
"The less caffeine your rely on the better all-around, but it’s especially important you don’t consume any caffeine after 2 a.m.” Instead, drink water or juice. “Just like ‘day walkers,’ you have to eliminate caffeine consumption after 'lunch-time,’ says Duzan. "This will both help with temperature changes as it warms up outside and encourage deeper sleep.” 9. "Keep the temperature in your room about two to three degrees cooler than you find typically comfortable," says Duzan. There are few things cozier than curling up under a big blanket in a cold room, and this is extra important when you’re trying to sleep during the day. The blue light emitted by your electronics can mess with your circadian rhythm-which you've already turned on its head.
STAYING AWAKE ON NIGHT SHIFT TV
Put your phone far, far away, and do not try to fall asleep with the TV on. Since any time you have to sleep is a luxury, it’s important you get the most bang for your buck the minute your head hits the pillow. By artificially introducing melatonin during the day, you will shift your body’s clock to accept a flipped rhythm.” 7. "Melatonin is a chemical produced naturally in your body to trigger sleep and helps regulate your body’s clock. "Right when you get home in the morning, take a shower, and then after the shower take a melatonin tablet,” says Duzan. Just not taking to the new routine? Consider adding a natural supplement to help you adapt. You get a minimum seven hours of sleep every day, and you maintain exercise routines on non-working days at night." 6. on non-working days so you can ignore the horror that is day-time television. on non-working days just to get a chance to do errands and meet people after their day-shift for drinks. For Tyler Duzan, who spent four years as a graveyard-shifter in his technology job, this means: "You’re awake no earlier than 5 p.m. If you’re going to be a night-shift person, you need to fully commit-switching between days and nights will only make things more difficult. Exercise helps, especially if you treat it like a “morning workout” before starting your day (or night).
STAYING AWAKE ON NIGHT SHIFT FULL
"I would try and be active and have a full day so I would be tired when I would sign off at 1 a.m. And don't skimp on your bed: A good mattress and pillows will help keep you in bed, even when everyone else’s day is in full swing.

Blackout shades and a sound machine can be helpful, too. "I had to have a sleep mask and ear plugs to fall asleep,” says Pearson. The best thing you can do is shut out all of the light and noise in your bedroom. when your shift ends, but the sun streaming through your window has other plans. Let yourself sleep until your body tells you it's had enough. And most importantly, don't set an alarm when sleeping during the day (unless it's one to signal it's time to get ready for work). Give yourself enough time to adjust to your new routine by scheduling as few non-work-related activities as possible instead, focus as much of your energy as you can on changing your sleep patterns. There’s no point in sugarcoating it: No matter what you do, the first month is going to be brutal. But resting when your body tells you it's time makes all the difference when it comes to being able to operate at max capacity without a typical schedule. It may sound simple, but it can be especially difficult when, like Pearson, you want to spend your days exploring instead of sleeping. If you are tired, rest,” says Danielle Pearson, who worked remote overnight hours while traveling for four months in Asia.


Your body usually knows what it needs … even if your brain may disagree. Here are 10 tips for making the overnight shift work, from the people who’ve done it. Surviving this type of lifestyle requires more than just flip-flopping your sleep schedule you also need to rethink the way you spend every waking hour. Working while everyone else is asleep can turn you into the walking dead.
STAYING AWAKE ON NIGHT SHIFT SKIN
"Graveyard shift is an evocative term for the night shift between about midnight and eight in the morning, when-no matter how often you've worked it-your skin is clammy, there's sand behind your eyeballs, and the world is creepily silent, like the graveyard,” says Michael Quinion of World Wide Words. But millions of workers (many of them healthcare professionals, security guards, or remote workers) are just clocking in. When the clock strikes the witching hour, most Americans are snug in their beds.
