By Roy, founder Last updated 30 September 2026
For shift workers in Australia, the non-prescription options with some evidence are glycine, L-theanine and magnesium glycinate, and none of them will reset a flipped body clock on its own. The one with the most evidence is melatonin, which for shift work in Australia means a GP and a prescription, and even then it adds about 24 minutes of daytime sleep on low-quality evidence. What helps more is how you sleep: a dark, cool, quiet room, caffeine cut off around six hours before bed, a short nap before your first night, and one block of sleep kept at the same time every day.
This page is for the nurse coming off her third night, the paramedic on a 14-hour back half, the miner on a FIFO swing that flips from days to nights, the chef who finishes at 1am and the factory worker on a rotating roster. It covers what the evidence says, what you can legally buy here, and where Settl, our no-melatonin nightly sleep powder with 3,000mg of glycine, 200mg of L-theanine and an electrolyte layer, fits and where it doesn't.
Why is it so hard to sleep after a night shift?
Your body clock runs to daylight, not to your roster. After a night shift you're trying to sleep when your body expects to be awake, in a room that's usually brighter, warmer and noisier than it is at 11pm. The Sleep Health Foundation puts the cost at about an hour less sleep a day for shift workers than day workers, and some lose far more (Sleep Health Foundation, shift work).
That lost hour adds up. The same page says 17 hours without sleep is as dangerous as a blood alcohol reading of 0.05, and 24 hours is as dangerous as 0.08. That's the drive home after a long night.
What's the best sleep supplement for shift workers?
There isn't a clear winner, and anyone selling you one as proven for shift workers is overreaching. Here is how the main options stack up for an Australian on nights.
| Option | How you get it in Australia | What the evidence says for shift workers | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melatonin | Prescription for most shift workers. Two narrow pharmacist-only lanes exist, neither written for shift work | Cochrane review: about 24 minutes more daytime sleep, low-quality evidence. No change in how fast people fell asleep | Timing against your roster matters. Don't take it before driving |
| Prescription sleeping tablets | GP only | The same Cochrane review found too little good evidence to say they help daytime sleep | Discuss with your GP, not a pharmacy shelf |
| Magnesium | Over the counter, dozens of products | Small trials in the general population show modest effects. We found none in shift workers | Choose a well-absorbed form like glycinate and check the elemental dose |
| Glycine | Over the counter | One small trial after three short nights found less next-day fatigue at 3g before bed. Funded by a glycine maker | Promising, thin, not tested on night shifts |
| Valerian and herbal blends | Over the counter | Sleep Health Foundation calls the evidence fairly weak. Valerian takes two to three weeks if it works at all | Cheap to try, low expectations |
| Caffeine | Anywhere | Cochrane: caffeine plus naps reduced on-shift sleepiness, low-quality evidence | Useful early in a shift, costly late in one |
The easy-to-buy options have small or untested effects on day sleep, and the one with the best evidence needs a script. That's why the habits below matter more than anything in a bottle.
Can you get melatonin for shift work in Australia?
Yes, with a prescription. Melatonin is prescription only in Australia by default. There are two pharmacist-only exceptions: modified-release melatonin of 2mg or less for adults 55 and over, and immediate-release melatonin of 5mg or less for jet lag in adults 18 and over. Shift work isn't either of those, so for most shift workers the route is a GP (TGA, regulation of melatonin products). We've set out the full rules, costs and the import traps in is melatonin available over the counter in Australia.
Is it worth it? A Cochrane review of 15 trials with 718 shift workers found melatonin added about 24 minutes to daytime sleep after night shifts, and about 17 minutes to night sleep, with both results rated low-quality evidence. It didn't help people fall asleep faster (Liira et al, Cochrane, 2014). That's a real effect and a modest one.
Melatonin is a timing signal, so when you take it matters as much as the dose. Your GP should set that against your actual roster. Healthdirect and the Sleep Health Foundation both say not to take it before driving or operating machinery.
How do you sleep during the day after a night shift?
Set the bedroom up like it's 11pm. The advice from Healthdirect, the Sleep Health Foundation and Safe Work Australia lines up closely:
- Make it dark. Blockout curtains, tape over the gap at the top, cover standby lights. Healthdirect says to remove all distractions, phone calls and lights (Healthdirect, sleep and shift workers).
