"You work night shift? Oh my gosh, how the heck do you stay up all night? How much coffee do you have to drink? Do you have trouble sleeping during the day?"
It's kind of surprising how often I get these questions. I get to work at 6:30 PM (1830 for us hospital people), and leave around 7:15 AM, if I'm lucky. I don't drink coffee to stay awake, because I've discovered that eating food and drinking lots of water is more effective for me. If I drink coffee, I end up pretty wired for a few hours, and then have a horrible crash at 3:00 AM. So, I try to stay away from caffeine if at all possible. And surprisingly, I don't have any trouble sleeping during the day. I live about 15-20 minutes away from the hospital I work at, and try to eat a little bit of breakfast before I shower and go to sleep. I normally get in bed before 8:45, set my alarm for 5:00 PM, and sleep the day away. It's a different schedule than most people are used to, which is why working night shift is kind of like the New England Patriots. You either hate it or you love it.
What they don't tell you about working night shift is that you HAVE to pre sleep. If you don't, and you've been awake since 8:00 AM...working until 7:00 AM is going to be miserable. Staying awake for 24 hours straight is not healthy and your body starts to shut down around 3 AM because it's just exhausted. I never thought I would classify myself as a night owl, but I knew I definitely wouldn’t classify myself as a morning person. Early mornings are just not for me. And the thing is, when I had to choose between waking up at 5:00 in the morning to be at work at 6:30 AM and waking up at 5:00 in the afternoon to be at work at 6:30 PM…I easily picked the latter. That’s how much I hate getting up early. And I know that I am the type of person that hits the snooze button way too many times if I have to get up early in the morning, so night shift it is!
There is no official guide called "how to survive working night shift," probably because everyone handles it differently. But here are a few of my biggest tips.
1. Do what you can to get your body used to thinking daytime is actually nighttime
Melatonin is your best friend. This wonderful hormone is naturally produced by the body and helps regulate sleep/wake cycles and circadian rhythms. The amounts released vary in response to changes in light. At night, when it's dark, the body produces more melatonin to help make sure you sleep restfully. When it's light out, the body's production of melatonin drops. This really helpful when you sleep at night and are awake all day. However, when you're a night shift worker who sleeps during the day, you have to supplement, since your body won't produce it during the day.
You can buy melatonin supplements at Walmart, Target, Kroger, any drug store honestly, in different concentrations, to help regulate your sleep/wake cycle. In addition to taking melatonin to trick your body into sleeping during the day, wearing sunglasses in the morning can help too. Sunglasses are great for blocking out light and preventing your body from thinking you need to be awake all day.
My typical routine when I need to sleep during the day starts when I'm leaving work. As soon as I get in my car, I put on my sunglasses, and drive home wearing them. I eat a little bit of breakfast, take melatonin, then take a nice warm shower to relax (and let the melatonin kick in), and then go to sleep. I bought some decent black out curtains so that I'm keeping as much light out of my room as possible, and I usually end up wearing an eye mask and ear plugs as well. Most of the time I end up diffusing some lavender essential oil as I'm sleeping. It smells good AND it is relaxing.
2. Forget about "normal" meal times...because nothing is normal when you work night shift
Don’t fret about meal times, seriously. Eat when you’re hungry…but try to eat mostly healthy food. Bringing a lot of snacks and garbage food to work is just too tempting. Pack your own lunch…add in some raw fruits and veggies..and dark chocolate.
I usually end up eating when I get home in the morning, and then eat when I get up in the afternoon before work. If I'm able to take a 30 minute break to eat during my shift, it's normally between 2:00 and 3:30 AM. But if not, I'll just snack on what I brought throughout my shift as I'm catching up on charting. In a 24 hour period I try to eat three full meals, plus snack when I'm hungry. I'll bring veggies and fruit to snack on, and sometimes some pretzels or tortilla chips. My meal plan is simple. If I'm hungry, I eat. It keeps me awake, which in turn keeps my patients safe.
3. Maintain a good fluid balance
Coffee. You either love it or you hate it. I love the taste (especially black coffee), but hate what it does to me. I get super hyper, and then have a major crash around 3 AM if I drink it at work. So, I turn to the next best things. Food and water. Staying well hydrated is a must..for anyone..whether you work nights or not. And if you're drinking coffee, make sure you're drinking water as well. Coffee will majorly dehydrate you if that's all you're drinking. If you don't like normal water, try some sparkling water. Even drinking La Croix is better than drinking coffee all the time. It's so tempting to just drink a ton of Pepsi or Coke (or whatever is available) in order to stay awake, but eventually you're going to need some water. I try to drink at least 2 liters of water a day, but sometimes my body needs at least 3. Listen to what your body is telling you. If you're thirsty, drink some water. If you're hungry, eat some food. Your body will thank you!
Working night shift is anything but normal to most people, but you can survive and thrive while working odd hours. It takes some patience, and trial-and-error, to figure out what works for you, but it's worth it. Some people work nights for decades and never want to leave, whereas some work nights for six months and are done with it. Just remember that you are your own person, and what works for one person may not work for you. That's okay! Just give yourself some grace, and when you figure out what works, stick with it.
