How do shift workers sleep better?
Last updated September 3, 2026.
Fight the clock mismatch with light and darkness as tools: bright light early in the night shift, sunglasses on the drive home, a blacked-out cool bedroom, and a long nap before the shift - the moves NIOSH research supports. Time caffeine to the first half of the shift only, and keep the same sleep-wake times even on days off when possible - schedule-bouncing is the hardest version on the body. Persistent insomnia or crushing sleepiness tied to the schedule is shift work disorder, a real and treatable diagnosis.
What to do
- Bank a long nap before nights. NIOSH-backed: sleep ahead of the debt.
- Manage the light. Bright light early on shift; dark commute and bedroom after.
- Fortress the bedroom. Blackout, cool, quiet, phone off, household on notice.
- Hold one schedule through days off. Bouncing is what breaks shift workers.
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