经过安妮·加里亚诺（Anne Gagliano）
大多数希望保持结婚的已婚夫妇必须做一件事：白天相处。但是对于消防员夫妇来说，我们的任务是两倍的困难，就像我们两天都必须相处andnight. My firefighter works a 24-hour shift, and it is a blessing for many reasons: lots of time off, less time commuting, and consolidated bonding time with the crew. But the price we pay for these perks is some pretty quirky sleep issues that both he and I have to live with. It’s the best job on earth, and he’s worth the extra effort, no question. But to survive his peculiar nocturnal habits, I’ve had to adapt. Hopefully the following tips will help other spouses out there who are struggling a bit to actually睡觉with their firefighter.
Firefighters are just as tough to get to sleep as the average two-year-old, so be patient.Why are small children so difficult when it comes time to sleep? Two words—they’rewiredand they’re疲劳的。They’re wired because their little minds are in hyperarousal as they learn and absorb at lightning speed, and they’re tired because their little bodies are still growing. It takes a very strong parent to help them relax without losing patience. How is a firefighter like a two-year-old? Firefighters, too, are in perpetual hyperarousal because of the fight-or-flight response.
众所周知，暴露于危险的情况下，触发了一种压力反应，这会导致神经系统陷入高度警觉状态，每次车站钟声（白天或晚上）都会触发。对于消防员而言，无论他们是否意识到，这会导致慢性病。高阳性导致过度维护，这是人体检测威胁的方式。感官是加剧要进行快速响应，使消防员对光线和声音敏感。在危险情况下生存是必不可少的，但价格很高。这是非常疲惫的。因此，消防员同时既有线又疲倦。大脑和身体对消防员的抚摸，阻碍了睡眠。
作为一名消防员,配偶,我必须记住这个when I find myself becoming irritated with my grouchy husband who obviously needs to go to sleep but can’t. With the patience of Job, I offer hot milk and encourage warm baths as I try to get him to relax. Eventually he does sleep and is restored to the sweet man I married. So hang in there, firefighter spouse, and remember this—just as with a two-year-old, so does your hyperaroused firefighter sometimes need a little patience and understanding when he has difficulty sleeping.
您可能必须放弃那些瘦弱的窗帘和那些有用的夜灯。同样，由于消防员的维护过度（站点越忙，感官越高），因此它们对光线敏感。光意味着消防员的行动；因此，卧室中的任何灯都会使它们保持警惕。每个人都用光醒来（这是大自然的闹钟），但有消防员，尤其是这样。因此，如果消防员根本要睡觉，我们必须愚弄大自然的母亲，并使我们的卧室变得非常黑暗，并用浅色的窗帘使窗帘变得非常黑。夜灯虽然对普通人有帮助，但在消防员家中并不是一个好主意。要冒险在黑暗中固定脚趾比醒来一旦他睡着了。如果您不小心打开灯，他可能最终会跑到您的帮助下！
您可能会在夜晚听到奇怪的声音。由于车站的夜间干扰，大多数消防员在身体达到一种瘫痪时的最深恢复性睡眠阶段的艰难时期。一名睡眠研究医生告诉我丈夫，当他的测试表明他只到达这个阶段一分钟。在较轻的阶段居住的人倾向于在睡眠中走路和聊天。我的消防员谈论很多。他吠叫命令，辩称，并作出贬义的言论。我不再对此感到震惊，因为他没有将他们引向我。他还笑了 - 在消防员中杀人很常见，大多数时候都很迷人，但是在夜晚的静止状态中，这真是令人毛骨悚然。因此，请注意轮班工作的这种副作用，不要害怕：您的消防员不会疯狂；他只是不像大多数人那样深深的睡眠！
Your firefighter may start snoring when you’re telling him about your day.这是一件好事;不要生气。研究shows that one of the most helpful tips for inducing sleep is to recite the mundane, as it distracts a worried mind. Nothing puts one to sleep more quickly than a monotone, uninspiring classroom lecture, so view it as such. I deliberately try to be as boring as possible; the more I ramble on about unnecessary details, the quicker my firefighter falls asleep. For this, I’ll talk all night—his sleep is even more precious to me than it is to him.
您可能会在床头柜上发现不连贯的涂鸦。This is especially true if your firefighter is the senior officer of a busy, double house. Be not afraid; these are not signs of delusional schizophrenia but of one laden with heavy responsibility. Research shows that the number-one cause of insomnia in this country foranyprofession is worry over “to do” lists. As people try to sleep, they mistakenly go over all that must be done the following day. This is the last thing any of us should do, as it automatically triggers a stress response that physiologically impedes sleep. The greater the importance, the bigger the stress response, and no work is more essential than a firefighter’s. Lives are at stake; details must not be forgotten. We keep a pad of paper by the bed explicitly for this purpose because sometimes things come to my firefighter just as he’s beginning to fall asleep. It is less disruptive to stay in bed and jot it down than to get up to do so. Once the idea is safely noted, he can let it go and drift off to sleep.
Sleeping with a firefighter is challenging business—one that is not for the faint of heart. But hang in there, firefighter spouses, for I have been told that firefighters做最终像普通人一样睡觉 - 大约三个月后他们退休。
安妮·加里亚诺（Anne Gagliano）has been married to Captain Mike Gagliano of the Seattle (WA) Fire Department for 29 years. She and her husband lecture together on building and maintaining a strong marriage.
