Tips to keep healthy while working long hours at night

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In our last article, we have tackled a few things about staying healthy while working on night shifts. In this article, we will be continuing to give more ways on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle while working night shifts.

1. Keep your household in the loop- letting your family members or those you are living with know your work schedule would help a lot in and accommodate the desired sleep schedule you need. You can also plan your time so that you can spend time with each other.
2. Take nap breaks- always use your break times wisely. If you can find a dark spot to nap at least 20-30 minutes would be a great help to your schedule.
3. Prioritize self-care- working night shifts could affect your mental health in a different way than normal shifts. Always prioritize self-care like doing yoga, meditation or any therapy that will let you stay connected with yourself.
4. Design a sleep friendly bedroom- having a bedroom that lets you fall asleep quickly will be a very big help to your sleep schedule. Create a bedroom with a nice ambience to help you sleep quickly.
5. Limit blue light- blue light has a negative impact on the melatonin and sleep hormone levels. Refrain from staring at your phone or watching tv before going to sleep to help you maximize your sleep.
6. Keep warm- maintain your body temperature to help you fall asleep faster.
7. Move around- find time during your shift to walk around. It will help you not fall asleep and keep your blood circulating.
8. Try to get some sun- working night shifts may sometimes give you vitamin D deficiencies since that schedule allows you to be awake at night and asleep during the day. Find time to be lighted by the sun by opening your curtains while sleeping or scheduling time to go out while it is still daytime.
9. Cluster night shifts together- it helps you and your body to get used to your night shifts and not always adapt to other work schedules.
10. Talk to a doctor- if you are having headaches, insomnia, and nausea, these symptoms are some of the effects in doing night shifts. Give it a month or so, then if the symptoms are still there, consult a doctor and ask for advice on what you need to do to manage the symptoms.

Working on night shifts may give us higher salary than normal shifts, but it also has more side effects in our body. We need to always prioritize ourselves rather than thinking of other things. We only have one life, so we better take care of our body and our mental health in order to live a longer and happy life.

Sources:

https://www.usa.edu/blog/how-to-work-night-shift-and-stay-healthy/

https://mint.intuit.com/blog/salary/how-to-work-night-shift-and-stay-healthy/