Rotating shifts: stop chasing one bedtime
If your roster moves between days, evenings, and nights, a single bedtime is the wrong scoreboard. The job is to protect sleep blocks — a recurring core sleep, then supplemental sleep so you still get 7–9 hours in 24 hours.
Three rules that hold up on a changing schedule:
Separate body-clock timing from sleep opportunity. You cannot always sleep at night. You can still defend a block.
Keep a two-hour buffer between sleep and work. That is where light, food, and commute eat the block if you do not plan them.
On days off, do not slam back to a “normal” night immediately. That reversal is what makes the next night shift worse.
Nurses, factory crews, and first responders: map the next seven days of the roster before you pick a bedtime. The block comes first.
Shift Sleep is a $20 one-time digital guide for this exact problem. Educational only — not medical advice.
