As many college students have, I’ve pulled my fair share of all nighters. We all know how to handle ourselves when we need to do this. But how about when you pull night shifts? If you don’t know what to expect, you’re in for a rough ride. It doesn’t have to be a walk through hell though -— keep a few things in mind and graveyard hours can be a walk in the park.

I’ve done the night shift twice -—once during the summer as a baker for a small bakery back home and once at my current job at a hotel for about a month. The first thing to keep in mind when pulling all nighters all the time is scheduling. Make a schedule and stick to it. Go to sleep at the same time every morning. Wake up at the same time every afternoon. Be strict with yourself — it’s not fun, but being a zombie is worse.

When getting to and from work and when sleeping, keep the sunlight to a minimum. Wear sunglasses, invest in blackout window shades. Everyone sleeps better in a dark room, but it comes down to more than that. Your body has an internal clock that takes cues from sunlight, making it incredibly difficult to keep night hours when your body disagrees with you on when to go to sleep. Many friend have had luck with sun lamps, but I’ve never tried them.

As for everyone’s favorite drug — caffeine — be smart about how you use it. Coffee was my lifesaver for both jobs. Do not drink it too late though. Although I find the dragging feeling of not being asleep at night hits about four am, if I’m drinking coffee at that time there’s no way it will be out of my system by the time I lay down to go to sleep in the morning. I usually find a cup of joe around midnight or one does the trick — late enough to last a shift, early enough that it won’t keep me up during the day.

Coffee (or energy drinks) should not be the only hydration you have, though. Stay hydrated. This is a good rule no matter what hours you work, but especially important when adjusting to a night shift. The first benefit of water is pretty straightforward: it’s hard to fall asleep when your bladder is yelling at you. The second benefit from water comes from the act of staying hydrated itself. Dehydration’s biggest symptom is fatigue, and therefore one of your biggest enemies.

On your days off, as tempting as it may be to go frolic in the sun, keep to your schedule. There are many ways to take care of errands while working nights -— it simply takes planning. Find out if your rent office has a dropbox so that you don’t have to drop off rent during the day. Pay your electric bill online. Shop somewhere that’s open late (or 24 hours). Sure, they may be a hassle, but if you want to keep to your sleep schedule, they are completely worth it.

Last, find things at night you enjoy. Take up a craft. Learn a language. Have movie nights with your  friends. The hardest part of the night shift for me wasn’t the work itself but the days off. Most of my activities are daytime things.

When you’re finally done with the night shift and need to switch back to daylight time, there are a couple of tricks I’ve had work.

The first is the most obvious — power through the day. This isn’t as hard as it sounds … until you go to sleep that night. It will be tempting to oversleep. Don’t do it. You’ll simply throw off your circadian rhythm even more. I’ve been there, and believe me, it’s far worse than dragging your butt out of bed at six a.m.

The second didn’t work as well for me, but I’ve heard others have had success. Sleep through it as much as possible — the goal is to sleep roughly 36 hours. If you’re not asleep, you should be trying to sleep. Keep something easy to eat (I used the applesauce pouches that are practically everywhere nowadays) and plenty of water by your bed. You will wake up at least once and be very hungry (thus the snack). As for calls of nature, do your best to keep things as dark as possible. Nightlights help keep bathrooms lit, but dimly enough that you don’t fall asleep.

Night shifts are a necessary evil, but they don’t have to be unpleasant. Both times I’ve worked them, I came to enjoy the quiet solitude the night brought with it. However, returning to the daylight is wonderful too.

Kjerstine Trooien is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected].