So you want to catch the U.S.-Mexico soccer showdown – which starts at
1:30 a.m. Monday – and still put in a good day's work?
Good luck. Enjoy the game, says Dr. Kristyna Hartse, a staff physician
at Sleep Consultants, Inc. in Fort Worth, but know that the
early-morning fun has a price.
"You're going to be sleep-deprived," she said. "There's no way to get
around being a little miserable."
Ben Williams, co-owner of Ben's Half Yard House, which has been hosting
World Cup watching parties at ungodly hours since the tournament began
two weeks ago, confirms the prognosis.
"My whole body is sore," says Williams. "You hunt and peck, sleep a few
hours here and there when you can. It's a crazy month, but we love it."
South Korea and Japan, the World Cup hosts, are 14 hours ahead of Texas
time. So their prime-time games are broadcast here very late at night,
very early in the morning, or a combination of the two.
"Luckily we don't open for lunch," Williams says. "So after the games we
do breakfast and go home, then come back in the afternoon and go back at
it again."
At least he's had the chance to adjust. If you're just hopping on the
soccer bandwagon now, Dr. Hartse says, it's too late.
"It takes two weeks to reverse your sleep-wake schedule," she says.
"There's virtually no opportunity at this point to change your sleep
cycle. So if people are going to stay up to watch the game, it's going
to be inevitable that they won't get enough sleep."
There are ways to mitigate the damage, of course, most of which involve
common sense. "But there's no magic answer," Dr. Hartse says. "There's
no pill or food that can substitute for sleep."
Dr. Patricia Chandler, an assistant professor at the University of Texas
Southwestern Medical School, says most of us can handle a sleepless
night now and then.
"If people are healthy, getting up in the middle of the night and losing
three hours sleep isn't the end of the world," she said. "They just have
to know it will make them cognitively less functional the next day."
That's a fancy term for "your reflexes, your judgment, your ability to
do arithmetic," Dr. Chandler said. "You're more likely to make errors."
So anybody with a crucial meeting, a bar exam or similarly momentous
event Monday might want to consider videotaping the game. Otherwise, the
doctors said, here are some basic strategies to fight sleep deprivation:
•
Go to bed early Sunday night to stockpile a few winks.
•
Go easy on the alcohol. "I know what a stupid thing that is to say [to soccer
fans]," Dr. Hartse said. "But alcohol really disturbs sleep."
•
If you need a decongestant, don't use an antihistamine that makes you drowsy.
•
If you're going to go back to sleep after the game, go easy on the caffeine.
If you're planning to stay up, enjoy your coffee.
During the workday, Dr. Hartse said, a power nap or two might help, but
don't think you're fixing the problem.
"Some people can be really refreshed by a power nap," she said. "But
it's important to remember that doesn't substitute for a good night's
sleep."
So go home Monday, catch up on your sleep and consider skipping the
crucial Japan vs. Turkey match early Tuesday morning.
"No matter what you do, your sleep schedule will be a little out of
whack," Dr. Hartse said. "So it's important to get back on your schedule
as soon as you can."
Williams has a simpler solution, one that he says many of his patrons
are using.
"The best thing is don't go to work at all," he said. "I know a lot of
guys who've taken the whole two weeks off."
