Workplace · Night shift

Night Shift Stress: How to Work Nights and Stay Healthy

If you work nights, you’ve probably already noticed that your body doesn’t treat it as a different schedule, it treats it as a problem. Searching for stress with shift workers or how to work night shift and stay healthy usually brings up generic sleep advice written for people who sleep at night. This isn’t that.

A man asleep at his desk late at night beside a coffee cup

The psychological effects of working night shift

Working against your body clock can affect more than sleep. Many night workers notice:

Low mood or irritability that builds over a run of shifts
Feeling disconnected from friends and family who live on a daytime schedule
Anxiety about sleeping “properly” in the day
Feeling flat or exhausted even after a full sleep

Men and women can both feel these effects, and they vary a lot from person to person. If low mood sticks around, take it seriously. Night shift work and depression are linked often enough that it’s worth mentioning to your GP rather than putting it down to tiredness.

A tired call-centre worker in a headset rubbing his forehead

A daily routine for night shift workers that’s realistic

You don’t need a perfect routine, just a few anchors:

Keep your sleep window as consistent as you can, including on days off if possible, so your body isn’t constantly resetting.
Make your daytime bedroom as dark and quiet as you can (blackout curtains, earplugs, phone on silent).
Eat something light before sleep, rather than going to bed hungry or after a heavy meal.
Cut caffeine in the second half of your shift, so it isn’t still working when you’re trying to sleep.

How to switch back to days after night shift

Moving back to a daytime pattern is often harder than starting nights. What tends to help:

Shift your sleep time earlier in steps, rather than all at once.
Get daylight soon after waking, it helps your body clock reset.
Keep a fixed wake-up time for the first few days, even if you slept badly.
Expect a rough day or two, and don’t plan anything demanding for them.

Sleep after a shift

Winding down when your body says it’s morning

Switching off at 8am while the world wakes up is hard. A short, guided self-hypnosis session can help you come down after a shift and get ready to sleep. Growth Zone includes sleep sessions built for the nights when your mind won’t switch off, and they work just as well at 8am as at 11pm.

When it’s more than tiredness

If you’re struggling to sleep even when you have the chance, or you’re exhausted on days off too, ask your GP about shift work disorder. It’s a recognised sleep problem, and treatment options exist. A self-hypnosis audio is a way to relax, not a treatment for it. If you’re feeling hopeless or having thoughts of harming yourself, please talk to someone straight away, free support is available at findahelpline.com.

If you need more support

If it’s more than everyday pressure, you are not on your own. Free, confidential helplines in almost every country are listed at findahelpline.com. The World Health Organization also offers a free illustrated guide to coping with stress, “Doing What Matters in Times of Stress”.

UK, NHS staff: NHS Practitioner Health, 24/7 crisis text line. Text NHSPH to 85258.
UK and Ireland: Samaritans. Call 116 123.
United States: 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Call or text 988.
Canada: 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline. Call or text 9-8-8.
Australia: Lifeline. Call 13 11 14.

Sleep sessions for any hour

Built for the nights when your mind won’t switch off, and just as good at 8am.

Join the Growth Zone →

This page contains affiliate links. If you join through them, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting this work.