More than a million people run the risk of being burned out for a long time. A high workload, irregular work, or insufficient growth opportunities cause unrest.

Short-term stress is usually not unhealthy. It is actually quite normal to come home tired after a hard day’s work. After a hard day, you can easily recover from the stress. But if you have a lot of these days, it can get a little trickier. If you regularly experience  stress, your body will not get enough time to recover. The stress can accumulate and because of that, your body can not rest enough and cannot adjust and heal anymore. Complaints such as restlessness, headache, difficulty in noticing, forgetfulness, gloominess and irritability can arise.

Some people are temporarily unable to work due to these complaints. However, most people tend to recover rather fast after a dropout because of stress. 

Causes of stress

Stress can have various reasons and often it is a combination of factors. For example:

  • Work related factors: at work you can experience stress through time constraints, little autonomy, structural overtime, a lot of work, being bullied or because you receive too little support from supervisors and colleagues.
  • Personal characteristics: perfectionism, being ambitious, fear of failure, great sense of power or not being assertive, are personal qualities that may cause more stress.
  • External influences: often there are also other influences that can cause stress, such as relationship problems, problems with money or a major life event.

How can you recognize stress? 

  • Physical complaints: tiredness, insomnia, pain (muscle, head, back pain), palpitations, increased blood pressure and increased cholesterol.
  • Psychological complaints: mentally exhausted, extinguished, insecurity, worry, anxiety, and stubbornness, difficulty relating, forgetful, irritability and gloominess
  • Behavioral complaints: perform less, smoke more, consume alcohol, avoid social contacts.

NiceDay coaching

Stress really influences your health. It is therefore important that you take enough rest after busy days and that you do not take on too much for a long time. Do you find it difficult to find a balance? NiceDay would like to help!

A NiceDay coach can help you deal with (work)stress. Together with your coach, for example, you look for specific characteristics, your ambitions and what you value in life. Your coach also helps you to better define your boundaries. 

Read more: tips against work stress

Ellie works as a nurse in a big hospital for over 20 years now. She loves her job and is committed to her patients with heart and soul. But when the reorganization started and the hospital merged with another hospital, this had major consequences for Ellie’s work. There were more patients to take care of and less nurses available per patient. There was also an increasing administrative pressure. Everything that Ellie did had to be reported. Ellie sometimes worked for 11 days in a row and received little appreciation for her unbridled efforts. Sounds depressing, right? And that is what happened, Ellie got depressed.

But is Ellie her story representative? How often does misery at work actually lead to a depression? What is the difference between depression and a burn-out? And, if you find yourself depressed, what can you do?

Depression in numbers

Before we dive into these questions, first some information. Did you know that 1 in 5 people in the Netherlands has to deal or dealt with a depression? That is twenty percent! Therefore depression had the dubious honor of being among the top 5 of disorders with the highest burden of disease, medical expenses and absenteeism. When you feel low for the majority of the day or you experience loss of pleasure in activities which would normally interest a person, you meet the diagnosis of a depression. This must coincide with some of the following symptoms:

  •  concentration, attention and memory problems,
  • too much or too little appetite and insomnia,
  • feelings of guilt
  • sometimes thoughts about self-harm and suicide

Is your work the cause of your depression?

Depression can be caused by stressful working conditions: research shows that work-related situations certainly play a role in the development of depressive symptoms. Working pressure (27%); uncertainty about the future(19%); lack of support or bullying / conflicts (26%) are the most reported factors causing sensitivity for a depression. Mainly the combination of a demanding job combined with a lack of decision-making power are big risk factors. However, a noisy or dark work environment does not seem to play a role in the development of depressive symptoms.

Are you vulnerable for a depression?

Is everyone who deals with these burdensome working conditions depressed? No, definitely not. As with many psychiatric disorders, “nature” and “nurture”, or genetic predisposition and environmental factors, play a role.

Genetic vulnerability

Research shows that children with a depressive parent are three times more likely to get depressed. Also, you are also more vulnerable to depression when you are inclined to react negatively to stressful events, believe that these events are your own “stupid” fault and when you do not feel power over the situation. This is also called “cognitive vulnerability”.

