how do you juggle a hectic job and still manage to sleep the right way

[Malivan66]

i am a Sailor (ship Engineer) i have been for most of my life and that usually means i am at work 9 months every year, thanks to this "wonderful" job i hardly ever get a good night rest, i am so used to it that even on my off days i still cannot sleep past 4 hours at night.

   how do i improve my sleeping hours because i know deep down that i am not sleeping healthy and that bothers me many ways than not.

[WavyDavey]

Hi @Malivan66,

First, you can look at if there are ways to improve your length of sleep during the months you are working. I don't have specific advice there, but maybe you can ask your co-workers for tips.

On the months you don't work, it makes sense that you wouldn't sleep much better, because by then your body is used to that kind of schedule. Those three months off can be important to help catch up on missing sleep. What you want is to "reset" your internal clock to get used to longer sleep during those months. I find getting a bunch of exercise helps keep my asleep longer. Once your body gets used to longer sleep, you can dial back the exercise, but at the beginning you can pour it on.

Also, things like keeping the bedroom cool and using blackout curtains to block light can help. This forum has lots of tips for things like that if you look around. Good luck!