Circadian Rhythm Shift Work: Balancing Your Biological Clock with Luminotherapy

For night shift workers, maintaining a healthy circadian rhythm is essential for several reasons:

• Sleep quality and duration : A disrupted circadian rhythm can lead to poor sleep quality and shorter sleep duration.

• Health and well-being : A well-aligned circadian rhythm is vital for overall health and well-being. It's even more critical for night shift workers because night shifts disrupt your circadian rhythm. They force you to be awake at night and asleep during the day, which is hard on your body and may increase your risk of developing health issues, including sleep disorders, psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular disease, and cancers .

• Work performance and safety : Fatigue and decreased alertness from a misaligned circadian rhythm can reduce work performance and increase the risk of accidents.

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An estimated  19-25% of the population in industrialised countries  works in a variety of night shift schedules. Working on such a schedule presents several challenges, including the following:

Shift work sleep disorders

Shift workers are prone to suffer from circadian rhythm sleep disorders, including insomnia and hypersomnia. Insomnia is difficulty falling or staying asleep, while hypersomnia is excessive sleepiness at unwanted times.

Fatigue

Chronic misalignment of circadian rhythms due to night shifts or a lack of a routine to help entrain the internal clock can cause low energy and grogginess symptoms.

Greater risks

A person working the night shift is at higher risk of various disorders, workplace accidents and misfortunes, including:

• Increased likelihood of obesity

• Higher risk of mood changes

• Increased risk of gastrointestinal problems

• Higher risk of work-related accidents and motor vehicle accidents

• Anxiety

• Social isolation

These challenges highlight the need for interventions and support for night shift workers to improve their health, safety, and overall well-being.

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Shift workers tend to be continually sleep-deprived. It is tough for them to get enough sleep during the day. They are also much more likely to be awakened by noises or people, so their sleep is very light.

They are less likely to feel well-rested when they wake up. They get an average of two to four hours less sleep than expected daily, which can develop into insomnia over time .

Successfully adapting to shift work requires coaching your body to sleep at times that may feel unnatural.

A lot of shift workers discover they can minimise the symptoms of shift work disorder using a combination of approaches, including medication, bright light treatment, and lifestyle modifications .

The following are some helpful tips to help shift workers optimise their circadian rhythm:

Implement light therapy

An exciting technique you can employ to help you improve your sleep as a shift worker is light therapy. A study review by Korean researchers discovered that  light therapy was the most effective method for shift workers to sleep longer  because it can adjust the body's circadian rhythm. 

You can implement light therapy using a light box or light therapy glasses. Light therapy involves strategically timed exposure to light and darkness to reset your body's circadian rhythm. This controlled exposure to light can alter melatonin production and shift sleep and wake times earlier or later. 

Make sleep a priority to avoid “sleep debt”

The most crucial action you can take is to set aside enough hours for rest, which means 7 to 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep right after your night shift. Don't let the fear of falling behind on that never-ending list of chores keep you from getting enough rest.

While you may feel tempted to handle errands or responsibilities right after your night shift, putting off sleep can trigger a dangerous cycle of "sleep debt.

Remember that daylight naturally triggers our circadian clock to wake us up. So, ensure you block out as much light as possible in your bedroom to help you get good sleep quality, and try to get as much sleep for as long as possible to prevent the negative effects of chronic sleep deprivation.

Try a quick nap before work

If you happen to wake up earlier than you ought to, ensure you take a quick nap before work. A report shows that taking a quick nap before the night shift doesn't just boost your overall time asleep but  can also improve your alertness .

Go directly to bed after arriving at home

You could be tempted to stay awake all day before the first shift in a block of night shifts and then work all night. Remember that our cognitive performance after 24 hours without sleep is the equivalent of working with a blood alcohol level of 0.10% .

If your body's circadian rhythm hasn't adjusted to sleeping during the day, you've only got a limited amount of time before your natural circadian alerting mechanism kicks in to keep you awake.

Help your internal clock out and get as much rest as possible before your night shift time clock in.

Get support

Getting enough sleep at home is typically a group effort. Ask your family and friends to accept and support your sleep routine by reducing disruptive behaviour and disruptions during designated periods.

Use melatonin supplements

If you're still struggling with a night-shift sleep schedule, you may want to consider taking a melatonin supplement.

Melatonin supplements are an effective way to induce sleepiness at appropriate or desired times. Correct timing and dose of melatonin are essential to help adjust the circadian rhythm effectively. This strategy can help night shift workers sleep during the day and may help individuals with a circadian rhythm sleep disorder adjust their sleep schedules.

While melatonin can help night shift workers sleep during the day, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine cautions that the supplements don't necessarily lead to better alertness during the work shift . Although melatonin supplements are generally available over the counter, we recommend checking with your doctor first.