Your home situation

Translated into everyday life, these insights mean that genes, your character in combination with your working conditions, can make you vulnerable to the development of depressive symptoms. This vulnerability can be increased even more if you experience problems in other areas of your life. In Ellie’s case, besides feeling overloaded at work, there was also a very stressful home situation with her partner who regularly grabbed the bottle and got aggressive. Ellie, who described herself as a perfectionist with a great sense of responsibility having an unsafe home situation, broke after the reorganization. It was the last straw that broke the camel’s back. Ellie got depressed.

Burnout or depression?

She became depressed. However, this work-related problem could also have led to a burn-out. The distinction between both disorders is quite difficult as there are big similarities in the symptoms of both disorders, such as fatigue and concentration problems. Yet experts also mention very important differences between a burn-out and a depression. In short, someone with a burnout still wants to work, but can not do it anymore, while someone with depression lost his or her drive to work. This seemingly small difference has major consequences for the treatment. In the case of depression it is important that people get out again, that they gradually start doing things again. For people with a burnout complaints, on the contrary, it is important that they take a step back.

What can you do?

As always: to prevent is better than to cure. This means that it makes sense to seek support as quickly as possible and to investigate what you need to feel better. Your supervisor or your employer can play a role in this. Structure your working hours and ensure sufficient sleep, exercise and relaxation. If you find that difficult, it is wise to seek help from a professional counselor. Together you can investigate how to find balance and how you can learn to deal with vulnerable characteristics, such as; learning to say “no”, setting limits and being more gentle with yourself.

And Ellie?

Ellie learned not to ask too much of herself and eventually chose to leave her violent partner. At her work she is carefully rebuilding under the supervision of her employer and she tries to get to know her limits and to monitor them. What we learn from Ellie’s story? That we can manage to get out of that valley and be happy again. And that is important to know: good help is available. You do not have to do it alone.

Since 2015 I have been struggling with panic attacks. In that year, the company I worked for was taken over by a new owner. By nature I am a hard worker. However, my new boss raised the bar even higher and an even greater overtime culture was created. Everyone in the company participated. Me too! Because if you didn’t, you would get nasty comments about it.

 I regularly worked on in my free time. At that time my dizziness complaints started and later on panic attacks started to occur. They mainly happened on highway, but sometimes also in the supermarket. They were terrible! The feeling that I would faint and afterwards I that heavy tiredness as if I had practiced top sport. 

 I started to doubt my own abilities

 The obvious solution was to change jobs. However, I enjoyed my work and colleagues and I was scared to change jobs. I was mentally not at my strongest and in the meantime I was starting to doubt my abilities.

 At one point it was so bad that I was already nauseous and dizzy in the morning, afraid of what awaited me that day. I knew it was time to change jobs. This was no longer possible. Pretty soon I had found another nice job with nice colleagues. By changing jobs I had the expectation that the panic attacks would decrease or perhaps disappear. Unfortunately this was not true.

My way to NiceDay

 I was sick of it and needed tools to get the panic attacks under control. I started looking for the possibilities for online help. I read an experience story about a young woman who was often dizzy and with help of NiceDay her complaints were gone. I wanted this too!

 Work in progress 

 Soon I had my intake. This felt good! Apart from the fact that I felt there was a click, things went better after every session. My coach also guided me through the entire process. I received relaxation exercises, relaxing music, breathing exercises and more information. I also received exposure assignments. So I actively started looking for situations where I would get panic attacks. We evaluated the assignments via the app, chat and by telephone.

 We discussed my perfectionism and the fact that I have to indicate my boundaries more strongly at work. On this topic I also received interesting articles and tips which I started to apply in my daily life.

 More peace 

 I have become more alert to my mental and physical health. I get a bit more rest, don’t set the bar so high and I set my boundaries better. I also started exercising and meditating regularly. The panic attacks have been considerably reduced. It now even happens that they no longer continue. I’m really happy with it!

 NiceDay is for everyone 

 I can recommend NiceDay to anyone. Despite the fact that it is digital, it is still very personal. It is nice that you have an “appointment” with your psychologist every week. There are no weeks between sessions if you don’t want to, so you actively work on your recovery.

 I am very grateful to my coach Sarah, without her I would never have achieved what I have achieved now!

Hello dear reader,

It has been a while, but here I am again. The past few weeks have been turbulent and in my previous blog about making a plan for my workload, I promised to tell you how this plan is working for me. Here it is!

What is going well?

Every workday I start my day with making a to-do list, to get a good overview of things I have to do and what I can postpone or even cancel. It causes less stress at work and the urgency of my tasks are more clear.

