Top 12 Habits To Follow for Night Shift Jobs
I have been on Night Shift for 11 years while operating Nuclear Reactors. My job expects me to remain equally active as a Day Time, take logical actions to ensure the safe operation of the Nuclear Reactor, and show 100% attentiveness for a quick restart after a trip to prevent 36 hrs poisoning of the Reactor, which results in million $ loss of production. Tremendous responsibility as a Control Engineer, which I could not cope with.
It was never a peaceful journey, with daily struggles and my health not supporting me. Tons of caffeine, sitting in the glittering light of the control room, staring endlessly at the operator console, waiting for an alarm. I started losing interest in my career and entering a zone of depression.
My career and health were struggling with each other, and I became scared of the difficulties of coping with the Night Shift. I tried hard to stay healthy, have a healthy mindset, and maintain a strong routine, but nothing seemed to work. I was about to crash.
I knew it would not be easy to survive night shifts if I were not taking charge of my life. I started understanding the phenomena of mother nature’s design of bodies to be active during the day and rest at night. When I was working the night shift, my body’s natural circadian rhythm got disrupted, causing it to become out of sync.
All I know is the circadian Clock is a small part of my brain that monitors how much light I see each moment. When the light goes away (at nighttime), my brain releases chemicals that give my body a signal to fall asleep. When the light becomes brighter, my brain releases chemicals that help to keep me awake.
Then, in the early 90s Internet was rare and considered a luxury difficult to effort. The Night Shifts were killing me, and I needed to find a solution to know how to deal with them.
I went to CyberCafe, around $1, for 30 mins surfing.
What I found was scary.
In today’s time, nearly 15 million Americans work a permanent night shift or regularly rotate in and out of night shifts, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Millions of American workers fight against their circadian clocks every day, putting them — and others in their paths — in danger. Psychologists are looking for solutions — By Michael Price.
Does Night Shift Shorten your Life?
An international team of researchers studied women rotating night shifts for five or more years and found they carried an 11% greater mortality risk from all causes and a 19% greater risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) death.
How many shifts shorten your life?
Of the women who worked rotating night shifts for over six years, 11 per cent experienced a shortened lifespan. The risk of death by cardiovascular disease jumped by 19 per cent for those who worked this way for six to 14 years and 23 per cent for those who did so for 15 years or more.
These stats were scary, so I took this seriously. I pick the circadian Clock from my one-dollar investment in surfing. Further surfing is more disappointing, so I decided not to go further and spent $.
The first thing I did was to understand my body’s response. I went to the nearby free municipal library and started reading by Circadian Clock.
Understands Circadian Rhythms
I took 10 days off from my shift to experiment.
To begin with, I started observing my activities during my day. I started at 6:00 am and observed a sharp rise in blood pressure because of cortisol spikes. That’s why I see a lot of strokes happen in the morning.
The biologically based phenomenon is that my melatonin secretion stops in the early morning and goes to poop at about 6:30 am. A mega poop in the morning is essential. Otherwise, I take simple lukewarm water to drink or do an enema (An injection of plain water into the rectum to stimulate a bowel movement).
At around 10 am, my testosterone spike goes up, making me high alert till the afternoon and cruise along with good coordination and fast reaction time. I got good cardiovascular movement and melatonin kicks. Things slow down at midnight, so my body is programmed to do all these things during the day, which affects me when I go for the night shift. I need to simulate the night.
At least eight hours of sleep per 24 hours will help me cope with my circadian rhythm, and sometimes that’s not possible, but that’s the ideal recommendation. It is what I read in one book; I forgot the reference.
I started training to sleep 8 hours a day. I said training because most people can’t sleep full 8 hours -not because of biology but from lack of conditioning for sleep. I tried this: don’t look at any screen an hour before bed; drop the room’s temperature to 68 degrees; blackout the room from all light and sound. If I wake up in the middle of my sleep, I don’t get up and don’t check my phone. I condition my body to lie there. I taught my body to lie in bed for eight hours, no matter what.
To do that, I made my room dark with zero exposure, black chart papers on each hole I could trace where the possibility of light sneaking in. Nowadays, you can use blackout curtains.
By observing my body clock, I understood shifting the body’s circadian Clock so it better tolerates working at night and sleeping during the day. I synchronized the wall clock to show 6 pm at 6 am. It helps me to send a message to my mind: time to sleep.
I prepared my shift schedule, made some hand notes to follow, and promised myself to stick to this schedule.
