Brighter Days, Darker Nights

Brighter Days, Darker Nights

Worse-than-drunk 🤯

🪶 The Navy uses natural rhythms to prevent "worse-than-drunk" performances (and you can, too).

Nikko Kennedy's avatar
Nikko Kennedy
Sep 23, 2021
∙ Paid

Hi,

I came across a Navy handbook that used the words "worse-than-drunk" to describe the performance of sailors in a state of circadian disruption. Thankfully, there are field-tested schedules to prevent this. Here are the rules:

  • nightshift is between 3-6 hours, never more!

  • eat at least one hot meal every day, with plenty of time to enjoy it (1.5-2.0 hours)

  • don’t require anyone to show up early (afternoon is the sweet compromise between night owls and morning larks)

Read the handbook here: CREW ENDURANCE HANDBOOK: A Guide to Applying Circadian-Based Watchbills (2017).

That's all for today, but you can always review the archive at nikkofujita.substack.com. I will share more about natural schedules and circadian rhythmicity in my upcoming emails📩.

As always, I’d love to hear your questions and experiences about this topic of circadian scheduling!

Best,

Nikko

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