At the same time, there is one thing that has given me an enormous amount of rest. I started walking to work more often instead of going by bike. Sometimes I walk with my boyfriend, which gives us quality time to talk to each other. Sometimes I take a meditative walk and I reflect on the day. After a working day, a walk makes my head much emptier than a hectic bike ride.

In the past month I have succeeded to work out twice a week. Sometimes even three times a week! This makes me feel better and better. 

Finally, I have planned plenty of fun trips to look forward to. I still have a wellness voucher lying around, I am going to my family next weekend and I have booked a sun holiday in January.

… and what does not go so well?

It is still difficult for me not to be constantly busy with work in my spare time. I often check my mail, receive calls in my “private time” and often do a work related task on my days off. In my work pressure plan I had stated that I would block days as completely “work-free”. In practice, this is quite difficult. My boyfriend works in the same place as I and many of my colleagues are also close friends, which means I often talk about work in my spare time.

This makes it difficult sometimes to find my peace and not let my work completely dominate my private life. I notice that things that I normally enjoy (social activities, extensive cooking in the evenings or even writing this blog) can cause me stress. These things, which I usually enjoy, start to feel like a “must”.

And now?

While writing this blog I ask myself how I can succeed in making my work less dominant in my life. I think it comes down to being less hard on myself.

Not in the mood for a birthday party? It is fine, I can cancel if I am not feeling so well. Or drop by for an hour and crawl into bed early. Don’t feel like cooking? Occasionally, I can also just order some comfort food or spend quality time with my boyfriend or friends by spontaneously going out to eat.

And writing this blog? I learned that I should never force myself to write, but only write if I have inspiration. In the meantime, I have learned that the editors of NiceDay always respond incredibly understanding, even if I am unable to deliver a blog on time. In the end, this blog is about my mental well-being and I need to be able to write this well. By not making “fun things” an obligation, they also remain fun without having to add more “tasks” in addition to my work!

 The balance between work and private life remains a personal search for me that will take some time. When I look at my work pressure plan, I have succeeded in many of my personal points. I want to continue step by step. In this way I keep getting better at maintaining my boundaries  and my free time. Of course I would love to share my steps here!

Love,

Mara

Do you have any tips to keep the balance between work and private life? Let me know in the comments below. I like to read your tips 🙂

You will probably remember this. On vacation with your family and you are very excited about reading your new book in the back seat. When the highway makes way for hairpin bends, your eyes stay focused on the letters in front of you. After a full 30 seconds of slalom, you realize: “Mom, Dad, I’m sick!” “Then put that book away!” your parent says. You let the exciting story for what it is and soon nausea disappears; your body is in balance again.

Your body reacts with an imbalance

Taking action when you are physically out of balance is logical. The senses – eyes, ears, muscles – communicate with the brain when something is wrong and when corrections are needed in order not to fall, feel sick or perform an exercise properly. The brain processes all input and coordinates the body to regain balance. Why is finding the physical balance so much easier than finding mental balance?

Why do we want to be busy?

We get upset when we have a lot on our to-do list and only a limited time for implementation. Yet it happens to all of us. Sarah Cameron, life coach, shares her theory: “being busy” makes us feel important, it is a means to escape. This can be an escape from a fear of doing nothing, being alone, or not being appreciated. In many cases, it has to do with learning to set boundaries and making choices. Danielle Orner, writer, actress and yoga practitioner says it more nuanced ” Life is a balance between what we can control and what we cannot. I am learning to live between effort and surrender. “

You can train balance

Given that “making an effort” for something that does not sound nice and is certainly not so obvious, we will discuss this in more detail. You will have to work for balance. Think of someone who does yoga: he has practiced for hours before the scorpion handstand can be performed. This also works in your own life: continuous training ultimately leads to results.

What helps me, is putting things I find important into perspective. If I would send a letter to my older self in about 20 years, I would not have to mention that I should have spent more time with my family and less at my desk. Balancing your daily life is a conscious choice that you make every day.

When I was immersed in urgent tasks, a supervisor once told me: “pick your battles”. He repeated this every time I was standing at his desk with an overheated and stressed face. Choose very consciously what you give your energy to, and whether this gives a positive return on investment. If you choose to do more things that cost you energy than provide you energy, there is a negative number at the end of the line; you are out of balance.

