lack of time to sleep due to lifestyle and effect on whole 30

[joybedford]

Hi I am on day 5 of my second whole 30. Last time I managed to stay on it for 43 days and loved it. My fibromyalgia symptoms disappeared, my long term bowel problems disappeared. Since then old habits have reappeared so I am back for another go at it.

My problem is I cannot get enough sleep. Given the chance I could easily sleep 8 hours, I like sleep but due to my lifestyle this is not possible. I work night shifts 3 days a week and can only sleep when my children are at school, so usually 4-5 hours if I am lucky. I start nights tonight, I woke at 6.30 and will go back to bed at 9.30 tomorrow morning after the school run. On top of this my children have autism and sleep problems, so I cannot sleep until they are asleep which is often after midnight I then need to wake at 6.30. Will this negatively effect my whole 30 experience.

[GFChris]

You will likely not get the best results possible.  Your energy will not be the best it can be.  If you're seeking to lose weight, not getting at least 7-8 hours sleep nightly could plateau that effort. 

These considerations don't mean you won't necessarily get any positive benefits. I'm simply saying you might not get all the benefits possible.

[GlennR]

Here's a thread on night shift hours that might help. Also, as someone in the aforementioned thread suggested, do check out this article from Nom Nom Paleo (and search through her blog); it has a lot of useful tips to make the best of night shift hours.