Night Shift Health and Wellbeing

Night work is a skill

Working while your city sleeps goes against your body clock. Done without a plan, it leads to poor sleep, low mood, weight gain, headaches and mistakes at 4 AM. Done with a plan, many people work night shifts for years and feel well.

Most "performance problems" on night shifts start as sleep problems. Narqix leads know this. If you are struggling, say so early. It is a health conversation, not a disciplinary one.

1. Sleep: protect it like a client deadline

• Fix your sleep window. Choose a 7 to 8 hour sleep window that starts within 1 to 2 hours after your shift ends, and keep it on days off too (within 1 to 2 hours). Changing your sleep time every weekend is like flying across the world twice a week.
• Make it dark. Blackout curtains, or an eye mask. Even light through eyelids tells your brain it is daytime.
• Make it quiet. Earplugs or a fan for steady background sound. Daytime Dhaka is loud.
• Make it cool. A cooler room helps deep sleep.
• Tell your household. Agree on quiet hours. Put a simple sign on your door if it helps.
• Phone away. Silent mode, face down, out of reach. Set emergency contacts to break through if needed.
• Short nap, if needed. A 20 to 30 minute nap before your shift can help. Longer naps leave you groggy.

2. Light: your body clock's main switch

Time	What to do
Before and during your shift	Use bright, cool-toned light in your workspace. It helps you stay alert.
Last 2 hours of shift	Lower your screen brightness and use warm tones if you can
Going home or to bed at dawn	Wear sunglasses if you are outside in morning light, so your brain does not "wake up"
After waking (afternoon)	Get some daylight: step outside for 10 to 15 minutes

3. Caffeine

• Use it early in your shift, not late. No caffeine within 4 hours of your planned sleep.
• Tea and coffee count, and so do energy drinks and many soft drinks.
• Energy drinks with very high caffeine and sugar cause a crash. Avoid making them a habit.

4. Food and water

• Main meal before your shift, with protein (eggs, fish, chicken, lentils, dal) and slow carbohydrates.
• Light food during the shift: fruit, nuts, yogurt, a small sandwich. Heavy, oily or very sweet food in the middle of the night makes you sleepy and uncomfortable.
• Avoid a heavy meal right before sleep. A small snack is fine.
• Drink water through the shift. Keep a bottle at your desk. Dehydration feels like tiredness.

During Ramadan: plan with your Campaign Lead. Many people on US shifts find their suhoor falls during work time. Agree a short break for it, eat a balanced suhoor, drink enough water between iftar and suhoor, and adjust your sleep window for the month.

5. Movement

• About 20 minutes of exercise a day, at a time that suits your schedule (a walk after waking is ideal).
• Every hour: stand up, stretch your neck, shoulders and back for 1 to 2 minutes. Do this during natural pauses, not in the middle of a customer conversation.
• Eyes: every 20 minutes, look at something about 20 feet (6 metres) away for 20 seconds.
• Posture: screen at eye level, feet flat, back supported. Small adjustments prevent big pain later.

6. The 4 AM dip

Most people feel their lowest energy between about 3 AM and 5 AM local time. Plan for it:

• Put your most demanding focus work earlier in the shift where possible.
• Use your break around this time if your campaign allows.
• Stand up, splash cold water on your face, take a short walk inside your home.
• Double-check numbers, names and addresses you enter during this window. This is when most data errors happen.

7. Family and social life

• Share your schedule with family and close friends so they know when you are sleeping and when you are free.
• Plan one meaningful activity with family on your days off. Night workers can easily feel isolated.
• It is normal to miss some daytime events. Choose the ones that matter most and plan your sleep around them in advance.

8. Mental wellbeing

Night work, difficult calls and rejection can wear you down. Watch for these signs in yourself:

• Trouble sleeping even when you have time
• Feeling low, irritable or anxious most days
• Losing interest in things you usually enjoy
• Needing more and more caffeine to function
• Headaches, stomach problems or frequent illness

If you notice them, talk to your Campaign Lead or the Operations Manager. You do not need to share personal details. Narqix can adjust schedules, breaks or workload where possible. If you ever feel unsafe or have thoughts of harming yourself, contact a trusted person, a doctor or local emergency services right away.

9. Safety

• If you travel to or from work at night, plan safe transport and tell someone when you leave and arrive.
• Women working night shifts: Bangladesh law requires consent for night work. Narqix records this in writing along with safety arrangements. Raise any concern with your Campaign Lead or the Operations Manager at any time.
• At home, keep your workspace safe: no overloaded power sockets, IPS ventilated, cables secured.

Monthly wellbeing check

Your Campaign Lead will ask about sleep and energy at your monthly one-to-one. Answer honestly. A repeated pattern of late starts or careless nights is a signal to fix your routine, and Narqix would rather help you fix it early.

Check yourself

1. What is the caffeine cut-off before sleep?
2. Name three ways to make your daytime sleep better.
3. When is the "4 AM dip", and what extra care do you take with data during it?
4. What should you eat before and during a night shift?
5. You notice you are irritable and sleeping badly for two weeks. What do you do?

Answers

1. No caffeine within 4 hours of your planned sleep.
2. Any three: fixed sleep window including days off, dark room, quiet room, cool room, phone away, household agreement on quiet hours.
3. Roughly 3 AM to 5 AM local time. Double-check numbers, names and addresses.
4. A main meal with protein before the shift; light food such as fruit, nuts or yogurt during it; plenty of water.
5. Talk to your Campaign Lead or the Operations Manager, and review your sleep, light, caffeine and exercise routine.

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