We Work The Night Shift. Here Are Our Tips For Avoiding Exhaustion.

While the rest of us are sleeping, millions of Americans are clocking in each evening to work night shifts. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, around 10% of all working adults in the U.S. do overnights.

Night shift workers are essential. Hospitals, fire departments and your favorite morning bakery would not be able to run without them. But it can be a brutal schedule to endure.

“It’s definitely not for the weak,” said Anna Pascarella, a California-based labor and delivery nurse, who did night shifts full-time for seven years and does them intermittently now.

Working against your natural sleep cycle is tough because we have a 24-hour internal clock that governs our body and minds. That biological clock wants us to use nights to sleep, rest and recover. When we go against that natural circadian rhythm, it can make us cranky, tired and can lead to poor health outcomes.

But it’s a necessary shift that so many of us do each night. HuffPost reached out to night shift workers in a variety of industries to get their best tips for staying alert and taking care of yourself when you’re tired. Here’s what they shared:

Protect your sleep time.

Getting good sleep means sleeping at least seven hours as an adult. One rule that helps? Holding yourself accountable to your bedtime. If you’re exhausted ― whether it’s because you’re a shift worker yourself or maybe you just didn’t get good rest the night before ― make sure to try to stick to a good sleep schedule as best as you can so you can recoup after lost sleep.

“The world is not built for semi-nocturnal people,” said Claire Murashima, an overnight segment producer for NPR’s Morning Edition in Washington, D.C. “And if I’m going to get sleep, I need to be the one to say