

Our day starts before 5 a.m. Getting the fabled eight hours a night is attainable. But the real challenge is getting a decent night's sleep AND having a normal life, as in going out to dinner, seeing your friends' new band play, generally having face-to-face contact with people you like. It is not mathematically impossible, but it's pretty tough.

The math? Assume it takes you 90 minutes to get ready and get to work. (This sub-assumes you aren't too vain and don't live too far. More primp time and longer commutes make it even worse.) That means to get in by 4:30, you need to be up at 3 a.m. To get eight hours, you need to be asleep at 7 p.m. Not a lot of time for fun with friends, unless your entire social circle consists of teachers, pastry chefs, the unemployed or others with consistently free afternoons. But, there is a way out. . .

I'm currently using what I call the Martin Method, named for its creator, or at least for the person who pitched it to me, the BPP's own Rachel Martin. In short: work, go home, take a good nap, wake up, hang with the ones you love, sleep again, wake up, repeat.

Rachel is far smarter than the median bear. Her way works -- when you're lucky enough to get out of here at a decent hour that is, which is not a given in the news business. I didn't ask Dr. Krieger what she thinks (forgetfulness is a hallmark of poor sleep habits, I think), but it's good for me so far.

Take last Friday. I wanted to go to a party that night; I got to work Friday morning at 4:45. These two things can't coexist in the absence of powerful stimulants (No, I didn't. Honest.) I left work around 2:15 that afternoon. I set an alarm and fell asleep 2.3 seconds after I lay down. Three hours later, I was awake again. Four hours after that, the party was on and I managed to outlast normally rising people. Yeah!

OK, it doesn't always work this well. Sometimes I wake up on my couch, wondering when I fell asleep and how I managed to stay that way while wearing all my clothes and with my head leaning against a metal radiator pipe. But I have yet to find a better path than the Martin Method. The comments section is open day and night to sleep tips from early a.m. veterans. Unfortunately, there is no known solution to the challenge of finding a Friday morning cab that isn't rancid with Thursday night partier leavings (or as readers of pretentious culinary writing might say, bile-infused). Eww.

Mark Garrison

12:57 PM ET | 05-13-2008 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

While I have no helpful tips (I work a normal schedule and frequently can't get my butt to bed at a decent hour), I wanted to say this: Mark, I'm loving your posts. Your "voice", to use a pretentious writing teacher term, is already really recognizable.

Sent by Maura | 3:28 PM ET | 05-13-2008

I work the graveyard shift, from 9pm to 5:30am, Sunday night to Friday morning. (Thankfully, I have Friday and Saturday nights off!) I've had this work schedule for some 3 years now. It hasn't been too tough for me: luckily, in the mornings, I'm driving against the main flow of traffic and I have managed to have a lovely relationship with my boyfriend (who has a normal 'daytime' job). When I was in college and working, I'd sleep whenever I could. I'll be starting law school this fall, so I better get in as much sleep as I can 'cause I will cease to enjoy my free time for some 4-odd years.

I like working nights: evenings are cooler, traffic is not an issue, and one can be flexible about sleeping mornings or afternoons, depending on what kind of chores/errands need to get done. If I were to change my work schedule, probably an early-morning gig (such as at the BPP) would be the easist to adjust to.

Sent by Addis | 3:31 PM ET | 05-13-2008

@Addis, I worked a similar shift during the Iraq War. My favorite part was getting a pancake breakfast AFTER work. Other than, whew, it was rough. Good luck in school.

@Maura, awww shucks, thanks.

Sent by Mark Garrison, NPR | 4:02 PM ET | 05-13-2008

I worked the midnight shift for a year. Going to bed in the light and getting up in the dark became a weird norm. My social schedule, occasional studying and frequent D&D games, made eight continuous hours of sleep a rarity. My favorite puzzle was waking up in the twilight, seeing a 6:00 on the clock, and trying to figure out without moving or turning on the radio whether it was 6:00 am or 6:00 pm. I used several criteria such as beard growth, aroma, and "Does my head feel like cat litter or used cat litter?" The extra special bonus question was "What day is it?"

One tip I'll pass on to you I arrived at through sheer logic. The shorter the commute the longer the sleep. If it was less than eight hours to my shift I'd just go to work and sleep under my desk. The downside is I didn't always look or smell that great at the office, but the upside is I was never late. After work I'd go home, shower, and hit the town. The beauty of this is your friends won't hesitate to remind you of proper hygiene, but your coworkers will likely consider the topic too personal. So who is it more important to clean up for?

One more tip: A Snickers Bar and a Dr. Pepper make a suprisingly delicious and filling breakfast.

Sent by Dave Wiley | 6:09 PM ET | 05-13-2008

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