By Michael Krueger
To stay fit, you eat well, do cardio, do strength training, and work on your flexibility; but how well do you sleep? A major aspect of fitness that many people overlook is the importance of sleep.
As a firefighter, you’ve experienced how a call in the dead of night can jar you from deep sleep to frenetic activity with a massive rush of adrenaline. You also know that you don’t just go back to sleep after the call is done either. Once the adrenaline wears off, you may feel sluggish and dull for the rest of your shift, yet you still need to remain sharp for the next call…
…and that feeling is just the tip of the iceberg regarding the negative effects of a sleep deficit.
How Much?
Chronic sleep debt relies on a cumulative and insidious cycle, where a little debt begets a larger debt, which takes longer and longer from which to recover. The average human being needs about eight hours of sleep per 24 hours, and the average American adult gets 6.8 hours–a full hour less than we did in 1942.
Ideally, most of us try to structure our 24 hours by spending eight at work, eight at leisure, and eight asleep; and good luck with that! For you, it might be a 36- or 48- hour shift with no guarantee of any sleep at all during that time. None of us are exactly attuned to the 24-hour schedule imposed on us by our society. We are designed to rise with the sun and to sleep with nightfall. We can function fine for a while when we don’t get sufficient sleep, but eventually it catches up with us, even if we don’t consciously notice that we were building a sleep deficit. When this deficit builds to the tipping point, we go through a period of feeling weary, grouchy, and out of sync. For most people, a short nap (if they can get it) seems to reset the clock and takes care of this problem at least for the short term.
I once had a client who was a freelance computer programmer. He could set his own work schedule, and because of this he became very sensitive to his sleep patterns. He found that over time, his body and mind worked best if he lived his life on a 26-hour day rather than 24. This meant that over the course of a year, his days and nights regularly shifted around the clock until they were completely reversed; then they would come back to “normal” and he would start the whole rotation over again. From a work, sleep, and health perspective, this worked perfectly. On the other hand, his social life was a disaster.
I mention this person to illustrate how sleep needs can vary and how priorities enter into the equation. The operational demands of the fire service guarantee that firefighters will at times be sleep deprived. Unfortunately, their off-duty choices can exacerbate the problem. Everything from family obligations to late nights binge watching Netflix cuts into the restorative sleep you so desperately need. The bottom line is that we all need to figure out what an adequate amount of sleep is to function at our peak of performance–and then figure out how to get it.
A Systemic Problem
We all know the feeling associated with a late night out or a disrupted night’s sleep. The effects of an occasional short-term sleep deficit may be mitigated by a good night’s sleep and generally speaking is not a problem.
This situation becomes a problem when the disruptions becomes frequent and chronic. Let’s face it, this describes the life of a firefighter. It’s easy to rationalize being tired because you have valid reasons for the disruption. It’s not like you were out partying all night. But it doesn’t matter; the sleep debt keeps growing. The fact is that it will continue to get worse, and the negative effects will multiply until you find a remedy.
In the short term, the symptoms include memory problems, lack of focus, foggy thinking, irritability, and a general impairment of performance in all aspects of your life. In the long term, you may add to the list diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and an increase in injuries and deaths from accidents.
Firefighters tend to be tough and selfless and are willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. Although these are commendable qualities, they may lead to overlooking or denying problems associated with sleep debt. No one wants to admit that they are beat; that their performance isn’t up to par; or that they are grouchy, ill-tempered, and difficult to be around–and it’s all because they are tired.
The tragedy is when that sense of duty clouds your judgment or impairs your performance and something goes horribly wrong. Think about the times you’ve responded to an auto accident that was caused by a driver falling asleep at the wheel or a fire caused by someone who dozed off with the stove on.
Not as Simple as It Seems
It’s helpful to honestly assess whether or not you are operating with a sleep debt. There are mental acuity tests online that can help you with that, but it’s actually very easy to determine even without a test. Ask yourself one question: “Are you an adult living in the USA?” If the answer is “yes,” in all likelihood you have a sleep debt. Now add to that answer that you are a firefighter, and you can remove all doubt. The question to consider next is whether it affects your performance in both your professional and private life. If you are being honest, the answer is “yes” as well. Lastly, you may as well accept that it won’t help to blame this situation on anything or anyone but yourself, since no one can fix it but you anyway; but how?
Start with when you are at the station or on call. Do you drink a lot of coffee or heavily caffeinated “energy” drinks? If you do, you might want to consider cutting down or eliminating them completely. They are a short-term solution at best and tend to make the long-term problems worse. Eating healthful foods and exercising on a regular schedule are also very important. Taking a nap if the need and the opportunity arise can keep you sharp and rested; but keep those naps short. These little things can help to mitigate some of the sleep-related problems you will surely encounter during your career.
Now, let’s take a look at your off hours. Too often we overlook our “leisure time” activities as a contributing source of our sleep debt. If you have children, you know how they can occupy an incredible amount of time and require a lot of energy. We try to cram a lot of things into our nonworking hours, some of which are nonnegotiable obligations while others are a choice. The choices include activities that often include the sleep killing trio of alcohol, greasy foods, and late-night entertainment. Too many people live by the “Work hard, play hard” credo, and that way of life is impossible to maintain for very long. How often have you gone back to work after a few days off or a vacation and felt even more tired than you had before?
What To Do
As you can see there are many parts to the problem but only one part to the solution, and that is you. No one can prevent life and work from interrupting even the best-laid plans, but that isn’t a valid excuse.
You’ve chosen a noble but exhausting career. The best way to ensure that it will be long and successful is to take the best care of yourself that you can by maintaining a healthy and fit lifestyle and mitigating the effects of sleep deprivation.
You will need to eat well; exercise regularly; make sleep a priority; and admit that, when a lack of sleep is making you a less than effective individual, you do something about it.
By getting enough sleep, you will be healthier, happier, more effective, more focused, less grouchy, less contentious, and–let’s face it–more pleasant to be around. So, for your benefit and the benefit of everyone around you…
…go get some sleep!
Michael Krueger is an NSCA-certified personal trainer. He got his start in fitness training while serving in the United States Coast Guard. He works with firefighters and others in and around Madison, Wisconsin. He is available to fire departments, civic organizations, and athletic teams for training, consulting, and speaking engagements. He has published numerous articles on fitness, health, and the mind-body connection and was a featured speaker at the IAFC’s FRI 2009 Health Day in Dallas, Texas. E-mail him at MKPTLLC@gmail.