Keep it simple

These do not necessarily have to be drastic choices or a dramatic adjustment in your life. Always start small to keep it clear: the small steps ultimately bring you further. Consider a conscious choice to leave work every day at 5.30 p.m. instead of 6.00 p.m. Or decide to start every day in silence with yourself and not with Instagram, Facebook and other social media. You can read more tips in my blog about a busy life.

You are the designer of your life

If you feel that your life is out of balance, your brain requires training. Forget the company or boss you work for, the people who ask for attention in your private life, or other things that prevent you from finding your balance: you are the designer of your life. There are always circumstances that influence certain choices, but ultimately the responsibility for making a final choice lies with you.

As Edward Norton said in the movie Fight Club: “We buy things we don’t need, with money we don’t have, to impress people we don’t like.”

Don’t let that happen to you and start training for mental balance. Good luck!

We breathe throughout the whole day. A lot of times we don’t pay a lot of attention to our breathe, while it’s an important that confronts us with ourselves. For example, fast and shallow breathing is often a sign of stress and tension. Shallow breathing is the drawing of minimal breath into the lungs, usually by drawing air into the chest area using the intercostal muscles rather than throughout the lungs via the diaphragm. 

Are you currently experiencing work stress? The following breathing exercises help reduce stress. By delaying your breathing a little more, you increase your lung capacity and you feel less stressed. 

4-7-8 breathing or ‘relaxing breath’ 

When: you notice that your breathing is superficial or accelerated, when you worry a lot or experience acute (work) stress. 

How to do it? 

  1. Begin by laying down or sitting in a comfortable position. 
  2. Rest your arms along your body with your palms facing up. 
  3. Take a deep breath and sigh or exhale through your mouth. Try to relax your face and jaw. 
  4. Breathe in 4 seconds as deeply as possible (feel your rib cage widen), hold your breath for 7 seconds and then exhale in 8 seconds.
  5. Repeat this 4 times. 
  6. Take a deep breath and sigh out. 

Equal breathing 

When: in preparation for a complex tasks, a meditation exercise or if you feel restless. 

How to do it? 

  1. Begin by sitting or standing comfortably. 
  2. Take a deep breath and sigh. 
  3. Breath in through the nose for 6 seconds. 
  4. Hold the breath for 6 seconds; your lungs are full. 
  5. Exhale through the nose for 6 seconds. 
  6. Hold the breath for 6 seconds; your lungs are empty. 
  7. Repeat this about 4 times or for a few minutes. 
  8. Take a deep breath and sigh out. 

Warning: People with heart problems and/or high blood pressure should be careful with this exercise. Holding these breaths may be too stressful for them. In that case, listen carefully to your body and explore how many counts are possible for you. 

The belly breathing

When: this is an exercise that you can do at any time. It can help you relax if you experience stress, anger or anxiety. You can even do it before going to sleep. 

How to do it? 

  1. Begin by laying down in a comfortable position. Place 1 or both hand palms on your lower abdomen. Relax your face and jaw.
  2. Bring your attention to your hand(s) and breathe in gently. Feel your belly expand. Then breathe out again and feel your hand move back. 
  3. Breathe in 4 seconds and exhale 4 seconds. Do this about 25 times (approximately 5 minutes). Take your time and don’t force anything. 

Warning: Are you pregnant? Hold your breath no longer than 2 seconds. 

Tips 

Be patient with yourself. Are you unable to master the exercise the first time? Then try again. 

Try these exercises at home. This makes it more easy to do them when you’re at work. We hope you can breathe your stress away!

NiceDay actions 

Set up some reminders for yourself to do an exercise during work in the NiceDay app. Are you still experiencing (a lot of) stress? Ask your coach for help. And don’t forget: as with many things in life, it’s all about practicing. 

Dear reader,

As I described in my previous blog, mental health is a process. A process with good days and bad days. A process of trial and error. I was on vacation for two weeks and it was wonderful: laying on the beach, walking through beautiful cities and eating delicious food. But when I returned from my holiday, I soon felt a little depressed. Back in the Netherlands, the weather is bad, I have less time for rest and relaxation and above all it was immediately busy again at work.

Balance at the workplace

My workload has ups and downs. There are months when it is extremely busy and months when it is very quiet. Of course, working in my sector also has its advantages: I can travel more often than most people, I am more off at times when everyone is working and I am very close to my colleagues, because during the busy months we share joys and sorrows.

