Shift Work Sleep: A Survival Guide

Why shift work is hard on sleep

Your body clock is set to be alert during the day and sleepy at night. Working at night and sleeping in daylight puts you out of sync, which usually leads to shorter, lighter daytime sleep and sleepiness on shift, especially in the early morning hours. Some people develop shift work disorder: persistent insomnia or excessive sleepiness linked to their work schedule.

Protect your daytime sleep

• Make the bedroom very dark with blackout curtains or an eye mask.
• Block noise with earplugs or white noise; tell household members your sleep hours.
• Silence your phone and put a sign on the door.
• Keep the room cool.
• Go to bed as soon as practical after your shift, rather than staying up for hours.
• Some people do best with a main sleep after work plus a shorter nap before the next shift.

Use light strategically

Bright light during the first part of your night shift helps alertness and can help shift your clock. On the way home in the morning, wear dark sunglasses to reduce daylight exposure, which would otherwise signal 'daytime' to your clock and make sleeping harder. Keep your home dim before bed.

Naps

A nap of 1 to 2 hours in the afternoon or early evening before a night shift can reduce sleepiness during the shift. Where workplace policy allows, a short nap of 20 to 30 minutes during a break improves alertness. Allow time for grogginess to pass before safety-critical tasks.

Caffeine timing

Use caffeine early in your shift, not in the last several hours before you plan to sleep. Caffeine taken near the end of a night shift can reduce your daytime sleep.

Rotating shifts

If you have a say in your rota, forward-rotating schedules (day to evening to night) are generally easier for the body clock than backward rotations. On days off, try to keep some overlap with your work sleep schedule, sometimes called an anchor sleep period, rather than flipping completely.

Drowsy driving

The drive home after a night shift is a high-risk time. If you feel drowsy, do not drive. Consider a nap before leaving, carpooling, public transport or a ride. Opening the window or turning up the music does not reliably prevent falling asleep at the wheel.

When to see a doctor

Talk to a clinician if you have persistent insomnia or sleepiness that affects your safety, mood or work. A sleep specialist can assess for shift work disorder, sleep apnea and other conditions, and may suggest carefully timed light, melatonin or other treatment.