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Julie A. Palm, editor in chief
After weeks of changes to my sleep habits, I’m feeling pretty good. There have even been a couple of mornings recently when I’ve woken up before my alarm clock has gone off. That, says Dr. Robert Oexman, director of Kingsdown’s Sleep to Live Institute, is one of the best indicators that someone is getting the right amount of sleep.
But now I’m preparing for a trip to Las Vegas for the summer furniture market. Forget New York: Vegas is the city that never sleeps. My BedTimes colleagues aren’t gamblers or big drinkers and because we’ve got to be at the World Market Center early each morning for packed days of appointments to see the latest sleep products, we don’t stay out till all hours. (You can say it: We’re party-poopers.)
Still, the three-hour time difference from my home on the East Coast—plus all the bright lights, loud noises, long days and late dinners—has wreaked havoc with my sleep during past trips.
So I called Oexman, who has been guiding me through his six-week cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia program, and asked him what I should do while in Vegas.
First, he says, I need to pack the eye mask and sound machine that I’ve been using at home. I also need to keep taking melatonin about 30 minutes before bedtime each night and watch my liquid intake after 7 p.m. so I’m not waking up several times during the night to go to the bathroom.
I arrive in Las Vegas in the late afternoon. Once I get settled in my hotel room, Oexman says, I need to go outside to get as much sunshine as I can until early evening. He acknowledges that won’t be much fun. The current forecast for my arrival day is for a high temperature of 105 degrees.
Apparently, there are things called zeitgebers, which are external cues that help the body maintain its internal clock in relation to the earth’s 24-hour day/night cycle. Sunlight is the strongest zeitgeber and will help reset my body’s clock to West Coast time.
I’m meeting with Oexman during the Vegas market. He promises then to tell me how to navigate the return trip and the red-eye flight I’m taking home.
