Is disrupted sleep bad for you?

[catkingirl]

My fella is newly a policeman and works shifts so we are always getting up and going to bed together at different times. When I get up to go to work , he will wake up briefly to say goodbye and stuff before nodding off again - is his quality of sleep therefore diminished? It may seem like a silly question but I want to make sure he is getting enough rest...

[andy hughes]

Becuase your fella is new to the shift system, it will take his body a few weeks to settle into it. You will find he may say goodbye, and not even have been awake enough to remember it - the body is resiliant to such disturbances, and he will get used to his new routine quickly enough, so nothing to worry about. Obviously you can help by being as quiet as possible as you get up and get ready - eventually he will become used to these sounds, and won't wake up properly, so no real sleep disturbance should occur. If he has had a stressful shift, and his sleep is eratic, maybe you could make contigency plans to sleep seperately for that night, but see how it goes. You will find your routines will adapt around your new circumstances.

[couchy]

I started working nights in May, it took me around a month to get sorted properly, best advice I was given was not to change my eating habits (still eat cornflakes in the morning) and make sure I have at least one bar of chocolate between 12 and 2am to keep your blood sugar level up.