Counting Zs…or maybe not

I’ve got to be honest with you. I’m a bit tired. You see, I have new neighbors. Right across the street from me. Nice folks. They keep a tidy yard, maintain their home well and, other than a propensity for parking numerous cars on the lawn, they are a great addition to the neighborhood.

The trouble is they have a tendency to celebrate with great vigor and volume when specific holidays come around. Christmas included. I can only assume New Year’s Eve will be similarly disruptive.

As my wife and I sat on our porch on Christmas Day waiting for the kids to arrive, our neighbors were installing a Bounce House on the lawn. Speakers were installed on stands, tables were set up, a lighting rig went in underneath a tented area, and guests began to arrive. By noon the party was in full swing with music set at a level that allowed it to be clearly heard on the other side of the lake behind our house. We eventually vacated the porch because it became difficult to hold a conversation over the sounds of the festivities.

This went on until well after midnight.

As you can imagine, the environment wasn’t conducive to sleeping. Which means my condition didn’t lend itself to clear thinking, good decision making, or quick reaction times. The weather was gorgeous the next day, but it wasn’t a good day to fly.

Fatigue is nothing to sneeze at.

As was my case this Christmas, none of us can effectively and consistently control the environment we live in. Noisy neighbors, financial problems, challenges in our relationships, and even uncomfortable furniture can make the goal of a good night’s sleep unattainable. String a few of those sleepless nights together and we could have a real problem. Not just for pilots, for anyone.

Environment isn’t the only inhibitor to good sleep, however. Our lifestyle choices can also have a detrimental effect on our ability to get sufficient rest. Ironically, perhaps, the effects of too much alcohol and the residual effects of excessive exercise too near bedtime can both keep us from sleeping as well or as long as we need to. And yes, we need to. None of us is immune to the effects of sleep deprivation.

The FAA acknowledges that fatigue is a difficult term to define, because of the extreme variability it exhibits in individuals. But, in a nutshell, fatigue can be thought of as “a condition characterized by increased discomfort with lessened capacity for work, reduced efficiency of accomplishment, loss of power or capacity to respond to stimulation, and is usually accompanied by a feeling of weariness or tiredness.”

Frankly, that explanation strikes me as a good example of what it is to be an adult, or a parent, or a business owner, too. Being tired is nothing new for many of us. Being excessively tired may be a problem for many of us. As pilots, that lack of rest, or good productive sleep, is a real issue of concern.

Unfortunately, there is no single scenario to duck in an effort to avoid fatigue. My experience with an unexpected and unwelcome late night can cause fatigue, but so can an excessively aggressive workout, or physical labor that leaves us feeling weakened and sluggish, or a challenging intellectual exercise requiring extended focused attention that drains us of energy.

Each of these is an example of a scenario that might leave us tired, weary, lacking mental clarity, and distracted —and those are not desirable attributes to carry into the cockpit.

We’re not Superman or Superwoman, we’re just regular old humans who have lives to lead, problems to solve, and people who depend on us to reliably do what we do, both personally and professionally.

So what’s the fix? How can we avoid fatigue?

Well, there’s no guarantee because life comes at us fast, and often without the consideration from others we might wish for. But there are precautions we can take that can help stave off the deleterious effects of fatigue.

The FAA’s “Fatigue in Aviation” brochure provides some good advice in a concise document:

Avoid alcohol and caffeine within three to four hours of bedtime. Both can inhibit good sleep. As can eating a big meal just before heading to bed.

And although exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, exercise within a couple hours of bedtime, especially strenuous exercise, can be counter-productive to good sleep.

To the extent possible, establish an environment that is conducive to getting good sleep. A comfortable, quiet, dark space is a great starting point. When traveling, choose a hotel that can provide those attributes. Saving a few bucks on a less expensive hotel may seem attractive from a financial perspective, but if you can clearly hear your neighbor’s conversations through the wall, the savings may come at an uncomfortable cost in terms of lost sleep.

Establish a pattern, to the best of your ability. Try to go to sleep at roughly the same time each night. By setting a routine that may include a quiet activity like reading just before bedtime, you can train yourself to get into sleep mode and benefit from the improved rest that results.

None of us can entirely avoid the distractions, stressors, annoyances, and discourteous people who will occasionally interrupt our lives and prevent us from getting the rest we need. But any of us can improve on our habits in at least some way, to get better sleep and more productive rest on a regular basis.

And for those instances when the neighbors howl at the moon late into the night, keeping us awake and frustrated by our inability to rectify the situation, be prepared to reschedule a flight to a time when we’re better rested and more on top of our game. A mid-morning nap followed by an afternoon departure might be just the ticket.