#Tricks to stay awake with 12 hour shift how to#

It’s also disturbed more frequently because of daylight, warmer temperatures, and daytime noise. Daytime sleep is usually a lighter sleep, shorter duration, and poorer quality than nighttime sleep. A sleep schedule is vital to ensure a consistent sleeping pattern. When coming off the night shift to switch over to days, it’s recommended to have a short sleep upon arrival home after shift (just a few hours) and then go to bed earlier that night so that waking in the morning isn’t troublesome. Develop a pre-bedtime routine doing the same things every time before going to bed: brushing your teeth, reading a book, meditating-as doing the same routine before bed will trigger your body to know that it’s bedtime. It’s especially important for people who consistently work the night shift to maintain the same sleep schedule (where possible) when they’re off as while they’re working. In order to establish an effective sleep schedule, ideally you should go to bed and get up at the same time every day, including weekends, to reinforce your sleep-wake cycle. Most adults need 7–8 hours of sleep a day.

These tips can be passed along to anyone who has an irregular schedule.

#Tricks to stay awake with 12 hour shift how to#

To combat the fatigue that comes with shift work, all you need is S.L.E.E.P.-a slightly altered version of the acronym used in our handout Dead Tired: A Guide on How to Help Your Family Stay Alert. Here’s a quick reminder: people who fall asleep at the wheel did not set out to have a quick nap while driving. The other problem with fatigue is that people think they can control it or overpower it. Fatigue affects mental alertness and physical reaction time, ultimately impacting safety and productivity in the workplace. This is higher than the legal limit (0.08% BAC) in all states.” So, it’s not just about feeling tired, because you’re actually impaired. This is attributed to what is called the circadian rhythm disorder (sleep-wake cycle disorder)-essentially your body tries to align with cues from the environment like when it’s light or dark outside, making it difficult to sleep.Īccording to the CDC, “Being awake for at least 24 hours is equal to having a blood alcohol content of 0.10%. Consecutive sleep is required for the body to function normally and irregular schedules often disrupt a normal sleeping pattern. Irregular schedules like the ones shift workers encounter (night, evening shift, early morning, or rotating shift) can upset the body’s internal clock. In addition to issues with fatigue, shift work has also been linked to adverse health effects.

While it can be nice to have extra days off due to working longer shifts (and the pay is often better to work those shifts), the pros don’t always outweigh the cons. The biggest complaints about shift work can almost always be traced back to disrupted sleep patterns.