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Not Enough Sleep

by Scared and Worried

I work the night shift at a nursing home. I have been doing this for three years. In the beginning I had no problems, but now I feel like it is catching up with me. I don't get the proper sleep. Its really bad. Sometimes 3 hours I will get.


When I come home in the morning I get my daughter on the bus for summer school. This only gives me three hours to sleep before she gets home. I have been feeling spaced out, zoned out, it's really hard to describe.

I also can be driving and a weird feeling comes over me like I am in a fog. I can be anywhere and get this anytime. I was at the beach one day and I got that feeling but this time it was different. It was like something swept over my head and a wall was around me and I couldn't hear a thing. What is this I am feeling? Is this lack of sleep. Can someone please let me know.

Scared and Worried.

Kevin: Thanks for sharing your story. I know it's a real tough thing to do to raise a child while working a night shift. Your sleep can really be severely compromised, and as a result, so can your daytime alertness. The fog while driving can be really dangerous, and I encourage you to pull over and take a break whenever you experience it, and to learn about the key-in phrase for just these types of experiences: Drowsiness Is Red Alert!.

In addition, getting a better understanding of sleep debt and how it effects you during the day will be great information to know.

All the best with your effort to reduce your sleep deprivation and live healthier.

Warmly,
Kevin

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Welcome! This site is continuously being created by students of Dr. William C. Dement's Sleep And Dreams course at Stanford University.

We made this site as a call to action for people all over the world to live healthier, happier, safer, and more productive lives by learning about their own sleep. We have faith that reading the information provided on this site will motivate you to be smart about your sleep deprivation and strategic about your alertness in order to live life to your fullest, most energetic potential.

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