While pilots may not be able to adjust their shifts to match their internal ‘body clock’, we can use what science tells us about our bodies to improve our chance of a restful sleep whatever our routine may be. Making small changes to your pre-sleep and daily routine, can have a large impact on the quantity and quality of your sleep.
What to do just before bed
Establish a ‘Wind-Down’ ritual. Develop a short routine before going to bed (e.g. washing your face, brushing your teeth, stretch, read a book, listen to calming music). Overtime, this routine can act as cue to your body and brain to start preparing for sleep.
Doing relaxing activities such as reading, having a hot shower or bath, and stretching can help slow you down and prepare your body for sleep.
Avoid stimulating activities just before bed. Playing a game, watching an exciting show, having an important family discussion, playing on your phone or laptop, stimulates your body and mind.
Silence your phone. Put your phone on silent 30 minutes before bed and place it somewhere further away from you so you are not tempted by flashing lights, but where you can still hear your alarm in the morning. If you use an alarm clock, make sure you cover it, so you are not distracted by the light and time on the clock.
Avoid eating at least one hour before sleep. Especially avoid heavy, spicy, or sugary foods. However, you can try a light bedtime snack such milk, peanut butter, cheese, or chamomile tea. These foods contain chemicals that your body uses to produce sleep.
Minimise use of caffeine (includes teas, soft drinks, chocolate), nicotine, and alcohol in the hours before bedtime. Caffeine and nicotine stimulate our bodies and brains by releasing various hormones and chemicals. While alcohol may help you fall alseep, it causes fragmented and interrupted sleep. These can stay in the body for a long time, so try to avoid them for at least 4-6 hours before bed.
Reduce light exposure (e.g. use curtains or sleep masks). Reduce noise that enters your sleeping area (e.g. use ear plugs, consider turning your phone off, close doors and windows, talk to your family about your sleep times). Lower the temperature. Keeping your bedroom cool, lowers your body temperature and prepares your body for sleep. However, make sure you stay warm with sufficient blankets.
What to do in bed
Use your bed only for sleep and sex. It’s important to limit the number of activities we engage in while in bed and the bedroom, including eating, watching tv, reading, and working. The brain makes connections between places (the bedroom) and events (sleeping), so by limiting the amount of activities you do in bed, when you do go into your bed your body automatically starts to physically and mentally prepare for sleep.
Consider listening to sleep meditation. Meditation helps slow your breathing and decrease your temperature preparing your body for sleep (See the Smiling Mind app for some free meditations). The brain is a quick learner: if you repeatedly use meditation techniques to fall asleep, the response will become quicker and stronger as a new neural pathway is established.
Don’t stay in bed in you are awake. If you have not been able to fall asleep within a reasonable time (e.g., 20-30 minutes), get up, go to another room, and do something boring or relaxing (e.g., sit in the loungeroom with the lights off, read a boring book, meditate, listen to calm music). Avoid doing anything stimulating or interesting, as this will wake you up even more! Once you feel tired again, go back to bed. Long period of being awake in bed usually leads to tossing and turning, becoming frustrated or worrying about not sleeping, in turn making it more difficult to fall asleep. If you lie in bed for long periods of time you train yourself to be awake in bed.
Worry Time. If you’re lying in bed worrying or you wake up in the middle of the night worrying, go to another room and try writing down your worries and tell yourself you will address them when you wake up. Sometimes the more we try to stop worrying, the more we worry. If you are still worrying, listen to some guided meditation and try and focus your attention on that. You can even try scheduling a “worry time” earlier in the evening to allow yourself the time and space to worry.
What to do during the day
Make a plan ahead of time for when to sleep. Because schedules may change from day to day, one of the ways you can make sure you remember to take care of yourself is to schedule in times to eat, sleep, exercise, and relax.
Don’t rely on sleeping tablets. Sleeping tablets are a temporary fix, for when some circumstance may be causing you to have trouble falling and staying asleep. Ongoing use may lead to dependence and interfere with developing good sleep habits independent of
medication, thereby prolonging sleep difficulties.
Get regular exercise each day. Exercise helps to increase energy levels, reduce fatigue, improve mood, and promote sleep. While it can be hard to establish a routine with irregular hours, even a small amount of exercise can make a difference. Remember to try not to do strenuous exercise in the two hours before bedtime.
Spend some of your daytime outdoors Sunlight or natural light is important for the body to regulate its internal ‘body clock’.
Keys to success
Start small! Making small changes can have a large impact on your sleep. Don’t try to do everything all at once. Pick one or two strategies from the above, and when you are ready you can try adding a new strategy.
Be consistent. One way to create good sleeping habits, is to engage in them consistently. Overtime you won’t even need to think about your sleeping habits, because they will have become such a normal habit for you.
Be patient! Many sleeping problems are due to bad habits built up over a long period. As a result, you won’t fix sleeping problems in one night; persevere with good sleep habits and sleep should get gradually better. Different things may work for you, so find out what works best and stick with it.
Readily-available support
AFAP Member Assistance Program (MAP) engages PeopleSense by Altius to provide free, confidential sessions with a trained psychologist for all AFAP members and their direct family members.
Counselling is available 24 hours, seven days a week. The psychologists who deliver the service are trained in pilot specific issues. Contact PeopleSense by Altius on 1300 307 912 or through an online booking (www.peoplesense.com.au).
AFAP Crewroom is an online space for AFAP members to connect with colleagues and catch up on the latest updates and stories. It is a virtual Crewroom managed by AFAP staff and pilots that has 8 topic areas to make sense of the rapidly changing information in an easy to use environment. The Crewroom can be accessed directly from the AFAP website.
AFAP Council Welfare Representatives are a helpful resource and can help direct you toward professional welfare assistance if, and when you need it.
A full list of current AFAP Welfare Representatives is available on the AFAP website (www.afap.org.au).
Medicare or Private Health Cover Counselling: For those wanting to engage more long-term support, private counselling.
Free, confidential phone counselling: BeyondBlue 300 22 4636, Lifeline 13 11 14, MensLine 1300 789 978.
For more information, see AFAP Welfare Services (www.afap.org.au) or contact welfare@afap.org.au.
The AFAP also supports HIMS Australia (www.aushims.org.au) in assisting pilots with substance misuse.