How to Adjust to Sleeping After a Night Shift

Daryl: Hi, my name is Daryl. I live in Park City, Utah and I just took on a new job that requires me to work in night shift and I’m concerned about my sleep patterns. I want to make sure that I’m productive at work still but I also want to make sure I can transition to the weekends where I’ll be up during the day and I was looking for any recommendations that would be out there that could utilize.

Dr. Peter Galier: That’s a very common problem for people who work the night shift, Daryl. It’s hard to work the night shift if you’re used to being up for days because it’s not just being in the dark that makes people sleep. One of the things that tell us to be awake is when the sun is out so even if you darken your room the sun still tells our brain that it’s daytime and it makes us want to be awake. The best things that you can do are to try to blacken out your windows in you room where you sleep with something that really keeps out the sunlight – foil or black out curtains - and that will certainly help. Sometimes, what also helps is the use of very mild hypnotic drugs to help you sleep to at least transition you into the new job. When it comes time for weekends, it’s important to get back to your regular cycles – getting up in the morning, staying active during the day and trying to go to bed at a reasonable hour at night.


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