Advice for resetting my internal clock

I'm having trouble with my sleeping pattern. Typically I work second shift but lately I've been covering one or two graveyard shifts per week as well. This has NOT been good for my sleep patterns. I have always been a night owl but now I am totally nocturnal. This is hampering my efforts to go out and look for pickups as well as work on my Mustang (I have no garage), and just generally enjoying nice days outside. I don't need to wake up at the buttcrack of dawn but I don't want to be almost out of daylight by the time I wake up either. Does anyone here have any tips for resetting my internal clock to something more normal?

I would like to avoid sleep aids if possible- they make me drowsy, but not sleepy.

IF the pattern is consistent, you will adjust. I used to work a f-ed up schedule working days M-F, Friday night midnight to 7 or 9am, then Saturday night 6/7/8pm to 5/6/7am. Normally only get about 5-6hrs on Sat and by noon on Sun I was up for the rest of the day. but until I got into the groove, I sometimes slept 30 min before having to be back at work and other times I would almost be late since I slept too long.

Back when I was in my mid twenties I had a job that was rotating shifts, 12 on 12 off, usually for 7 days on then 4 days off and a return on the opposite shift. I found the best way to manage it was to give up on the concept of night & day and treat it all as just time. It requires mind over body discipline, but its by no means the hardest thing that you can train your body to do.

If I could get at least 6 decent hours of sleep, I could function. I found it best to sleep before work, but life didn't always allow that, so if I had to make myself sleep right after ending work at 7am I would work out or go for a long walk, then take a hot shower & go to bed.

White noise like a fan or air conditioner can be helpful, and in my case, making my room completely dark was impossible, but as long as I wasn't in direct light I could sleep.

All that having been said, I hated living that way and wouldn't want to go back to it. 4 1/2 years was all I take, and some of the men that I worked with that had been doing it for decades were more than a little odd.

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Melatonin works like a champ and doesn't leave hangover after effects. They recommend it for whenever your sleep habits have to change abruptly such as long airplane flights across multiple time zones.

Consistent sleep scheduled and melatonin.

I don't have an internal clock. I'm in my mid 20's, and I haven't had a self regulating sleep schedule since I was 8 or 9. I've become heavily reliant on caffiene and a "sleeping agent" to regulate myself. I've been on all manner of sleeping pills, different diets and excercise regimens, you name it. I don't always get restful sleep, either. Other times, I can operate on just a few hours of sleep whenever I can catch it. I've lost jobs over it, and I've lost friends over it.

Sleep is important. Take it seriously.

When I was a kid, I worked as a laborer in a steel mill. Usually would be on a consistent shift, but for 6 months they put us on a 9-5 shift. One week day shift, then one week night shift. As young as I was, that really screwed up my system.

I worked at a mill that had a two week rotation. 7-3:30, 3:30-12am, 12am-7am. After the last shift of the two weeks, I'd stay awake all day (or night), until I got to be what would be the next cycle's sleep time. That way I am ~very~ tired, and can sleep. I'd be adjusted by the end of the weekend.

ie: Come off evening shift on Friday at midnight, and instead of going right to bed, I'd stay awake until 8am the next morning so I'd be ready for Monday's graveyard shift.

Of course, I was in my 20's, and was much more resilient than I am now. I don't know where the hell all my energy has gone now....

Quickest way to adjust is to standardize meal times. 3 meals a "day" spaced normally, ignoring what the sun is doing and the clock says. So eat when your up, eat your lunch 4-6hrs later, then eat again 4-6 hrs later. Don't binge before you go to bed.

This came up in a recent study, however it is also not believed to be a healthy way to adjust.

I like black out curtains. Cut out all caffeine if your struggling. Avoid alcohol and nicotine.

As one who travels internationally a bit I've had to deal with this alot. As many have suggested, melatonin is your friend. Its the bodies natural sleep chemical. Start with a 3mg dose and see how it helps.

Also for a full clock reset (which I have to do at either end of the trip) as suggested above food plays a large part. To fully reset you need a 16 hour fast, no food, then start your 3 regular meals. The 16 hour fast resets the body clock and when you eat again that becomes "morning"

I always stayed awake past my normal bed time, and then once really tired went to bed when I needed to for whatever the new shift was.

In reply to I am not BoostedBrian:

I've already drained a 20oz tonight......by the time we get the show wrapped up, torn down, packed up, and I drive the 3hrs home(with a 26x8.5 trailer), I'll have consumed prolly 6 or 7 of those buggers.

Also, I was going to mention staying up and drinking several of those and go into a stimulant induced sleep session after you were too exhausted to stay awake......passing out from alcohol would be acceptable if you needed to go to sleep earlier rather than later.