Are you someone who works at night as a bartender, a night shift concierge or even as a nurse during the graveyard hours at the hospital? Whilst your job responsibilities do not differ from a day shift worker, working night shifts can indeed prove to be a challenge to the mind and body. Shift work is no walk in the park as it involves working and staying up against your body’s natural circadian rhythm. You are required to be active and alert at night when your body is designed to sleep — and you have to go to bed in the daytime when you’re naturally wired to be awake. Whilst there is no absolute solution to this way of life, there are many steps you can take to prepare yourself for the shift worker lifestyle.
Here are 7 of our best practical tips that will keep you happy and healthy during those late nights!
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1. Ensure You Get The Highest Quality Of Sleep
One thing that is extremely important as a night shift worker is to ensure that when you do indeed get to bed in the day time, your quality of sleep is in no way compromised. The are many ways you can go about making sure you get the best sleep possible. Make sure your room is dark by pulling the blinds down, as your body will find difficulty resting if the room is too bright. Another crucial key point is to make sure you buy a mattress – and not just any mattress. Investing in a quality memory foam mattress will do wonders for the quality of sleep you are getting, resulting in a fresher, more alert you when the time to go to work arrives.
2. Make Healthier Meal And Snack Choices
The meals and snacks you consume before a shift can have a significant effect on your alertness, stamina and energy during your shift at work. It is important to choose the right foods that provide your with a good source of energy but do not cause sleepiness or a ‘crash-and-burn’ effect later on in the shift. This means staying away from processed foods such as sugary drinks, cakes and refined carbohydrates (white bread, white sugar, white rice). Instead, choose to fuel up on healthy whole grains, nuts, fruit and vegetables.
3. Be Careful With The Caffeine
Whilst guzzling down cup after cup of coffee may seem a great solution to keeping wide awake and alert during your shift, you want to definitely not overdo the caffeine, as you may suffer from that dreaded crash halfway through your shift. Too much caffeine in your system can also cause you to be fidgety, antsy, anxious and on edge. Find out how you can avoid the big C crash here.
4. Find Constructive Ways To Keep Busy
One thing about night shifts is that they can often be less busy and more low key than a day shift, making the night seem longer than it actually is. You should always find a constructive way to keep yourself occupied when things are a little slow and quiet. Bringing a book or a crossword puzzle along with you are great ways of keeping occupied but also not too distracted at the same time.
5. Get Active To Stay Alert
Most people who work the night shift tend to experience the most fatigue and tiredness around 4-5 am in the morning. In order to combat this mid-shift snooze, take a small break every hour or two to do a few exercises that will keep both your mind and body awake. Staying active during breaks is an effective way to reboot energy levels, and may include taking a walk across the street, climbing up a few flights of stairs or just running on the spot.
6. Create A Healthy Balance
Night shift workers can often feel isolated from friends and family due to having the completely opposite schedules as the people around them. To combat this feeling of isolation, always make sure that your loved ones understand that you are on a different schedule. Getting loved ones ‘on the same page’ also plays an huge part in both surviving the night shift and establishing a sleep schedule that allows you to juggle both daytime and nighttime commitments. For example, it’s important to explain to children why it is important that Mummy or Daddy has to sleep in the daytime, or why they cannot tuck them into bed at night.
7. Ensure You Get Home Safely
Part of surviving the night shift isn’t just getting through the night at work – it is making sure that you arrive home safely as well. Nearly 20% of all serious car accidents are caused by sleep deprivation. When possible, carpool with others or choose public transportation instead of driving.
With these practical tips to surviving the shift worker lifestyle, we are sure that you will be able to find the balance that you need in your life whilst still doing the best job you possible can during your shifts at night.