I was talking to a good friend of mines the other day and we started laughing about all the times we were able to work late, hang out, go to bed for a few hours and back off to work to do it all over again. Ha, yeah right! Not anymore, my body will not allow it. Now I need as much sleep as I can possibly can get. The problem with me, is that I use to work a lot of different night jobs for over 12 years. My body’s natural clock is all out of whack. I can’t go to sleep until my body naturally falls asleep, other wise I am up just staring at the walls. The other issue is, once I am tired and if I don’t go to bed right then and there, then my second wind gets kicks in and I am ready to go for another round. For about three years I have been trying to figure out different ways, to help me fall asleep easier and wake up less groggy. What’s the point? Yesterday while on the train to work, I came across this article about working being deprived of sun light get less sleep and physical activity than those who sit near windows. Normally I would of laughed and never thought twice about it, but I have actually experienced this madness. For ten years my second job (which I love & hate) have absolutely no window at all, except for ONE at the very top of the stairs by the exit. All I will say about the matter is that it’s absolutely draining and depressing at times. The article mention’s in the Journal of sleep medicine, that studies address relationships between daylight at the work place, sleep quality and overall health.

Employees exposed to natural light slept 46 minutes longer then did their peers working in windowless offices. Not getting enough sleep the researchers say, can have numerous short-term effects, including memory loss, slower reflexes, mood swings and diminished attention. 21 people in the study wore wristbands while they slept. 10 of those people worked windowless and 11 of those people worked by windows. The monitoring showed that workers who slept by the windows slept about 46 minutes longer, then the people who didn’t work by a window. Not only did they get more sleep, they were also four times more active then the other testers.
If you are one of these unfortunate people like myself who work far from a window, it’s best to try to stay motivated as best as you can. Plug in one ear bud turn on your favorite song and get yourself back into action (low volume of course).
You can also get up to walk around for a bit, offer to do a quick coffee run for a few co-workers, this will give you a few minutes of fresh air.
Last and one of my favorite things to do is remind myself that I am getting paid at the end of all of this lol.

Tell us what do you do to help pass the time at work?