Night Shifts and Naps: Surviving the Odd Hours of Home Health
There’s a special kind of exhaustion that comes from working nights. Your body craves rest, but your shift begins just as the rest of the world starts winding down. Dinner smells linger in the air. Windows glow with TV light. You pass quiet homes where people are brushing their teeth or rocking babies to sleep, and you head toward a client’s house knowing you won’t lie down for hours. Night shifts in home care change your whole rhythm. The world doesn’t slow down for you. Your body still wants daylight. Your friends still live on daytime schedules. And yet, here you are. Focused. Awake. Ready to work in the silence. Adjusting to the Night The hardest part isn’t staying awake. It’s resetting your rhythm. Everything feels off. Meals, sleep, sunlight, social time... all of it shifts. If you don’t build a new routine, your body will rebel. That’s why night CNAs need more than coffee. They need structure. Create a consistent wind-down routine. Block out light in your room. Use earplugs...