Staying Awake During the Night Shift
By Kate West
(originally published December 2010 on workingworld.com)
What you need to do:
·
Get quality sleep
·
Maintain quality
lifestyle
·
Exercise and eat right
It’s
been a rough year and you are very, very tired of looking for work and hearing
about rough it is out there. You figure you’ll do just about anything to start
working again and start paying some bills. Then just after you hang up on your
last credit collector, you finally get terrific news – you’re hired! But the
catch is, it’s the night shift. Ugh. So now what?
Having
just started my very first night shift, I can attest that it's not easy to
transition into the night world. The rest of the world lives in the daytime and
you’re busy counting sheep then. There may be a few die-hard party friends who
are up for a drink when you get off work, but you might not be. So you’ll have
to adjust your lifestyle.
For
one thing, make sure you have quiet uninterrupted sleep in a dark room. Get
heavier curtains and earplugs if you have to. Turn off the cell phone.
To
keep up your energy and avoid that jet-lag feeling from all odd hours, try to
eat healthy and squeeze in regular exercise. Vitamins and antioxidants are
always a great idea and especially helpful during tough shifts. Make sure you
eat at on a consistent schedule, the way you would during the day so that you
aren’t eating right before you go to sleep. Eat before your shift starts, with
a small meal during break and then stop. Caffeine is fine towards the earlier
part of your night, but cut back halfway through so it won’t keep you up at
night. Work in a little aerobics (or whatever turns you on) soon after waking.
It will make all the difference in the world.
It’s
also important to get some decompression time when you come home, just like on
a normal shift. Your mind and body both have to wind down from job stress so
allow yourself to do this for at least an hour before trying to sleep, if you
can. Watch some funny t.v. or read a graphic novel. Save the hardcore errands
for whatever daytime you have. You’ll have to decide when the best time to work
in time on that screenplay might be.
Cheer
up, it’s not all bad! There are perks to this new job, of course. The commute
will be much easier and who doesn’t want that, as a traffic-harried Angelino?
That saves you on a masseuse and therapist right there.
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