Making an easy transition to sleep after a night shift
Nine to five is probably the most common work schedule, but it’s not the only one. No matter if you’re a stock market broker, a vet or a hotel receptionist, at times you may have to switch from typical working hours to working nights, whether it’s to keep up with foreign markets, to take care of an emergency night shift or to take care of guests flying in late at night. Whatever the reason and no matter how unhappy you may be about working nights, your job needs to get done, so instead of complaining to your superiors or trying to switch shifts with a coworker, you’ll do best preparing well for working nights and performing your duties to the best of your abilities.
Start your preparation by getting your bedroom ready. Regular blinds may not be enough to keep daylight out, so you may want to invest in thick curtains that will black your bedroom out, or at least in a soft eye mask that will allow you to get some sleep. In addition consider a sound machine that will drown out the outside noises and replace them with the soothing sounds of rainfall, birds singing or the ocean waves crashing on the beach. Make your bed every evening before leaving for your night shift so you can come to cool sheets ready for you in the morning.
Preparing your body is just as important as preparing your bedroom, which is why you may want to go shopping for some chamomile tea that will help you wind down at the end of your night shift, some melatonin that will make you more sleepy when the world around you is waking up, and a lavender soap that will help you relax before you go to bed. A lavender pillow mist will also help soothe you, and breathing exercises or a quick set of yoga poses can’t hurt either.
You need your mind to power up before you start working, and so you need to power it down before you can go to sleep. Since there will be many distractions in the morning after your night shift, from the outside world to the thoughts in your head, you need to learn to relax. Meditation can help you ease into sleep and so can affirmations and visualizations, so try different techniques until you find the one that works for you.
Since you don’t live alone in the world, it’s important that you get the world ready for your night shifts as well. Let your family and friends know you’ll be reversing your schedule, so they don’t wake you up with calls or unannounced visits. Let your friendly neighbor know that you’ll be sleeping during the day and ask them to keep the noise down. Ask your mail person to take your schedule into consideration and try not to order anything that needs to be delivered. In addition turn down the phone and your door bell, as not everybody will know about your new schedule, so that you limit interruptions to a minimum. This way you may not be all too happy about working nights, but at least you should be able to sleep well after your shift.
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