Nursing comes with a lot of things: a great sense of purpose, job security, career growth, and financial stability are among the top ones that come to mind. However, nursing is practically synonymous with other things, too, such as shift work, which can negatively affect nurses’ health and wellness. A 2019 study found that nurses who worked the night shift have lower health and wellness scores, with reduced memory and concentration and increased fatigue and emotional distress, compared to their day shift counterparts. Nurses who work rotating shifts are also more prone to excessive sleepiness, which can negatively impact their ability to concentrate at work.
Aside from being at an increased risk of developing several chronic diseases, night shift and rotating shift nurses were also found to have erratic sleep schedules, which could lead to intense headaches and migraines. Migraines can be painful and debilitating, and can cause cognitive challenges, productivity loss, and subpar patient care outcomes.
In this article, we discuss the research surrounding why rotating shifts can increase migraine frequency. We also give helpful tips on how to reduce headache frequency for rotating shift nurses.
Why Rotating Shifts Increase Migraine Frequency: What the Research Shows
When nurses work rotating shifts, their body’s circadian rhythm — the internal clock that regulates sleep, pain sensitivity, and hormone release — becomes disrupted. Research shows that when nurses alternate between day, evening, and night shifts, their melatonin and cortisol cycles become misaligned, leading to poorer sleep quality and increased sleep fragmentation. This chronic sleep disruption raises vulnerability to migraine triggers, making attacks more frequent and harder to control. The same study found that night and rotating shift workers have a 60% increased risk of migraine prevalence compared with non-shift workers.
Those who work rotating schedules are also more prone to having inconsistent meals throughout the day, overreliance on caffeine, and dehydration, which can bolster the risk of nurses getting migraines.
Evidence-Based Strategies to Reduce Headache Frequency on Rotating Shifts
The following are several evidence-based strategies to reduce nurse shift migraines:
- Create a relaxing sleep environment. This is important regardless of your sleeping schedule, but even more so for those working the night shift and have to sleep while the sun is out. Make sure that your room is dark, which you can achieve by using blackout shades or heavy light-blocking curtains. It’s also important to block out noise from traffic, other people in the house, and your devices. Use earplugs, a white noise machine, or listen to relaxing and meditative music to ensure that your sleep is deep and uninterrupted. It’s also a great idea to invest in a good-quality mattress, bedding, and pillows to reduce the risk of getting lower back pain.
- Follow a sleep schedule. Do your best to sleep for at least seven hours every day, and ensure that you follow a consistent sleep schedule even on your days off. Your sleep schedule should allow you to sleep and wake up at similar times every day.
- Create a bedtime routine. Creating a bedtime routine will signal to your brain and body that you’re about to rest, allowing you to fall asleep faster. An hour or two before your bedtime, you can do a series of activities designed to keep your body relaxed, such as reading a book, journaling, meditating, or listening to relaxing music.
- Try not to drink any liquids at least one to two hours before sleeping. Having to urinate in the middle of the night (or day) can affect the quality of your sleep and how rested you feel when you get up.
Healthcare organizations can also do their part in reducing migraine risk in nurses by limiting consecutive night shifts to three or fewer each week, using forward shift rotation, and ensuring that units are properly staffed with skilled personnel.
