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How to Sleep Tips From a Vampire

Posted on | April 24, 2010 | 11 Comments

I have always been a late sleeper. So much so that my friends call me a vampire.  When I was in high school, I would stay up until  until one in the morning, talking on the phone with friends. Then it got worse when I was in college. Since I don’t have a lot of free time with acads, the org, and my work as a student assistant, I sleep around 3AM then go back to school around 7am. Of course, I get to sleep during boring classes like Nat Sci I or Econ 11, but those are more like power naps than sleep.

 

When I started working in the office,  the sleepless nights got longer.  Worse, I never had what others call the perfect sleep because even when I was sleeping, I was dreaming weird , disturbing dreams that  left me feeling tired. Sometimes I dream that I am still working,  reading and writing abstracts in front of the computer. That’s the worst kind of sleep, I tell you! No one wants to be dreaming of work when they work 12 hours day, six days a week.

 

sleeping tips from a vampire

Me soundly sleeping during our Bauan, Batangas Trip

 

When I quit my job to work at home as virtual assistant, my sleep cycle, if ever I had one, got more screwed up. I was working night shifts so that I’d be able to lend support to clients in New York.  The first two weeks was the worst. I  barely slept at all as my body adjusted to sleeping at daytime. I researched online to find sleeping tips for call center workers and began applying them. After two months, I was already sleeping soundly using some very important tips. Let me share with you the things I did to get the perfect sleep.

  1. Use dark, heavy curtains. This will keep the sunlight from coming inside your room and help create the night mood for you.
  2. Use dark bedsheets. Some prefer white but sleeping in my black, cotton bedsheet, surrounded by pillows in dark pillowcases. It sets the mood for having a perfect sleep or a much needed power nap.
  3. Have an aircon installed in your room. Though worried about my Meralco bill, I bravely bought a secondhand aircon from my aunt and had it installed in my room. It was pure heaven sleeping at noontime, hypnotized by the whirring sound of the aircon. That’s one of my sleep aids — the constant humming of the aircon.
  4. Take Stresstabs or any multivitamin. Since I work at nights and is in a great risk of getting low-blood thingy, I decided to take vitamins with iron. My first choice is Stresstabs because I liked its  TV commercial. At first, I took it when I started my shift. This made me so sleepy so I changed routines and took it before I sleep in the morning.  A week after, I noticed that I was sleeping better. My dreams were better and they weren’t as draining as before. So I stuck with the routine. Up to now, after almost two years of working at home, Stresstabs is my strusted sleep aid. I should mention though that Stresstabs didn’t have the same effect on my colleagues.
  5. Lock the door. This is a must for anyone who shares a room with a kid. My daughter has a very bad habit of creating loud noises when she’s in the room, preventing mo from getting a decent sleep. The solution: I put my daughter’s toys, books, bags, DVDs, etc. outside the room so she doesn’t have to come inside when I’m sleeping. I also trained her to stay  in the living room unless it’s time for her take a nap.
  6. Turn off your cellphone. My boss used to call me while I am sleeping in the afternoon and ask if I can render overtime because we’re shorthanded. The lack of sleep would really make me cranky and sleepy during my shift. I hate turning her requests down so I just learned to just turn off my phone. Worked like magic. :)

 

That’s it for now — Six how to sleep tips from a vampire. I hope that you guys find your perfect sleep by following one or two of the above tips. Happy sleeping!

 

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Category: Beauty & Wellness
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Comments

  • winona

    Nat Sci boring, ahehehe natawa ako dun. Kasi luv ko ang science. Except physics :-( buti na lang luvable ang prof ko dun.

  • Nica

    Winona, hahaha.. boring yung Nat Sci I teacher ko. Old na sya na mabagal magsalita. I enjoyed my teacher in Geology, though. He taught abroad and was very funny. Galing ng recall ko sa class nya.

  • http://psychicdena.com love spells

    Can I link this post from my website?

  • http://www.catchfriday.com/ Tina Pierce

    lol!!! you look cute when you sleep :D

    • http://thevirtualonlineassistant.com/ Nica M.

      Thanks Tina! My friends have a habit of taking pictures of me when I sleep.

  • http://www.pippasweb.co.uk/ Pippa / Web Design

    In a previous part of my life I used to be a childrens nurse.  I rotated between a week of nights then the rest of the month day shifts.
    I was told to help keep my routine to switch my meals so dinner during the shift breakfast when you get up etc.  I couldn’t do that my brain wouldn’t let me, so I kept to eating regular meal times except my lunch was during the night. 
    Working in the Uk I’m fortunate enough not to have to worry about “working the night shift” but I do end up working till the early hours on occasions when a clients deadline requires it.  But I don’t mind the late nights, just a shame my kids prefer the early mornings :)

    • http://thevirtualonlineassistant.com/ Nica, Virtual Assistant

      Oh my, dinner fare for breakfast?! I don’t think I can do that either, Pippa. But what I’m amazed now is how you shifted from being a children’s nurse to a web designer. Quite a big leap!

  • http://myvirtualbrains.com Rain Gamboa

    Playing soft music/lullabies, dimming the lights and spraying a scent of lavendar in the room are very effective for me.  When all else fails, I change my clothes and the linens. 

    • http://thevirtualonlineassistant.com/ Nica, Virtual Assistant

      Hi Rain! Fresh linens do make me want to sleep. I’ve also heard about lavender being a sleep-inducing scent. I did take jasmine tea for a while.

  • Samprasita

    Good for you Nica. When you’re done with work for the day, your time – including your sleeping hours – is very much your own. The bosses should know their limits.

    • http://thevirtualonlineassistant.com/ Nica, Virtual Assistant

      Hi Samprasita, sometimes when you get really close with your bosses, they forget the boundaries. I guess it’s just natural. Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment. :)