A major problem with people who work night shift, rotating shift, or early morning shift is getting adequate sleep. Humans are hard-wired to be asleep when it’s dark out and awake when it’s light out. This circadian cycle has been with us since the beginning of time.
Getting adequate sleep is very important for our physical and mental health and to carry out our job duties. Shift workers work in very critical industries where the slightest mistake can have serious consequences, ergo, adequate rest and recovery are critical for shift workers.
It’s Not Just Your Beauty Sleep
Sleep is very important for your overall health and well-being. During sleep, our bodies convert food into fuel to power the processes of repair and restoration in our bodies. Signaling proteins are produced to regulate inflammation and immune response. Old, damaged cells and cellular components get broken down and their building blocks get recycled in a process called autophagy. Growth hormones are released to build muscle mass and repair cells. When your sleep cycle is disrupted, these critical processes get disrupted.
Adequate sleep is important for optimal cognitive function. Optimal cognitive function is essential for peak concentration, productivity, and problem-solving. Sleep is also essential for memory consolidation. During sleep, the brain processes and stores information gathered throughout the day, enhancing memory retention and learning. If you ever feel like you are forgetful or just scatter-brained, this is why. Adequate sleep also helps us regulate our emotions and manage stress. Everyone gets cranky when they’re tired.
Adequate sleep helps to maintain a healthy weight by regulating hunger hormones. People who get enough sleep have optimal levels of the satiety hormone leptin and the hunger hormone ghrelin. If you’re a shift worker, it’s common for the satiety and hunger hormone balance to be off. If you feel like you eat too much of the wrong foods or just eat too much, this is the reason why. Barring bad eating habits or other underlying health issues, people who get enough sleep should have a healthy body weight.
Shift Worker Sleep Disorder: Yes, It’s Real!
Yay! We have a disorder named after us! Aren’t we special? Let’s be real, when “shift work” appears in the name of a disorder, you know the disorder is real and it is serious among shift workers. Shift Work Sleep Disorder (SWSD) results from the disruption of the body’s natural circadian cycle.
It overwhelmingly affects people who work the night shift, early morning day shift, and rotating shift because work interferes with our natural sleep cycles. Oftentimes, when we are supposed to be asleep, we are at work and vice versa. When our internal clock is disrupted, it leads to sleep disorders.
Symptoms of Shift Work Sleep Disorder
The symptoms of SWSD vary in severity, but they include:
- Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. The body’s internal clock is primarily influenced by external light and darkness. Humans are hard-wired to be awake when it’s light out and asleep when it’s dark out.
- Fatigue during waking hours. Inadequate sleep and sleep cycles being disrupted lead to drowsiness when we are supposed to be awake.
- Poor quality sleep. This is another instance where the body’s internal clock influences sleep cycles. Night shift workers who sleep during the day often struggle to get quality sleep because the body knows it is light out and, therefore, should be awake. Other external factors such as background noise can compound the problem.
- It’s commonly said that shift workers, especially the night shift, run on caffeine and rage. If you’re a cranky misanthrope, the night shift may be the perfect cover for you. All jokes aside, sleep helps to regulate emotional stability. It enables better stress management and mental resilience. If you’re getting irritable and short-tempered, it means you need sleep.
- Difficulty concentrating, reduced performance, and making mistakes more frequently. This is a huge red flag because this is where inadequate sleep or poor-quality sleep can be very dangerous. You wouldn’t go to work drunk, would you? You wouldn’t because that’s dangerous and a huge liability for your employer, yet you work exhausted. Like alcohol, sleep deprivation impairs judgment, reaction time, decision-making, and increases the risk of a major accident.
Sleeping for Shift Work: Making the Best of a Less Than Ideal Schedule
It’s no joke that the night shift, rotating shift, and early morning shift wreaks havoc on your sleep cycle. The fact that there is a sleep disorder named after us speaks volumes. We can’t control the disrupted sleep cycles our job entails but some hacks can help mitigate the effects of “shift worker sleep”. I don’t know about you but I like to focus on the things I can control.
- Try to maintain a consistent sleep schedule. If you can, try to stick to the same sleep schedule on your days off. Consistency helps regulate your body’s internal clock. If you have a family, this might not be possible if you only work the night shift. If you work a rotating shift, your sleep schedule changes by the week. I work rotating shifts, so I have the same home routine each day of the work week.
- Have a pre-bedtime ritual. What relaxes you? What makes you want to curl up and go to sleep? Some people meditate and do deep breathing exercises, others have a cup of warm milk or herbal tea. Warm showers can be very relaxing as a ritual to wash work off of you. My pre-bedtime rituals for the day and night shift involve brushing my teeth, my skincare ritual, and brushing and winding my hair into a bun.
- Make your environment conducive to sleep. Think about what makes you sleep like a baby.
- Avoid the light like a vampire.
- Limit food and drink.
- Don’t exercise before bed.
- Limit caffeine intake hours before you plan on going to bed.
- Take short naps if you can.
- Manage stress.
- Make sure people know your work and sleep schedule so they know not to bother you during the hours you sleep.
- Make sleep a high priority.
- Consider sleep aids.
Night shift is like jet lag except you’re not on vacation and you’re stuck in the same time zone