Night Shift Sleep: How Working Nights Can Affect Sleep, Focus & Alertness

Night shifts don't just leave you tired. Your sleep affects how you think, focus and function – and research suggests the impact of working nights may go beyond fatigue.

If you have ever finished a night shift as the sun is rising, you'll know how difficult sleeping during the day can be. You're exhausted and ready for bed, but it's light outside, everyone else is waking up and your body is naturally expecting you to be awake. 

You are definitely not alone. The Office for National Statistics estimates 8.7 million people (around 27% of the UK workforce) regularly work during the evening or night. This includes workers across a wide range of industries from healthcare and emergency services to transport, hospitality, manufacturing and retail. 

As a Paramedic myself, I've experienced working nights and the challenges that come with trying to sleep during the day. I still work as a Paramedic, so this isn't a topic I've researched from a distance. I've learnt how much the little things in your sleep environment can matter, and it's one of the reasons I am passionate about the small things we can do to make sleep feel a little easier when we are working against our natural body clock. 

Sleep is not simply about feeling less tired. It plays an essential part of everyday life, including how we think, focus, react and function.

What does night shift work mean for your mind and brain? 

A study from 2023 was published in PLOS One which looked at nearly 48,000 people aged 45-85 from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Ageing. The researchers compared participants work schedules with results from several cognitive function tests.

They found that those who work nights or regularly rotating shifts have a 79% higher chance of developing overall cognitive impairment than regular day shift workers.

This is significant.

However, it is important to put this finding into context. The study found that working nights was associated cognitive dysfunction rather than a direct cause of it. However, It does highlight the importance of why sleep and recovery matters after working night shifts and that we should place more attention to how we can support our sleep and wellbeing and reduce our risk of such concerns  when working regularly against our natural sleep-wake rhythm.

Why is daytime sleep so difficult?

Our bodies have a natural internal clock called the circadian rhythm. This rhythm helps regulate and control when we sleep and wake up. When we work nights, it causes circadian misalignment. This mismatch suppresses sleep promoting hormones like melatonin and results in poor daytime sleep quality and long term health risks. Light, noise and temperature can also play a role in making daytime sleep harder.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recognises sleep loss and fatigue as a significant problem for night shift works and understands that daytime sleep may be easily disturbed, shorter and poorer quality compared to night time sleep. They provide guidance on how to optimise your sleep environment to improve the quality of daytime sleep. They recommend keeping your bedroom cool, reduce outside noise and reducing light exposure in your sleep environment. To create darkness, they recommend using heavy curtains, black out blinds and wearing a sleep mask to improve the quality of your sleep. 

So while you can't always control when your shift finishes, you can make some changes to the environment you're sleeping in. 

5 Simple Ways to Create a Better Daytime Sleep Environment

1. Make your bedroom as dark as possible

Daylight can make it harder to create the feeling of night when you're trying to sleep and recover during the day. Darkness triggers your body to produce melatonin which is a hormone that supports deeper sleep. HSE recommends using heavy curtains, black out blinds or using eye masks to create that darkness. Close your curtains and blinds, remove unnecessary sources of light and consider investing in a comfortable sleep mask to promote better quality sleep.

2. Keep your bedroom cool and comfortable

A comfortable bedroom can make sleeping during the day so much easier, especially when you've come home from a very long shift. HSE recommends adjusting the room temperature so that it is comfortable, with cooler temperatures associated with improved quality sleep.

3. Reduce the noise around you

Daytime sleep can be associated with noises that wouldn't necessarily be present if you were sleeping at night, such as traffic, deliveries, neighbours and everything else that occurs while the rest of the world is awake. Where possible, reduce unnecessary noise by letting your neighbours know your work schedule so they are aware to keep the noise down when you are likely to be sleeping. You can also consider using white noise machines or earplugs to reduce disturbance.

4. Give yourself time to wind down.

It can be tempting to get home after a very long shift, walk through the door and get straight into bed. However it isn't as simple as that sometimes. After a demanding shift, your body might be tired, but your mind is still processing everything that happened. A simple transition from work to sleep is ideal - this may include showering, changing into comfortable clothes, having a warm drink or taking a few minutes away from your phone. It doesn't need to be complicated – just a routine that is realistic to your everyday schedule, so choose a few things that help you feel relaxed that you can return to whenever possible.

5. Protect the sleep opportunity you have

When you get home, there can be plenty of things competing for your attention - housework, family commitments, school runs, and answering messages. But if you only have a limited amount of time before you're next on duty, try not to sacrifice the sleep you get once everything is complete. HSE recommends planning domestic errands and tasks around your shift pattern rather than completing them during the hours where your sleep should be prioritised.

Where does the sleep mask fit in?

A sleep mask is not going to solve every challenge that comes with working nights, and it can't replace getting enough sleep.

However, what it can do is help with one very important part of your sleep environment: light.

This is something I have found particularly useful myself after night shifts. When I'm trying to sleep during the day, having a sleep mask gives me another way to block out daylight and create a darker environment, especially when I can't completely control the light around me.

That's one of the reasons I created the Ella & Grace Sleep Ritual Mask. 

Made from 100% Mulberry Silk with a silk-filling for breathable comfort and a contoured lash friendly design, it's designed to create complete darkness wherever and whatever time you rest. Whether you're sleeping after a night shift, travelling or simply trying to sleep at unfamiliar times, it's a small addition to your routine that can help make your sleep environment feel more intentional. 

For me, that's what a good sleep ritual is about. It doesn't need to involve a complicated list of habits; sometimes it's simply about making a few small changes that help you create the best conditions possible for the sleep you can get. 

You can't always control your shifts. But you can control your sleep environment.

Getting good quality sleep can prove challenging when you work nights, but there are still things you can do within your control. 

Create better sleep conditions by making your bedroom darker, reduce unnecessary noise, make it cooler and more comfortable. This makes it the perfect environment to wind down and protect the sleep opportunity you've got before your next shift.

Because when you've finished a long shift and only have a limited window to recover, those hours matter.

Better nights. Brighter mornings 🤍

By Bryony Petersen MSc, BSc (Hons), SRPara, MCPara, Founder of Ella & Grace.

I'm passionate about making sleep and wellbeing more achievable, particularly for people whose lives don't fit a traditional 9-5 routine. Ella & Grace was born from my own experience of working long shifts and understanding how important those opportunities to rest really are.

Sources

Office for National Statistics — The night-time economy, UK: 2022
The ONS estimated that 8.7 million people, or 27% of the UK workforce, were night-time workers in 2022.

Khan et al., PLOS ONE (2023)
The association between shift work exposure and cognitive impairment among middle-aged and older adults.

Health and Safety Executive — Hints and tips for shift-workers
Guidance covering daytime sleep, darkness, noise, temperature and sleep routines.

Health and Safety Executive — Managing shift work
Detailed HSE guidance on shift work and creating a favourable sleep environment.