Having to work at irregular hours can be pretty rough, especially if you aren’t used to it. While many people have to work overnight, others will have to adapt to early shifts. However, there are some ways you can prepare yourself and get the rest you need for your job…
Early Shifts: How To Prepare
Do some self-care
Having to adjust for early shifts can put a lot of stress on you body. As a result, it’s important you practice some healthy self-care. Not only will this help you de-stress, but it’ll also help you fall asleep easier. That way, you can adapt to your new schedule much faster.
Exercising is helpful because not only will it help improve your overall health, but it’ll also help you burn extra energy and make it easier to sleep. Eating healthier will also be useful. A balanced diet will let you avoid eating fatty, high-calorie foods before bed. It’s also good to avoid things like caffeine or alcohol before you sleep.
Change your environment
If you have to get up for early shifts, then you’ll probably have to try and sleep a bit earlier than usual. This can be tough, as you body probably isn’t used to the idea of falling asleep at those earlier times. Due to this, you’ll want to adjust your sleeping environment to help encourage your body to fall asleep.
In particular, you’ll want to make sure your room is quiet and has a minimum amount of light. If there are noises you can’t control, such as loud neighbors, try to either use some earplugs or a relaxing sound machine to drown it out. Also, turn off all the lights and the brightness of things like your phone. A blackout curtain can be handy if outside sunlight is a bother.
Short-term help
It could take quite a bit of time for your body to fully adjust to working early shifts. In the meantime, you may want to explore some short-term solutions to help you get over the hump. Meeting with your doctor could be useful, as they may be able to give you a sleeping aid which’ll help you fall asleep sooner.
When you’re waking up for these shifts, you may need a bit of an extra boost to get you going. Drinking something with caffeine, like coffee, can help to wake you up a bit. Still, be careful about too much caffeine consumption. You might experience a “crash” later in the day which’ll leave you feeling pretty drained.