Chapter 1
Start with the Sleep Your Week Allows
Nadia finishes her emergency department shift at 7:15 a.m. On paper, the next twelve hours belong to her. In practice, the drive home takes thirty-five minutes, school pickup fixes the afternoon deadline, and dinner will not make itself.
At 34, she is a single parent who knows how fatigue feels. What she cannot see until she writes down the day is how little room remains for sleep. Getting home, eating, and settling in take her to 8:30 a.m. Her alarm rings at 2:15 p.m. so she can dress and reach school.
That is five hours and forty-five minutes in bed. Actual sleep is shorter.
The first task is not finding a better bedtime routine. It is finding out whether your roster and responsibilities leave enough time to sleep at all.
Count Sleep, Not Hours Away from Work
Most adults need about seven to nine hours of sleep in each twenty-four-hour period. Regularly getting less than seven hours is generally insufficient. Individual needs vary, but working nights does not train the body to need less.