Optimize Bartending Energy – Sleeping Tricks
My nightclub in Vancouver closes at 2am, which is early by industry standards. By the time we clean up, roll coin, submit cash, tip out etc, it’s generally about 3am. On Saturdays I will stay and have a couple of beers with the rest of the staff. Other nights we’ll all go to subway or some other late night food place, which will take us until roughly 4am. Then I commute home for about 45 minutes. All told I’m really never in bed before 4:30 am, and even then in my energy induced restless state, it can take another hour to actually fall asleep.
Human beings are biologically geared to be in bed sleeping before 11pm, and to wake up sometime around sunrise. Bartenders are just getting to sleep around sunrise, and sleeping in through a sunny morning (or trying to at least). I find that sleeping any longer than six hours in this less than optimal state is counter-productive. Regardless, to get the most out of this rest you must do a few things:
1. Have blinds/curtains that make your room completely dark.
2. Have complete silence (no music t.v. etc).
3. Have a relatively cool temperature in your room.
4. Ear plugs and a strap on eye cover work if you don’t have access to such a room.
After about six hours of sleep (for me about 10:30 – 11am) make sure you’re out of bed and beginning your productive day.
Nap time. About 4 hours before my shift starts, I will take a 45 minute nap. Some people will recommend no more than a 15 minute power nap, but I find I simply need more time for rejuvenation. This will give you the endurance you need to power you through a long shift after minimal quality sleep the night before.
After my last night of work, I follow the same procedure, waking up at about 10:30 – 11am. I skip the early evening nap, so that I can be in bed early by 9 or 10pm. Doing this allows me to switch back to a regular 9-5 schedule.
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