My friend who does night shift work tells me he initially found it hard to work at night. Of course the management did make it a point to provide night shift entertainment to its employees to keep them alert. However, nothing beats a sound sleep right ?

He went on to provide the following 5 tips which has helped him in doing night shift work without getting burned out.

The first advise he gives me is to try and avoid night shift work if possible.  But many of us may not have that option in which case you can take a few steps to make it easy for you to suffer through a night shift with no adverse health problems for you later.

1. Learn to take cat naps. Increase your total amount of sleep by adding naps and lengthening the amount of time you allot for sleep.
2. Use bright lights in your workplace.
3. Minimize your shift changes. Make sure your shift rotation is far and in between. This helps your body’s biological clock to adjust to a night time work schedule.
4. During day time, sleep  in a dark and quiet room.
5. Use caffeine only during the first part of your shift to promote  alertness at night.

If you are unable to fall asleep during the day, and all else fails, talk with your doctor to see if it would be wise for you to use prescribed, short-acting  sleeping pills to help you sleep during the day.