A sleep schedule
Set aside time for your main sleep after a shift in advance and try to keep it consistent. If your main sleep isn't enough, ask a doctor whether a short rest before heading to work makes sense for you.
Approaches
Methods and approaches
Sometimes life itself puts your inner clock in a tough spot: night shifts, a trip halfway around the world, a winter without sun or a summer without night. In this section we describe general approaches to routine, light and darkness in these circumstances, and explain who to turn to if you can't manage on your own and how to prepare for the appointment.
You can't cancel a night shift or winter darkness. But you can decide where in your day the light goes, and where darkness and sleep belong.
How this section works: we describe general principles for planning sleep and light without reference to specific facilities, devices or remedies. We do not create individual plans or recommend treatment — those decisions are made by a doctor.
Shift work
On night and rotating shifts, the body is asked to stay awake just when the inner clock is preparing it for sleep.
Light at work and on the way home
A well-lit workplace helps at the start of a night shift. In the morning, on your way home, try to limit time in bright light so it's easier to fall asleep.
Darkening the bedroom
Blackout curtains, a sleep mask, quiet and a cool room help you sleep during the day. Ask the people you live with not to wake you unless it's truly necessary.
Safety behind the wheel
If you feel yourself nodding off after a shift, don't drive. Frequent severe sleepiness is a reason to discuss your schedule with a doctor.
Flying across time zones
After a long trip, your inner clock keeps running on home time for a while.
Flying east
The local day starts earlier than your body is used to, and many people find this adjustment harder. Morning light at your destination and gradually moving your bedtime earlier can help.
Flying west
The local evening arrives later than you're used to. It's usually easier to stay up until local bedtime if you spend the second half of the day in daylight and on the move.
On the way and after arrival
Try to switch to the local routine right away: eat and sleep when everyone else does and spend time outdoors during the day. If you have a chronic condition, discuss your routine with a doctor before the trip.
Polar night and polar day
Above the Arctic Circle there is a time of year when the sun doesn't rise and a time when it doesn't set.
Light during polar night
Turn on bright lights at home in the morning, go outside during the twilight hours of the day and keep a fixed wake-up time. If low mood persists, that's a reason to see a doctor.
Darkness during polar day
Blackout curtains and a sleep mask help keep the bedroom dark when it's light outside around the clock. In the evening, it's best not to linger in bright sunshine until late.
A year-round routine
A fixed wake-up time, daytime activity and a quiet evening are especially important where nature gives no hint of when it's day and when it's night.
Who to see
You can start a conversation about sleep with the doctor you usually see.
Primary care doctor
The usual starting point. They will ask about your routine and how you feel, check whether there are other causes of fatigue and refer you on if needed.
Neurologist
You may be referred to one when your primary care doctor thinks sleep and wakefulness problems need a closer look.
Sleep specialist
Some doctors focus specifically on sleep and are known as sleep medicine specialists. Ask your primary care doctor where and how to see one.
How to prepare for an appointment
A conversation about sleep is more useful when you bring not just impressions but notes.
Keep a sleep diary
Each day, note when you went to bed, when you think you fell asleep, whether you woke up during the night, when you got up and how you felt during the day. A few weeks of notes show the picture more clearly than any memory.
Describe your schedule
Tell the doctor about your shifts, trips and evening screen time. Your doctor needs to know the conditions you sleep in.
List everything you take
Tell your doctor about all remedies and supplements you use, even if they seem harmless.
What to avoid
- Choosing sleep aids based on advice from friends or online forums
- Getting by on short scraps of sleep instead of one main sleep period
- Driving home after a night shift when your eyes are closing
- Staying on home time while traveling and ignoring local time
- Waiting for spring if low mood doesn't lift all winter
Read next
- Topics
A map of topics: how the inner clock works, light through the day, chronotype, shift schedules, long flights, northern latitudes, plus the catalogue.
- Ask your doctor
Questions about sleep, shift schedules, daytime sleepiness and supplements that are worth raising with your own doctor.
- Glossary
Body rhythm terms in plain language: from circadian rhythm and chronotype to the sleep diary and polar day.
- Prevention
Everyday habits for a steady rhythm: a consistent wake-up time, morning light, movement, a quiet evening and seeing a doctor in good time.
Sources
- Nobel Committee — the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- American Academy of Sleep Medicine — recommendations on adult sleep duration (2015)
This guide draws on the Nobel Committee's announcement of the 2017 prize, the recommendations on adult sleep duration and the WHO guidelines on physical activity as they were available when the texts were written. Scientific understanding of sleep rhythms keeps evolving, so questions about your own health are best discussed with a doctor.