Shift work sleep planner
Enter your shift and commute. We'll place your main sleep, a nap, light and caffeine so you get close to your full sleep need on work days.
- 7:30 AMHome. Wraparound sunglasses on the drive; skip bright screens and big meals.
- 8:15 AMMain sleep: 7 h in a dark, cool room until 3:15 PM.
- 8:00 PMPre-shift nap of 30 min (short, to avoid grogginess).
- 10:00 PMBright light and caffeine in the first half of the shift.
- 2:15 AMLast caffeine (6 hours before main sleep).
Night shift sleep: what research supports
Day sleep after a night shift is typically 1 to 4 hours shorter than night sleep, because your body clock is sending its "be awake" signal during the day. You can't fully flip the clock on a rotating roster, so the aim is damage control: one protected main sleep, a well-timed nap, and light used deliberately.
- Sleep soon after the shift. Going to bed in the morning uses the sleep pressure you built overnight. Staying up until afternoon means sleeping into the clock's evening alerting signal.
- Nap before the shift rather than during if you can't nap at work. NASA's pilot study found a planned 40-minute rest opportunity (averaging 26 minutes asleep) improved alertness on long flights.
- Light: bright at the start of the shift, dim on the way home. Sunglasses on the commute limit the morning light that would push you toward waking.
- Days off: sleep a short morning block after the last night, get up around midday, and go to bed at a normal time. Keep a few hours of overlap ("anchor sleep") where possible.
Drowsy driving after night shifts is a real risk. If you catch yourself drifting, pull over for a 15 to 20-minute nap. Persistent insomnia or sleepiness on shift work is worth raising with a doctor or occupational health.
Questions people ask
What is the best sleep schedule for night shift?
For most night workers: go to bed as soon as possible after getting home (within an hour or two), sleep in one main block of 6 to 7 hours in a dark, cool room, and add a 20 to 90-minute nap before the next shift. Keep the main sleep at the same time on every work day.
What is shift work sleep disorder?
It is a circadian rhythm sleep disorder where working during the usual sleep period causes persistent insomnia or excessive sleepiness for at least three months. Only a clinician can diagnose it. If you nod off at work or while driving home, talk to a doctor or occupational health.
How should I sleep on days off after night shifts?
Many night workers use a "short switch": after the last night shift, sleep 4 to 5 hours in the morning, get up around midday, then go to bed at a normal time. Keeping part of your sleep overlapping on work and free days (anchor sleep) reduces the jet-lag feeling.
Should I drink coffee on night shift?
Caffeine early in the shift helps; caffeine in the last 6 hours before your planned sleep makes day sleep shorter and lighter. A cup right before a short pre-shift nap (a coffee nap) is another option.
How do I sleep during the day?
Blackout curtains or an eye mask, earplugs or white noise, a cool room around 18 °C (65 °F), phone on silent, and wraparound sunglasses on the way home to limit morning light that tells your brain it is daytime.
Sources
- Åkerstedt T (2003). Shift work and disturbed sleep/wakefulness. Occupational Medicine, 53(2).
- Rosekind MR et al. (1994). Crew factors in flight operations IX: Effects of planned cockpit rest on crew performance and alertness in long-haul operations. NASA Technical Memorandum 108839.
- Smith MR, Eastman CI (2012). Shift work: health, performance and safety problems, traditional countermeasures, and innovative management strategies to reduce circadian misalignment. Nature and Science of Sleep, 4.
- Minors DS, Waterhouse JM (1981). Anchor sleep as a synchronizer of rhythms on abnormal routines. International Journal of Chronobiology, 7(3).