Not everyone works a nine-to-five job. A substantial number of the working sector — an estimated 15 million of them in the US alone — are on the night shift. Employees who work in healthcare, emergency services, and public safety have to work in the wee hours of the night to ensure that essential services are continuously delivered and to keep communities safe.
For many healthcare workers, the night shift is simply inescapable. And though it comes with its own set of unique perks, such as higher pay, generally quieter and less stressful work days, a better commuting experience, and better camaraderie, it also comes with its own set of challenges and difficulties, including elevated blood pressure and glucose levels and an increased risk of acquiring heart disease and certain cancers.
We’ve rounded up four helpful tips and tricks that nurses can use to keep themselves healthy, focused, and motivated as they work the night shift — regardless if they’re early birds or night owls.
1. Understand your circadian rhythms
Circadian rhythms affect your body’s sleeping and waking patterns and other ways in which your body works, which are all vital to your overall health. These rhythms are affected by light and dark, which is typically why we’re more alert in the morning and sleepy at night. This means that nurses who work the night shift disrupt their circadian rhythms, and it’s important to get enough sleep at the right time to ensure that they don’t experience immediate and long-term health concerns.
Night shift workers should also use light to their advantage for more consistent sleep and waking schedules. If they wake up in the afternoon and it’s still sunny outside, it’s important to expose themselves to sunlight by opening the windows or going out. If it’s dark out because of winter or if it’s raining, use a lightbox or a sunrise alarm. Meanwhile, nurses leaving work in the morning can benefit from wearing sunglasses.
2. Make sure to get good sleep
It’s typically harder to sleep when it’s bright and sunny out. So, it’s important to create an environment conducive to sleep: nurses need to make sure that the room’s cool, dark, comfortable, and quiet. If the room’s window lets a lot of light in during the day, consider using a sleep mask and getting blackout or room-darkening curtains. If it’s noisy or too quiet, a white noise machine may help in getting deeper sleep.
3. Prioritize your nutrition
Regardless of what shift a nurse is working, a healthy diet is vital to a healthy and focused employee. A diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean meats, nuts, and seeds, and low in saturated fats, trans fats, sugars, and sodium is critical in maintaining a strong and healthy body.
For night-shift nurses, it’s important to keep a regular eating pattern, including eating breakfast after getting home from work. A 2021 National Institutes of Health (NIH) report states that eating during the night shift has negative effects on metabolism, and researchers recommend eating only in the daytime to counter blood sugar spikes that happen when eating at night.
But if a snack is needed during the night shift to keep the energy up, consider eating small, healthy snacks that are easy to digest: yogurt, granola, fruits, cottage cheese, hummus and veggies, and hard boiled eggs are great options.
4. When it comes to caffeine, be strategic
Drinking coffee or other caffeinated drinks can help night-shift workers stay awake and energized for an entire evening, especially when such drinks are consumed immediately after waking up in the afternoon or at the beginning of their shift. But coffee, soda, and tea shouldn’t be consumed just a few hours before the shift is over, as it can impede a good sleep cycle. An article published by the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine states that caffeine intake six hours before bedtime can disrupt sleep.