But there are also disadvantages: during the busy months I work a lot of overtime, I work at the craziest times and I have little time for my family and friends. It is therefore difficult to keep the balance between enough exercise, sleep and nutrition.

Work pressure plan

My solution for a good balance during busy months is a plan when pressure rises. A plan with action points to better get through the busy months. 

This is in my plan:

  • reserve one day a week for myself and unwind (no work mail and not answering any phone calls),
  • make a clear plan every week for the upcoming week in which I block times in my work calendar, so that I get to the things I want to get done,
  • start every day with a to-do list and prioritize with the Covey matrix. Which matters are urgent? What can be delayed or even skipped?
  • visit or invite my family once a month,
  • do not let work control my private life by talking about work or meeting colleagues in my free time,
  • exercise at least once a week,
  • meditate and / or walk at the start or after a busy day,
  • plan nice weekends and/or days off.

And now … do it!

Although I had already anticipated the work pressure and how to deal with it, I felt down after my vacation. How did that happen? I ignored my own plan. The problem is, if I am doing well – and it went after the holidays – it’s easier to forget to use my plan. Meditating, talking with my partner, a walk, taking good care of myself with extra sleep and healthy eating: these are all things that I will only pay attention to when my mental wellbeing is getting worse. So it is good if I recognize my stress signals in time and I will not intervene until it is too late.

Now that I feel better again, I’m more motivated to follow my work pressure plan.

In my next blog I will tell you how the plan works! Keep you posted!

Love,

Mara

We have all gone through it once. You still have to send a number of emails and tick off some more tasks before you can go home. And before you know it, you are late for dinner. There goes your evening off, again.

Research has shown that long-term overtime can cause both physical and mental problems. For instance burnout or depression. In this blog post, we will tell you the different types of overtime and the dangers that overtime can bring.

The different types of overwork

There are to types of overtime. We can best define this as ” voluntary ” versus ” involuntary ”.

Voluntary

Voluntary overtime happens (as the word indicates) on a voluntary basis. You decide that you are working overtime, because you want to complete a specific task, or because you soon have an important meeting for which more work is required. This type of overtime does not have to be a problem, as long as your work / life ratio is in balance. However, it is important that this kind of overtime is not done structurally!

As long as voluntary overtime is limited to a maximum of 4 hours per week, it can actually benefit the employee. Working overtime can also give a lot of satisfaction. For example, if you just finish that one job, you feel more competent or satisfied, so you ultimately feel happier.

Involuntary

Involuntary overtime is usually accompanied by the fact that the work pressure is too high, too much work has to be done within the regular working hours and on a structural basis. In the case of structural overtime, you structurally run more hours every week than is included in your employment contract. Think of, on average, more than 48 hours per week.

The tasks pile up on your desk (you have too many tasks, and too little time), so you have to start making longer days. You have to, because the tasks have to be completed anyway.

Involuntary overtime can have major consequences for your health. The risks are increased the moment that overtime is not paid extra and there are insufficient recovery possibilities.

What can you do?

As long as you are the one who decides whether you work overtime (and how long), you will not have any problems in the long term. Especially when it’s not on a structural basis.  But are you forced to work involuntarily on a structural basis? Then start a conversation with your employer.

It is unlikely that you (if you are a valuable employee) run the risk of being punished if you open up to your employer. And is this the case? Then you better think about whether you want to continue working at such a company…

Stress: a common word in today’s society. You hear about the annoying effects of stress and the harm it can cause. What is often forgotten is that there are multiple forms of stress. You can distinguish positive stress from negative stress, but there are also various forms of stress within those two. In this blog post we share which different forms of stress there are, which forms are unhealthy and which ones are actually good for you.

Do not stress, it’s positive stress!

First let’s start with the positive forms of stress. This form of stress is essential for a human being: it ensures that the body is put in a proper state of readiness for optimal performance.

Consider, for example, the stress you experience when you have to give an important presentation, or when you have to play an all-deciding match. This form of positive stress is often experienced as unpleasant stress. But in fact, this form of stress does ensure that your body is ready enough to perform at the highest possible level. For example, consider the positive type of stress as exam stress or sports stress.

Even though it is very annoying, it is a mechanism of your body to ensure that you ultimately perform better.

