Doing the night shift – top tips to be prepared
Top night shift tips for paid carers
Do you work a night shift, or are about to start? We’ve put together our top night shift tips to help you get through the night, stay alert and deliver great service.Night shifts are not easy, especially if you’re new to them. There have been studies that suggest shift workers are more likely to suffer from poor health. These studies focus on those people who regularly work a different pattern outside of the ‘normal’ working day.Many Paid Carers work overnight. Whether you’re working regularly overnight or just the odd shift, read our night shift tips to make sure you’re prepared.
1. Drink lots of water
Water is the simplest and most economical way to stay alert during your night shift. If you don’t drink enough, you may start to become dehydrated, which can lead to fatigue. This is because you need water to help your heart pump oxygen around the body and to your vital organs. Not enough water and your heart has to work harder, making you feel less alert. Make sure you take a refillable bottle with you and commit to drinking it all during your night shift.
2. Have caffeine in moderation
[ADS]Most of us are prone to reaching for the coffee to power through a night shift. While this is a good tactic for an instant boost of energy, you need to be careful. Caffeine gives you an intense but short-lived burst. Once it wears off, you could feel even more tired than you did before. Drink your coffee or other caffeine source earlier in your shift, or in advance of when you know you will feel tired. Try and avoid it in the second half of your shift. Drinking caffeine before you finish will make it much harder to sleep when you get home.
3. Get lots of fresh air
Fresh air is another simple way to boost your energy on a night shift. Open a window if you can’t leave, or step outside for a moment or two if it’s safe to do so. The cool air will help refresh you and wake you up.
4. Get quality sleep in the day
You can’t get through a busy night shift if you haven’t had quality sleep during the day time. Invest in some really good blackout blinds to ensure the daylight doesn’t disturb you. Turn off your phone, unplug the doorbell – whatever possible to make sure you’re not disturbed. It’s so easy for normal life to take over in the daytime, but sleep is a necessity, not a luxury. The chores can wait. You can also plan naps for just before your shift if practical, so you feel refreshed going into work. Making sleep a priority is the best night shift tip there is!
5. Keep moving
If you stay still during your night shift, you will get tired much more quickly. Try and plan regular intervals when you need to get up and do something. Whether it’s to check on your client, make a cup of tea or even pop to the loo, every step helps.
6. Pack healthy food
As well as sleep, your eating habits will be all back to front. It’s so easy to give in to simple convenience foods when you’re tired, but this won’t help you in the long term. Snacking on junk food or eating unhealthy microwave meals will leave you feel more fatigued. Pack your night shift food in advance. Ensure you have lots of fruit and veg, complex carbohydrates to give you a steady energy release, and some protein (think hard-boiled eggs or chunks of chicken).
7. Stay busy
If your job is quite hands-on throughout the night, staying busy is usually not a problem. But some night shift workers find they have a lot of time to kill. It helps to have various activities you can focus on to keep your mind alert. If you don't have paperwork to focus on then think puzzles and games, books, knitting or sewing, colouring… whatever keeps you entertained.We hope that these night shift tips will help you get prepared. Share your own top tips with us on Twitter or Facebook or in the comments below.