Standardized Sleeping Schedules are Just as Impractical as Standardized Testing
Nine-to-five. Good ol’ banker’s hours. For the better part of a century it was a coveted schedule; any job that let you live a life without financial burden, and copious amounts of free time. Though most jobs don’t actually let you operate between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. as per at least one definition of “banker’s hours,” these nine-to-five jobs tend to dictate the schedule of the modern world. General meal times, rush-hour traffic, operational hours for businesses the world over. All things that flow according to these jobs, like the ocean tide with the moon.
What happens if this schedule doesn’t work for you? Unpleasant commutes aside, this schedule forces someone to wake up at 8 a.m., or in many cases, if your commute is forty minutes or longer, you’re forced to get up even earlier. As my colleague discussed in our previous blog post, life tends to get in the way, and sleep often becomes the sacrificial lamb for the enjoyment of life, or fulfillment of responsibilities. So, if you’re not a morning person, or if you’re like me and have an extremely hard time falling asleep…
…how do you cope with this schedule while trying to maintain a healthy amount of sleep each night?
The internet is rife with suggestions on how to naturally get more sleep or shift your internal sleep schedule with buzz-words like “sleep hygiene,” and there’s a plethora of sleep medications. Personally, I’m not apposed to pharmaceutical solutions like many are, and though I don’t use any currently, in some cases, there really is no natural way to fix a genuine sleeping disorder.
Naturally, being a sleep-health company, my colleagues come across seemingly endless articles like this, which they proceed to pass along to me in a futile-but-well-intentioned attempt to help me get more sleep. I have no doubt that these tips and tricks can work for many people, but for those whom they cannot help, societies preconception of what time a normal work day takes place can really start to wear on a person. Especially considering how commonly stated it is that people need seven to eight hours of sleep to stay healthy. And how many horror stories are told about what happens to your body (and your relationships) if you’re subjected to long-term sleep deprivation.
In the hyper-connected world of today that never sleeps and has cities with enough light pollution to make midnight look like noon, is it really necessary to keep such antiquated schedules? Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely understand that there are jobs in the world that have very strict time-of-day requirements, but is that really still the majority of jobs? Perhaps my fickle relationship with sleep has biased my opinion in the matter, but after many different jobs across many industries covering nearly every conceivable shift of work, I really notice no real reason for the constraints. Aside from the typical “this is how it’s always been,” and “we have to do it at this time because it coincides with how this adjacent aspect of the industry operates.” Which really just translates to the former excuse for that adjacent industry aspect.
By this point, you may think I’m just naïve and opinionated, but if I’ve got you contemplating work schedules and social norms in any capacity, this post is a success in my eyes. Sleep is a vital part of everyone’s life; if you’re one of those lucky people that can sleep anywhere at any time, you probably haven’t spent time contemplating this, but you really should give it some thought. For those who can’t sleep on command, there are likely dozens, hundreds or even thousands of hours spent in bed wondering why the world is so biased against those with atypical sleeping habits.
For how much sleep can impact physical and mental health, everyone-the-world-over should be more considerate of affecting someone’s sleep. If you’ve ever been woken after only four short hours of sleep for a week or more, you likely wouldn’t be too happy about it, so why is it fair to subject anyone else to this simply because their ideal schedule doesn’t agree with yours? Perhaps, having read this, next time your actions have a direct or indirect effect on someone’s sleep schedule, you’ll take a moment to consider if there’s a way you can save them some pain. If you’re a boss, consider flexible start-times if possible. If you’re fond of late-night movies or music, consider turning the volume down for those around you. If you’re…ahem…a sleeping partner who snores like a wood chipper…well, this one’s a little harder. For now.
