Working night shifts as a healthcare professional has its own set of significant challenges. Being at work while the rest of the world is sleeping can be challenging, not just because of the reduced number of staff on the floor and limited access to resources and supervisors, but also because working while your body clock is thrown off can significantly impact your focus and energy levels.
Nurses can thwart night-shift lethargy by adopting healthy routines, including sustainable physical activities. This article explores night-shift nurse exercise routines to fight fatigue and brain fog. These tips are easy enough to incorporate into your daily life as a nurse, no matter how hectic your schedule gets.
Why Night Shifts Cause Fatigue and Brain Fog
Before we provide tips on building a sustainable anti-brain fog night-shift nurse exercise routine, let’s first take a look at the science behind why night shifts can cause fatigue and cognitive challenges.
What is Brain Fog?
According to the Cleveland Clinic, brain fog (also referred to as mental fog) simply refers to the list of symptoms a person feels that cause cognitive challenges, such as an inability to think clearly, focus, or remember things. A person experiencing brain fog will have a hard time performing even routine tasks, which can be dangerous for nurses, as it can gravely affect patient care outcomes.
Aside from having difficulty concentrating on tasks, brain fog typically feels like:
- Confusion
- Lethargy or fatigue
- Forgetfulness
- Mental exhaustion
- Not being able to find the right words when conversing with others
- Reduced reaction and processing time
- Difficulty paying attention
How the Night Shift Affects Nurses
Night-shift nurses often experience health challenges related to their body’s natural circadian clock being thrown off a loop. According to a Time article, professionals who work the night shift are more prone to metabolic disorders and vitamin D deficiency. This is not an industry-specific dilemma: the same article discusses how flight attendants who experienced jet lag regularly were found to have smaller temporal lobes. Across the sectors, sleep deprivation
When nurses who don’t get enough sleep are at risk of having temporary mental lapses affecting both memory and visual perception. When nurses don’t get enough sleep, which can be harder to do in the morning, their neurons can’t encode information and translate visual input into conscious thought, thereby affecting processing and reaction times. This means that decision-making processes can be affected, slowing down how nurses perceive things, such as critical patient symptoms, and how they react to them.
Window 1: 10-Minute Pre-Shift Wake-Up Workout
Exercising regularly can help ensure that you get enough sleep daily. Exercise doesn’t just affect how long your sleep times are, but it also impacts the quality of your sleep and how fast you get to doze off.
A 10-minute pre-shift workout for nurses working nights can include any of the following exercises:
Window 2: On-Shift Microbreak Movements (2–3 minutes)
While on shift, nurses can still squeeze in physical activity and movement exercises to keep fatigue and brain fog at bay. Here are some exercise microbreak ideas for nurses on the night shift:
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator as much as possible.
- Every hour, try to do at least 10 squats or wall push-ups.
- If possible, do your charting while standing up.
- After you’ve had your meal at work, make it a habit to walk around the hospital to boost your metabolism and regulate your blood sugar levels.
Window 4: Recovery Workout After Daytime Sleep
Here are some movement activities that can be part of an effective and sustainable workout routine for nurses who sleep during the daytime:
- Stick with exercises that you enjoy. Whether it’s dancing, playing basketball, pickleball, running, or walking on the treadmill while watching your favorite show, find a form of exercise that you actually enjoy doing. When it comes to fitness, consistency is king, so it’s important to know the type of activity that you look forward to doing regularly.
- Don’t underestimate the power of NEAT. Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), which refers to the burning of calories via activities that are not necessarily planned exercise, such as doing household chores, playing with children or pets, or commuting. You can burn calories by vacuuming, sweeping, washing clothes, and washing the car, which can help keep you healthy and focused at work.