Allow yourself to feel tired

As a night shift worker, you may be tempted to engage in other activities during the day, but resist this temptation. Consider your health by giving in to fatigue and rest. Adjusting to the daytime sleep schedule may take a while, so be patient with the process.

Eat well

Stomach problems are common in shift workers . Many shift workers eat poorly and at unusual hours. Try to eat three standard meals distributed evenly over the course of the day. Regular meal times are essential for your body. They serve as time signals for your body clock. These cues help your body know when to make you sleepy.

While regular meals are essential, it is advised not to eat your largest food of the day within 3 hours of bedtime and not to drink any alcohol within 3 hours of bedtime.

Initially, drinking may help you fall asleep more quickly. However, over time, it can impair your sleep quality . It also causes you to wake up more often during your sleep period.

Avoid eating too many snacks and fast foods. Eat a balanced, low-fat meal rich in fruits, vegetables, and cereals, and avoid high-fat and high-protein foods . This helps prevent stomach problems, which can impact shift workers' sleep.

Use caffeine wisely

Caffeine is a stimulant. When used correctly, a daily dose of coffee can help a person stay alert throughout a shift. However, excessive use can cause gastrointestinal upsets and muscle shakes.

Most people drink a lot of coffee at the beginning of their shift to start their day. However, research reveals that shift workers take a different approach to enhancing the effects of coffee . Workers who drink smaller and more frequent quantities of caffeine throughout the day reported increased wakefulness, improved cognitive performance, and fewer accidental naps than those who did not take caffeine.

Some evidence indicates that the effects of caffeine set in after around 20 minutes and that taking a tiny dose of caffeine before taking a nap can counteract the sleep inertia people may experience after waking .

Stop consuming caffeine around six hours before bedtime to ensure the stimulant does not impact sleep. Every person is different; hence finding the correct combination of techniques that best suits an individual may take time. 

Light is one of the most powerful drivers of the circadian rhythm, and being exposed to it at specific times may help you adjust your sleep cycle. Specifically, bright light increases alertness while suppressing the release of the sleep hormone melatonin.

When you use light therapy devices like Luminette 3 Light Therapy Glasses and the Drive Light Therapy Lamp , you stay awake and delay sleepiness.

If you're working the night shift, implementing light therapy before work or turning up the lights during a night shift may help you feel more awake or adjust to an upcoming night shift.

Conversely, when you need to sleep after a shift that ends in the middle of the day, wearing dark sunglasses when you leave work may help minimise the effects of sunshine on alertness.

Some research suggests that combining bright light therapy and light avoidance may ease fatigue, minimise work errors, boost mood, and pave the way for better sleep, but other investigations have yielded mixed findings .

The effectiveness of light therapy may be determined by the type of shifts you work and the number of consecutive night shift days you keep in a row.

Light therapy can be an effective non-pharmacological treatment for rapidly rotating shift workers to improve sleep quality, reduce night shift fatigue, and increase alertness.

It can also help shift workers adapt their circadian rhythms to their schedules.

To maximise the benefits of light therapy, consider the following guidelines:

Before work

To help you feel more awake, use a bright light box or special light bulbs that emit bright light for at least 30 minutes before work.

During the shift

During the shifts, you can try to “trick” your body into an alert state by exposing it to bright light. To promote alertness, use higher illumination levels and cooler light colours with shorter wavelengths (460–480 nm) during the first half of the shift.

When switching shifts

Use  bright light therapy  in the morning to help you shift your circadian rhythm so you wake up or in the evening to help you adjust to an upcoming night shift.

During night shifts

After your shift ends, avoid using bright lights during the last hour of your shift to prevent disruptions to your sleep. You can also promote sleep by suppressing light exposure after your shift.

Research has shown that shift workers exposed to bright light during their night shift and wore sunglasses on the way home to block out bright light drifted off to sleep quicker and slept longer after their shift than those who did not.

The Luminette light therapy glasses offer a great way to incorporate light therapy and reset your body's internal clock. You can wear Luminette over your prescription glasses or contact lenses as it does not dazzle or disrupt your eyesight.

Shift work, a staple of modern economies, often clashes with our body's sleep cycle. This disruption, known as circadian rhythm shift work disorder, can lead to chronic fatigue, sleep disturbances, and impaired cognitive function.

Understanding and optimizing circadian rhythms is essential for those battling the challenges of night shifts. Implementing the strategies explored in this article can significantly improve your sleep quality, energy levels, and overall well-being.

Remember, consistency is key. While light therapy is a powerful tool, it should be combined with good sleep hygiene and other healthy lifestyle practices for optimal results.

Ready to take control of your sleep? Order the Luminette 3 light therapy glasses today!