- Avoid full-Spectrum Sunlight (7 -7:30 am)
I used to fool my body by telling myself this was nighttime and I needed to sleep. I want to go to sleep as soon as I can after a night shift ends, so after I get out of a night shift and while I was heading home and I knew if 15 minutes of full-spectrum Sunlight got into my brain, it would reset my circadian Clock so going home after a night shift was a real trick and tried to avoid both full-spectrum Sunlight. I sat in the van’s middle seat, trying to get to bed soonest. That will help me cope with the circadian rhythm disruption. As I stepped out of the control room, I started wearing a welder glass, which helped me not get exposed.
- Keep Break Fast Ready (7:30- 9 am)
My super cool breakfast was my eggs, bread, and a little milk, ready within 10 mins. I avoid taking a bath, but sometimes I took to get the smelly sweat out of the way. No caffeine at this point. I used to take my breakfast in my DARKROOM, ready to embrace me with sleep. I used to keep my bed ready before I went to the night shift to avoid morning hassles. I strictly work with my Clock; I was in bed no later than 9 am. There was no internet or phones, so it was easy for me. Now, my advice is not to look at phones, news, or newspapers. I used to play a white noise CD to call sleep. You can find this on YouTube.
- Always use Ear Plugs.
I used excellent quality earplugs (thanks to my company) to make me out of the bounds of any noise. Now, a day you need to ensure your android is in silent mode and your Door Bell connection is off. I used to keep a handmade notice of “Do not Disturb” to avoid any hassles for the one who tries to reach me. If you have AC, keep it at 21C, a comfortable temperature to induce sleep. I had a noiseless table fan that helped me to cool.
- Keep Informed Your Near One
I used to stay alone, but I made it a point to inform my neighbours, friends and family of night shifts days well in advance. Nowadays, you can keep voice notes on your mobile. Keep your mobile out of the room, preferably in your lobby. If you do not want to keep it silent mode, reduce the volume.
- Use Sleep Mask
I prepared a Sleep Mask with quality black cloth and kept it on my face. It ensured a good sleep. Nowadays, you can simulate darkness by using a sleep mask to keep daylight from hitting your eyes. Blackout-style masks, like the MINDFOLD or Total Eclipse Sleep Mask, offer almost complete darkness, but even a blindfold-style mask, like the Nest Bedding Luxury Sleep Mask or the Alaska Bear Sleep Mask, will do a good job at blocking light.
- 7 hrs Sleep (9:30 am to 4:30 pm)
Ensure you empty your bowl well to avoid any biological disturbance. Use White Noise to induce sleep. Do not get up in between. It is the most critical aspect I learned in my 11 years of Night Shift Schedule. I used to keep my father’s alarm clock to wake me up at 4:30 pm. No oversleeping.
- Happening & Crazy Fun Time (4:30 to 6:30 pm)
It is time for you to make it to enjoy the night shift schedule. I used to hit the gym and swim all days of my Night Shift. It refreshes me. Keep time checked. It is critical.
- Shopping Time (6:30–7 pm)
It is another pleasant habit I used to make it a point to go out to the nearby market to have a daily grocery. It refreshes me to see people around. Little socializing will keep me in the loop of my near ones. You can visit your friend or call your home for a cup of tea. It refreshes me and helps me be in touch with my surroundings.
- Cooking & Bath (7–7:30 pm)
It is time I used to pamper myself with lavish dinner preparations. I make it a point to have something good to eat and cherish. I took a bath and did a bit of meditation to keep my mind and body healthy.
- Dinner & Walk (7:30–8:30 pm)
This time I took my dinner and went for a refreshing walk to digest the heavy meal.
- Quick Nap (8:30- 10 pm)
My research shows a quick nap is a must-have to stay active on your night shift. Do not go into a deep sleep. You can have soft music playing in the background and take a nap, not beyond 10 pm. The alarm clock is critical to have.
- Get Ready for Shift (10–10:30 pm)
I used to take a bath again, and that was my choice. I do not have any recommendations during this time. I used to take some eatables with me since this helped me keep active. It can be protein nuts and coffee.
My Shift Van arrives sharp at 10:30 pm.
The night shift works well for me with this schedule. I look and feel younger than anyone I knew at my age and don’t have any problems working the night shift, but there were few people I worked with whom night shift was without a strict schedule and was not suited to work nights. Some have trouble staying awake at night and can’t sleep during the day. After 11 years of shift work, I would say it affects everyone differently, but above schedule work for me.
In Conclusion
Follow the schedule strictly.
The same daily routine will help your body clock learn and adapt your schedule.
Have dark eye goggles, earplugs and an eye mask.
Minimum use of the Internet during the daytime or Night Shift.
The exercise routine is important
Make NIGHT SHIFT enjoyable.
You can further read https://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/01/night-work by American Psychological Association.
