Picture this. You get home from night shift just as the neighbourhood is waking up. The dog next door is barking, a lawnmower starts somewhere, the sun is pouring through the curtains, and your body is so tired it aches. You lie down, and your brain decides this is the perfect time to stay awake.
Anyone who has worked nights in a casualty ward, underground, in a control room or on an IT on-call roster will know that feeling well.
Your body clock and why it resists
Every person has an internal clock, a small cluster of cells deep in the brain that keeps time over roughly twenty-four hours. Doctors call this the circadian rhythm. It tells your body when to be alert, when to feel hungry, when to cool down and when to sleep.
The clock sets itself mainly by light. Morning light tells the brain to switch off melatonin, the hormone that signals night, and to raise alertness. Darkness does the reverse. When you work at night and sleep by day, you are asking your brain to do the opposite of what the light is telling it.
The clock can shift, but slowly, and rotating rosters seldom give it enough time.
What shift strain feels like
The effects go well beyond feeling sleepy. Common effects of shift and on-call work include:
- Trouble falling asleep after a shift, even when exhausted
- Short, light daytime sleep that does not refresh
- Heavy drowsiness in the small hours and on the drive home
- A foggy head, slower reactions and small mistakes
- Never properly switching off, because the phone might ring
On-call work brings its own kind of strain. Even when the phone stays quiet, it can feel as if part of you remains on guard, and that may make sleep lighter.
Why daytime sleep is lighter
Good sleep moves through stages, including deep sleep, which is thought to be important for physical recovery. Sleep generally comes more easily at night, when body temperature drops and melatonin rises.
During lighter sleep the brain also produces short bursts of activity called sleep spindles. They are thought to help shield sleep from outside noise, a little like a "do not disturb" sign. Daytime sleep also has more to contend with, so every door, hooter and bark seems to get through.
You cannot bully a body clock into line, but you can give it better signals and a calmer brain to work with.
How neurofeedback may help
Neurofeedback will not turn night into day, and it cannot cancel out a hard roster. What it may do is help your brain become better at settling down when you finally get the chance to sleep.
It works like this. Sensors on the scalp read your brain's electrical activity, and a computer gives your brain feedback in sound and picture when it produces calmer, steadier patterns. The sensors only read. Nothing is put into the brain. Every client starts with a 19-channel brain map, which takes about an hour and a half.
For sleep, training often encourages a rhythm called SMR, or sensorimotor rhythm, a calm, steady pattern linked to a still body and a quiet mind. Neurofeedback has been studied for insomnia with mixed-to-encouraging results, but it has not been well studied in shift workers specifically. The aim is to help the brain settle more easily, which may support falling and staying asleep. Results vary, and they are likely to depend partly on your roster, your health and your sleep habits.
You can read more about the process on our what to expect page, and about the sleep side in our article on chronic insomnia and sleep spindles.
Practical ways to protect your sleep
These habits are widely recommended and cost very little:
- Manage the light. Seek bright light at the start of a night shift. Wear sunglasses on the way home, then sleep in a properly dark room with blockout curtains or an eye mask.
- Time your caffeine. Use it early in the shift and stop well before you plan to sleep.
- Keep an anchor. Try to keep a few hours of sleep at the same time every day, whatever shift you are on.
Please do not drive if you are fighting sleep. Pull over, take a short nap, or arrange a lift. No shift is worth that risk.
When to see a doctor first
See your GP if you snore loudly or stop breathing in your sleep, if you fall asleep without meaning to, if your mood has dropped, or if you rely on sleeping tablets or alcohol to get to sleep. These can point to treatable conditions such as sleep apnoea, shift work sleep disorder or depression. Never stop or change a prescribed sleep medication on your own; speak to the doctor who prescribed it. Neurofeedback works alongside medical care. If stress more generally is wearing you down, our article on burnout and the freeze response may be helpful too.
Common questions
Can neurofeedback reset my body clock?
Not directly. Your body clock is set mainly by light, darkness and routine, so those remain the most important tools. Neurofeedback aims to help your brain calm down and hold sleep more steadily once you are in bed, though results vary. It is a support for good sleep habits, not a replacement for them.
Why can I not sleep after a night shift even though I am exhausted?
Most likely because two systems are pulling in opposite directions. Your sleep pressure is high after hours awake, but your body clock reads the morning light as a signal to be alert. A dark, cool, quiet room and sunglasses on the way home help to reduce the mixed signals your brain is getting.
Is it safe to do neurofeedback when I am very tired?
Neurofeedback is non-invasive, and the sensors only read brain activity. Nothing is sent into the brain. Each session begins with a short check-in on how you are feeling, so that is the moment to say if you are very tired. If you have a health condition or take medication, check with your doctor first.
If your roster is not going to change, your recovery has to become a priority. If you would like to find out whether brain training could help you rest better, please get in touch with Irine.
- shift work
- circadian rhythm
- doctors
- mining
- sleep debt
