My Screwed Up Sleeping Schedule

I just can’t seem to have a normal sleep schedule here in Germany.  There are many factors as to why.

The first and most obvious factor is there is a seven hour time difference between the Central Time zone and Germany’s.  With that being said I am indeed experiencing some jet lag caused by the time change.

The second is a more of a problem caused by preexisting sleep habits that I had before coming to Germany.  For my employment I would work nearly sixty hours per week and would wake up at 3:30 am or 4:30 am during most days of the week and then go to bed exhausted from my physically laborious job (CNA) around 9:00 pm.  My body had gotten used to functioning on little sleep and with laborious work during the day but now after leaving my job my body seems way to energetic.  I will wake up at 5:30 am but would have to stay up till 12:00-1:00 am in order to fall asleep.  Even long walks don’t seem to tire my body out enough to allow me to fall asleep at a reasonable hour. 

Picture taken around 10:30 pm in Hamburg

The third factor is an environmental factor.  Since Germany is located at a higher latitude than Texas is and it being the month of June, the sun rises at about 4:00 am and sets around 11:00 pm.  This combined with me being an early riser has only forced me to continue waking up early and with the sun setting so late I have been forced to stay up very late.   

With the combination of these factors I have acquired some rather strange sleep habits.  Like I mentioned I tend to stay up late now (passed 1:30 am on a regular basis) and wake up early (4:30 -5:00) but then I end up taking some sort of short nap later in the morning or after lunch.  This has been in general, my sleep habits since arriving in Germany.