If you have irregular sleep patterns, direct sun exposure in the morning can help reset your internal clock. It can also give you a boost when you're fading during the day. A 2006 Belgian study found that light affects areas of the brain also involved in attention, arousal, and emotion regulation during the day, and that sunlight curbs afternoon drowsiness.
Disability and Workplace Rights
How to keep your job while fighting a sleep problem Read more
Get up and move
Find the nearest stairwell at work and use it. Get your soda from the cafeteria, instead of the vending machine on your floor. Instead of riding the elevator to the mailroom, take the stairs. Even if you have nowhere to go, walk up and down a couple flights when you feel yourself flagging.
"Moving stimulates the brain to stay awake," says Ralph Downey III, PhD, director of the Loma Linda University Sleep Disorders Center in California. "If you are very sleepy, distracting yourself with movement can override the sleep drive."
Negotiate a flexible schedule
Jo Dickison, 38, has had insomnia on and off for about five years, and she lets her boss know when she's having a rough week or month. "Luckily he understands," says the executive assistant in Washington, D.C. "If I finally fall asleep at 6 a.m., I'll sleep in an extra hour."
In a 2007 Wake Forest University study, researchers found that workers who felt their jobs had adequate flexibility to meet personal and family commitments also reported getting more sleep. These people may not be working as late or are perhaps less stressed and sleeping better at night, the authors suspect. Talk with your employer about the possibility of setting some of your own hours, or about whether you might be eligible for special arrangements.
