Kevin C. Burns: How I Transitioned To (and From) Overnight Shifts

Weather is cruel: it never stops. Similarly, clients are always working and in all time zones of the world. As a result, clients often need information or assistance in the wee hours of the morning in the U.S. At my job at Weathernews, new employees are trained up during day shifts for the first 6-9 months then move into overnight shifts (one to two weeks at a time) once basic knowledge of the world's oceans has been imparted.

We also use a 10 hour a day, 4 days a week schedule (Sun-Wed or Wed-Sat) which provides three day weekends (a very nice perk!).

So when the schedule for March came out and I saw I would be working two sets of "flex" shifts (7pm-5:30am local time), I began to think through how I could get my body out of its lifelong routine of going to bed early and waking up early (presently, Veronica and I go to sleep between 9:30 and 11 and wake up between 5:30 and 6 on weekdays). I'm in the middle of the two weeks of overnight shifts but the first week was a success. Here's how I did it:

Get what you need to sleep! For me, I need a cool, dark room. If I'm sleeping in the daylight hours, I need eyeshades. And with my wife waking up on a regular 8-to-5 schedule, I need ear plugs to sleep through her morning routine.
Begin transitioning to the new sleep schedule three days before the first overnight shift. I got off work Saturday at 5:30pm and made sure to stay awake until 12:30am that first night while sleeping in until 8:30am (something my body doesn't allow, even on off days). The next night, Sunday night, I stayed up until 2:30am. The last night, Monday night, I stayed up until 4:30am. By Tuesday night, my body was ready to go for the shift.
Eat when you're hungry. I found this advice on another website and it worked for me. My appetite has been fairly consistent in desiring breakfast, lunch, and dinner. So I eat breakfast at 1pm when I wake up. Lunch with my wife before work at 6pm. And dinner around 11:30pm at work.
Keep mentally active in the transition nights. Watching a movie or TV wasn't going to work for me, I'd fall asleep easily. I saved chores for the night time, I read articles online, I played SimCity, etc. I didn't allow my brain to turn off.

Do what it takes to stay awake on shift. I found that eating little snacks keeps me fresh. Knowing this, I tried to give myself healthy options such as: homemade granola bars (thanks Veronica!), bananas, fruit snacks, yogurt, oranges, and Cheetos/crackers (ok, so I wasn't completely healthy). I also stretched on my way to/from bathroom breaks and drank plenty of water (with one caffeinated can of Dr Pepper each night).
Know your wall. I "hit the wall" between 1:30 and 2:30 every night. My eyes get heavy, my mind drifts, and my work capacity slows down. Once I figured this out, I had my Dr Pepper and granola bar waiting each night for the inevitable weariness. Thirty minutes later, I was back to being fresh. Be ready for your body to start shutting down and have a plan in place to combat it!
Use your lunch break to be active. I tried to do something physical for each night's break. I went outside for a while one night, did part of the Insanity workout the next. You have to keep the body moving!
Cut your body off from the sleep schedule after the last night. This advice came from a supervisor for overcoming the feeling of jet lag (thanks Polk!). I woke up at 11am on the Saturday morning after and was naturally tired by midnight that night (before starting the transition back for the second week).