I’m going on holiday and I take with me: holiday stress

Yes, everyone once experienced it: holiday stress. Something you try to prevent at all times, but you almost never succeed in. Because what if you’ve forgotten something, and you are 3,000 km away from home?

Many people suffer from it. It is a form of stress that actually comes from luxury, but is part of planning your holiday. The better it is when you arrive at your holiday destination and you have not forgotten anything, right?

Negative stress

But besides positive stress, there are also forms of negative stress that can actually have negative consequences on you as a person. Negative stress is a form of stress that you can do very little or nothing about (at least, that’s what you think in the first instance). Think of increased work pressure, financial stress or relationship stress.

Too many of these forms of stress can cause chronic stress or even a burnout. It is therefore important that you acknowledge these forms of stress in time so that you can do something about it.

Read more about negative and positive stress here!

De-stressing

After all that talking about various forms of stress, it is now time to talk about de-stressing. I can use that, after all that talking!

There are different ways to de-stress. This also depends on personality. One person relaxes when he or she starts exercising; another just by plopping on the couch, turning on his or her favorite series and taking a hot cup of tea (or coffee!).

A precise way to help you relax: there’s no such thing. Try to do what feels right for you. Do you want to play music and scream? Do it! Nothing is too crazy if in the end you have a NiceDay. 😉

NiceDay App

It is of course possible that you have difficulty dealing with stressful experiences, or dealing with any other form of stress (financial, work or otherwise related). In that case you could follow a course ‘dealing with stress’. Download the NiceDay app and work with a coach to tackle your stress!

Almost 2 out of 10 people in the Netherlands work during the nights. For instance because they work in the hospitality, medical, or logistics sector. And even though shiftwork is commonplace, it does bring a number of health risks. Biologically speaking humans like order. Every human has a biological clock which determines their daily rhythm. There are some individual differences in rhythm (you probably know some morning persons). But in the absence of professional or social influence everyone eventually gravitates to their natural rhythm.

Changing your rhythm

As a human you are able to change your rhythm, although this takes time. When you work in shifts you do not get sufficient time for this. By the time you have properly adjusted to one shift you usually move to a different one. Therefore, the best solution is usually to stay somewhere in the middle. Deal with fluctuations by getting a sufficient amount of rest and making some changes in your diet and lifestyle where applicable.

Complaints specific to shiftwork

The most frequently heard complaint when working in shifts is fatigue; disturbances in your biological clock affect your energy levels throughout the day. This increases the chance of mistakes because you are less alert, which can be very dangerous depending on your line of work. In the long run, working in shifts also increases the risk on cardiovascular diseases, as well as gastrointestinal complaints. Furthermore, there is a relationship between chronic fatigue and a number of psychological complaints, which means that disorders such as depression are more frequent among shiftworkers.

The perfect solution…

…unfortunately does not exist. One way or another, working in shifts disturbs your natural balance. Minimizing risks is often the best solution in this case, for instance by applying the right coping strategies. A healthy lifestyle is an important part of this. Food that is rich in protein can give you enough energy to work through the night, and frequent physical exercise keeps you in shape and makes it easier to sleep at night. It is also important to ensure a good social life; it can be easy to lose sight of this when most of your peers have a ‘regular’ rhythm, but this can also lead to loneliness and psychological complaints.

What can I do?

Perhaps the most difficult part of working in shifts is that the rest of the world is designed for those that work a regular 9-to-5 job. At night the streets are quiet and the stores are closed. While during the day you are kept awake by the hustle and bustle outside, and your friends are out and about. This doesn’t always make it easy to sleep at times when you really want to. Or to make healthy choices when it comes to nutrition or exercise. Luckily there are also things you can do to make it easier on yourself. For instance, ensuring that your bedroom is dark and quiet helps you sleep better at any time of the day. If you find it difficult to ensure this, a sleep mask or earplugs can go a long way. If you frequently find yourself hungry when the supermarket is already closed, then make sure you have sufficient healthy choices on hand by buying groceries in advance to prevent yourself reaching for that unhealthy snack. Finally, use the extra days off that you get for working in shifts. Plan fun activities with friends and family, or to get some well-earned rest.

In a nutshell

  • Ensure your sleeping environment is dark and quiet;
  • Buy healthy groceries ahead of time;
  • Pay attention to your social life;
  • Get sufficient rest when you can.

Day shift or night shift, always make sure you are well rested! How do you deal with irregular hours?