With the longest day of the year passing on Monday, you may notice later daylight hours are making it harder to sleep. Medical Director of the Northern Alberta Sleep Clinic Doctor Atul Khullar says the light can have an effect on sleep habits in the summer. The first step to getting a better sleep is black-out blinds.
“The second thing you can do, you can wear sunglasses that reflect out the UV light. [Wear] the wrap around ones when you are out in the evening. These will reduce the light’s effect on keeping you awake”
He adds that even south of Grande Prairie, the daylight can still be bothersome on people’s ability to catch some sleep and most people who have a harder time getting to bed in the summer have underlying sleep issues.
“I think taking a good examination of one’s sleep habits [is good]. Throughout the year you may be able to get away with bad sleep habits but with the light, the extra trigger and stress on your sleep you may realize you aren’t sleeping well. It is a good opportunity to review the computer in the bedroom and the T.V. in the bedroom.”
The sun will completely set at 10:40 pm this evening in the Swan City as opposed to somewhere south in the province like Calgary which will see the sun set almost half an hour earlier at around 9:55 pm.
Monday’s Summer Solstice in the Peace Region had 17 hours 24 minutes and 52 seconds of sunlight.