Shift work: How do I adjust to daytime sleeping?

I just started working the night shift, and I'm having trouble sleeping during the day. Do you have any sleep tips for shift workers?

- No name / Georgia

Answer

It is common to have difficulties sleeping during the day. Humans are naturally wired to sleep best at night and be awake during the day. However, modern work schedules require some people to try to accommodate the unnatural schedule of shift work — being awake at night and sleeping during the day.

In order to make this adjustment, you need to pay special attention to your sleep environment and your preparation for sleep. If shift work is a necessary part of your work life, here are some suggestions that may help:

• Avoid stimulants, such as caffeine and nicotine, several hours before bedtime. If you are working nights and need to sleep from morning until afternoon, try to avoid caffeine after midnight.
• Arrange to sleep uninterrupted in a quiet, dark room. This means you may have to turn off or unplug your phone, hang darkening curtains on the windows or wear a sleep eye mask, make appointments outside of your sleep period, and train your family and friends to leave you alone while you sleep. Make your sleep time sacred.
• Try melatonin. Some studies suggest that taking 1 to 3 milligrams of melatonin improves the quality and duration of daytime sleep in night shift workers.
• Fit in a nap. When your daytime sleep period is too short, taking a nap just before work or on a break during your night shift has been shown to improve alertness and reduce accidents while on the job.
• Develop and follow a sleep routine. It's best if you go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day. Try not to vary this too much on weekends. Your body likes routine.
• Take extra care to eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly. Shift workers tend to gain weight and have an increased risk of heart disease — mostly because they tend to eat fattier foods, smoke more and exercise less.

If you have tried all these things and are still having problems getting enough quality sleep during the day, talk to your doctor or a sleep specialist. Sometimes medications may be helpful and safe. In other cases, there may be an underlying sleep disorder that needs to be addressed.

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