> The full cycle was 18 hours, which meant the timing of our circadian cycles were constantly changing.
Living on an 18-hour day is rough, but I always felt that the worst part was changing back and forth between a 24-hour day and the 18-hour day. There are a couple of strong feedbacks to help you with the 18-hour cycle.
> The bunk rooms are sanctuaries where silence is observed with monastic intensity.
Not merely silence, but also lighting. The bunk rooms are always lit with dim red lights, and the working spaces are lit to nearly full daylight. On the older boats you would also operate the control room at periscope depth with dim lighting, but newer ships with electronic masts probably don't.
Diet-wise, the ship serves four meals a day, every 6 hours. Midnight rations or midrats is the fourth meal. So in a good rhythm you can eat when you wake up, go on your 6 hour watch, eat once more, work/train for 6 hours and sleep/personal for 6 hours. Eating your prior meal about 12 hours before you wake up also helps keep a decent body clock.
Living on an 18-hour day is rough, but I always felt that the worst part was changing back and forth between a 24-hour day and the 18-hour day. There are a couple of strong feedbacks to help you with the 18-hour cycle.
> The bunk rooms are sanctuaries where silence is observed with monastic intensity.
Not merely silence, but also lighting. The bunk rooms are always lit with dim red lights, and the working spaces are lit to nearly full daylight. On the older boats you would also operate the control room at periscope depth with dim lighting, but newer ships with electronic masts probably don't.
Diet-wise, the ship serves four meals a day, every 6 hours. Midnight rations or midrats is the fourth meal. So in a good rhythm you can eat when you wake up, go on your 6 hour watch, eat once more, work/train for 6 hours and sleep/personal for 6 hours. Eating your prior meal about 12 hours before you wake up also helps keep a decent body clock.