Losing sleep over post-season Cubs?
There’s no way around it. Cubs fans may be exhausted this week.
After winning the deciding game in the National League Division Series last Thursday, they moved on to play the Los Angeles Dodgers for the National League pennant. Some of the games are starting pretty late and may be ending well after the usual bedtime hours for many fans, especially the young ones.
If you’re one of those fans, what can you do to keep from nodding off at work or at school? Unfortunately, not much.
“There’s really no substitute for sleep,” says Fred Glave, a clinical sleep educator and registered polysomnologist at Advocate Health Care’s Sleep Disorders Center at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington, Ill. “If you get six or seven hours of sleep, you should be okay. If you only get four or five, then there are going to be repercussions.”
What type of unintended consequences might you experience? Difficulty concentrating and impaired problem-solving skills are the most likely. You also might have a headache, especially if your game watching including alcohol.
For late-night ball games, Glave suggests parents consider recording them for their youngsters and encouraging them to watch highlights in the morning before school. Folks with flexible schedules might want to consider planning ahead and asking to start late on days following games that are expected to end after 11 p.m. Taking a lunchtime nap is another option, although Glave says some people might feel worse, not better, after napping.
Glave himself is a big Cubs fan with fond memories of listening to the team on a transistor radio he’d sneak into class with him in grade school. Back in the ‘60s, all the boys did that, he says, catching as much of the afternoon games as they could from school and then running home to watch the last few innings on TV.
“That was back in the old days when the games were for kids. They were played during the day, and tickets weren’t so expensive. We’d hop on the train and pay $1.75 to sit in the bleachers,” Glave, 60, reminisces. “But now so many of the games are at night. You have to decide – watch the game or go to sleep.”
For REAL Cubbie fans, that decision’s not so tough.
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About the Author
Kathleen Troher, health enews contributor, is manager of public affairs and marketing at Advocate Good Sheperd Hospital in Barrington. She has more than 20 years of journalism experience, with her primary focus in the newspaper and magazine industry. Kathleen graduated from Columbia College in Chicago, earning her degree in journalism with an emphasis on science writing and broadcasting. She loves to travel with her husband, Ross. They share their home with a sweet Samoyed named Maggie.
There clearly is no decision here what to do (at least if you’re an adult) – GO CUBS!
It’s good to be retired, been a Cubs fan all my life, now I can stay up and watch, then sleep late to be ready for the next day and game. Go Cubbies.
It’s so funny seeing this article because the last few days including today, I’ve been thinking “Wow I have been staying up way past bedtime for the games!” Still a bit sleepy now.