2nd shift is perfect for going back to school

Try these steps to keep sleep in check and make the environment more favorable for sleep. Daytime sleep can be lighter, shorter, and of poorer quality than sleep at night due to light, noise, and temperature. Working at night involves successfully managing sleep during the day - that is, to keep sleep debt to a minimum - and fatigue during the night. If people sleep for under that amount, they will incur “sleep debt.” The only way to pay back sleep debt is to catch up on missed sleep, which has to occur as soon as possible. Similarly, when you go home after a night shift, the cues from your internal body clock and daytime light exposure tell you to be awake and active.Īdults need between 7–9 hours of sleep to function at their best. Night shifts cause the body to battle against its natural rhythms by trying to be alert when programmed to be sleeping. At night, the circadian pacemaker releases the sleep hormone melatonin from the pineal gland, which causes the body to feel less alert and raises the desire to sleep. Many bodily processes that are active in the daytime slow down at night to prepare for sleep.

The SCN generates circadian rhythms, which regulate behavioral and physiological processes in the body, including alertness, sleep, temperature control, and hormone production.Ĭircadian rhythms run in 24-hour cycles and are significantly influenced by the natural light and dark cycles. The body is controlled by an internal body clock, or circadian pacemaker, located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus. This is because humans are designed to sleep at nighttime. Some people can work at night without issue, while others experience sleep deprivation and fatigue.

2nd shift is perfect for going back to school