How to Cope With Working Night Shift

Working the night shift can have many benefits, including higher pay and a work environment that is less hectic. Adjusting to a night shift can be difficult, as both your body and the rest of the world are on a different schedule altogether. Here's how to make some adjustments to help you cope with working the night shift.

Things You'll Need

• blackout curtains or a sleep mask
• white noise machine or earplugs

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Instructions

• 1

  Prepare your bedroom. In order to cope with working the night shift, your first priority must be getting sufficient sleep. Turn the ringer off on your phone. Hang blackout curtains to shut out all light. Any light that gets into the room will send a signal to your brain that it is time to wake up, a horrible feeling when you've been working all night. A sleep mask can also prevent light from waking you up.

  Turn on a white noise machine or use ear plugs so that noises such as the garbage truck, the television and lawn mowers won't wake you up.

  Tell your neighbors that you work the night shift so that they'll know not to stop by for visits when you are sleeping. Put a sign on your door indicating that the doorbell should not be rung, nor the occupants disturbed in any way.

• 2

  Make a schedule and stick to it. Daytime workers usually go to bed at the same time every night, and so should you. The only thing that's different is the time. Most people get off work, run a couple of errands and go home and relax. It can be very difficult to get off work and immediately fall asleep. (Reference 1) Record some of your favorite shows on the TiVo and try to mimic your former evening routine.

• 3

  Make sure that the sleep you get is uninterrupted sleep. According to Nancy Nadolski, a certified nurse practitioner, it is critical that people who work the night shift get restorative sleep, as broken sleep can take a toll on the body. (Reference 2) It is important that the body has the opportunity to go through all four sleep cycles in order to be fully rested.

• 4

  Have a conversation with your family about your schedule. Work out an agreement about when the rest of the family will need to be quiet and not interrupt you. Purchase headsets for the television and stereo, so that family members can watch television and listen to music without disturbing you.