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:

1. 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.
2. Fatigue during waking hours. Inadequate sleep and sleep cycles being disrupted lead to drowsiness when we are supposed to be awake.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Make your environment conducive to sleep. Think about what makes you sleep like a baby.
4. Avoid the light like a vampire.
5. Limit food and drink.
6. Don’t exercise before bed.
7. Limit caffeine intake hours before you plan on going to bed.
8. Take short naps if you can.
9. Manage stress.
10. Make sure people know your work and sleep schedule so they know not to bother you during the hours you sleep.
11. Make sleep a high priority.
12. Consider sleep aids.

Night shift is like jet lag except you’re not on vacation and you’re stuck in the same time zone

In a previous post, I have discussed the nature of shift work.  A make-or-break factor in surviving, and even thriving while working an unconventional schedule lies in what you do when you’re off duty.  I feel it is important to go into my day-to-day life to help you create a better work/life balance.

My Night Shift Week

In a previous post, I mentioned that I work the DuPont schedule.  My first week of work consists of four 12-hour night shifts from Monday through Thursday.  The day before I start, I get household chores out of the way, so I don’t have to worry about them throughout the work week.  I get housekeeping, laundry, and meal prepping done, the weekend before the night shift.

My sleep cycle will be flipped for a week so I stay awake as late as possible, so I can sleep in as late as possible.  The day I go in for my first night shift for the week, I don’t do any chores.  I’m going to be up all night working so this is my time to relax or do something I like.  Fitness is very important to me. I work out nearly every day, and I highly recommend that you make it a priority too.  Exercise does a lot for your physical and mental health as well as your energy levels when you work an unconventional schedule.  Find a fitness pursuit you like and stick to it.  Mix up your workouts so you don’t get bored and challenge your body.  I get cranky and short-tempered if I miss a workout.

The Night Shift Cycle

A critical factor in thriving while working an unconventional schedule is consistency.  When I get home from a 12-hour night shift, I put my food containers in the dirty tub near the sink, feed the dog, wash up and go to bed.  Before going to bed, I shut off all electronic devices.  Nothing is more annoying than getting an unwanted call, text or alert when you are trying to sleep off a long night shift.

Yes, Self Care Matters!

Upon waking, I wash up, make coffee, and relax.  Relaxing outside in fresh air and natural light can be very invigorating.  After coffee, I work out for 30 -90 minutes.  My workouts make a huge difference in my energy levels and overall attitude, so they are a critical part of my home routine.  After working out, I eat a light meal or blend a protein drink.  I might do a few light chores such as watering plants and loading the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, but I limit household chores to 30 minutes.  This isn’t super critical, but a few minutes of chores done every day spares me from having to catch up on them on my first day off.  You do what works for you.

Go Time!

An hour before I go to work, I start getting ready. I feed my dog, get cleaned up, and pack my meals for the night.  Remember the meal prepping I talked about earlier?  This is where it comes in handy.  I pull a pre-prepped lunch and a dinner out of the fridge and put them in my lunch bag and I add a few snacks for good measure.  I like to pack a caffeinated drink such as a freshly brewed coffee or a can of yerba mate.  At 11:00 pm, an extra dose of caffeine helps me to complete my shift.  I repeat this cycle throughout the week until my day off.

The Awaited Weekend

After working four 12-hour night shifts, I take a break on Friday, my first day off.  I wake up at midday, wash up, and make coffee.  I take a break from working out because I just worked four 12-hour night shifts and I feel I earned a day to relax.  What is important here is to decompress and do something you love, treat yourself.  You earned it. Treating yourself does so much for your mental health.  I’m a foodie, so I make a simple dinner for my family and I enjoy the evening.  Over the weekend, I get caught up on sleep, work out, and get household chores, including meal preps done for the following week.  I go to bed early Sunday night because I need to be at work early Monday morning.

Hell Week

The week of six 12-hour shifts is known as Hell Week.  It consists of three 12-hour day shifts, a big fat 48-hour break, and three 12-hour night shifts.  I like to look at it as two blocks of three shifts.  For the first block, I go to bed early because I wake up very early.  Upon awakening, I get dressed, wash up, feed my dog, and pack my lunch with the meals I pre-prepped over the weekend and go.  When I come home, I put my dirty food containers in the dirty tub, change my clothes, and work out for 30-40 minutes.  After working out, I have dinner, then I feed my dog and get his breakfast ready.  I assemble my breakfast and lunch, if it isn’t already prepped, wash up and relax.  I keep this routine for every day shift I work.

The 48-hour break is a time to get caught up on lost sleep, relax, and prep the body for three-night shifts coming up.  I do light chores and I prep meals for the next few days.  This 48-hour break is a good time to work out and book any appointments. I want to emphasize that the top priority in this short break time is to get caught up on sleep and decompress.  Unless they are very critical, appointments can wait for a better day.

For my three-night shifts, I practice the same night shift cycle I follow for my four-night shifts.

The Awaited Weekend 2.0

I spend my time on my three-day break after Hell Week the same way I spend my weekend after my four-night shifts.  Getting caught up on sleep is the priority.  Flipping sleep cycles is very taxing on the body so it’s important to let the body rest, recover, and decompress.  I take a break from working out on my first day off but resume on my other days off.  I book appointments and do chores that need to be done on those three days off.  Lastly, I meal prep for the final four days of the rotation.

The Payoff

I bet you didn’t know that seven-day weekends exist.  They do when you work the DuPont schedule.  After my final four-day shifts, I get seven days off where I don’t even have to think about work.  Extended breaks such as this are a great time to take off for a mini-vacation or just stay home and sleep in.  It’s important to relax, reset, and get caught up on sleep.  This is a good time to book appointments or get caught up on chores.

Many of us have family duties that require our attention, just understand that this is your time off.  Don’t overextend yourself.  Don’t feel like you have to clean your house from top to bottom and don’t let people lasso you into doing things for them.  Being off doesn’t obligate you to be available for everyone else.  “No” is a complete sentence, you are not obligated to work for free.  Being stretched in many different directions on your time off will stress you out, and you will be mentally exhausted when you return to work.  A stressed-out and mentally exhausted shift worker can be a major workplace liability, so don’t do it.  You work an unconventional schedule, and you have earned the right to enjoy yourself while you relax and reset on your days off.

 

Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.-Winston Churchill