- Make it cool. A bedroom that bakes by midday is the Australian day sleeper's biggest problem. Close west-facing blinds before you leave for work, and run a fan or the air conditioner. Most adults sleep best around 17 to 19 degrees, covered in what temperature your bedroom should be.
- Make it quiet. Earplugs, a fan or a white noise app to cover the leaf blower and the school run. Heavy curtains and carpet absorb sound.
- Tell the house. Healthdirect's own tip is to make sure people know not to disturb you. Put a sign on the door and your phone on do not disturb.
- Wear sunglasses home. In a study of 67 young adults on five simulated night shifts, the researchers recommended bright light during the shift, sunglasses as dark as possible on the commute home, and a regular early daytime sleep period for anyone trying to adjust fully to nights (Crowley et al, 2003).
- Skip the knock-off drink. Alcohol before bed is on the avoid list from both Healthdirect and the Sleep Health Foundation. It knocks you out and then breaks up the back half of your sleep, covered in does a nightcap help you sleep.
When should you stop caffeine on a night shift?
About six hours before you plan to sleep. In a controlled study, 400mg of caffeine taken six hours before bed still cut total sleep by roughly an hour, and the authors recommended stopping substantial caffeine at least six hours before bedtime (Drake et al, 2013).
On a shift that ends at 7am with bed at 8am, that puts your last coffee around 2am. Have it early in the shift, when it helps most, and switch to water for the back half. Safe Work Australia's advice to workers is to drink water to stay hydrated and not to lean on coffee or energy drinks to manage fatigue (Safe Work Australia, managing fatigue for workers).
What is anchor sleep, and does it work?
Anchor sleep means keeping one block of about four hours at the same time every day, workdays and days off, and fitting the rest of your sleep around it. The idea comes from isolation-unit experiments in the early 1980s. When volunteers slept at random times, their body clocks drifted. When one four-hour block stayed fixed and the other four hours moved around, their rhythms settled back to a 24-hour cycle within a few days (Minors and Waterhouse, 1981).
It was a lab study, not a hospital ward, so treat it as a principle rather than a proven roster fix. It's still one of the most useful ideas for anyone whose sleep times keep moving. In practice: a nurse on nights who sleeps 8.30am to 12.30pm after every shift, and on days off still sleeps through the early part of that window by going to bed late and sleeping in, gives her clock a fixed point to hold onto. A nurse whose sleep lands somewhere different every day gives it nothing.
Rotating rosters vs permanent nights: what changes?
On rotating rosters, the goal is to limit how often the clock gets yanked around. Forward rotation (days, then afternoons, then nights) is easier than going backwards, which is why both the Sleep Health Foundation and Safe Work Australia recommend it. Safe Work Australia's code of practice also says not to roster more than three nights in a row, to encourage a nap in the afternoon before the first night, and to allow at least two full nights of rest after a run of nights. If your roster breaks those, it's worth raising with your manager or health and safety rep.
On permanent nights, consistency is the whole game. The Sleep Health Foundation's advice is to go to bed and get up at the same time every day. The hard part is days off, when family life pulls you back to daytime. Holding an anchor block through your days off keeps Monday's first night from feeling like a new swing.
On FIFO swings that switch from days to nights halfway, the first night is the rough one. Take a short nap the afternoon before, and use bright light on shift and sunglasses on the bus back to camp to help the flip.
For naps generally, the Sleep Health Foundation says 15 minutes is best and to avoid going much longer. If you nap before driving, walk around for five minutes first so you're properly awake.
Does magnesium help shift workers sleep?
Possibly a little, but nobody has shown it for shift work specifically. The magnesium trials we could find were in the general population or older adults, with modest effects on how long people took to fall asleep. If you try it, pick a well-absorbed form like glycinate and look for the elemental magnesium figure on the label, not just the compound weight. We've gone through the forms and the trials in melatonin vs magnesium for sleep, and how to read the label in choosing a magnesium glycinate.
Glycine is similar. One small, industry-funded trial of 3g before bed found people reported less fatigue after three short nights. That's close to a shift worker's week, but it still isn't a night shift. More in glycine before bed.
Where Settl fits for shift workers
Settl is a nightly drink, one scoop in cold water, taken before whatever your bed is. For a nurse off nights that might be 8.30am. For a chef it might be 2am. It contains no melatonin, so it isn't trying to move your body clock. It's there for the wind-down, and for the four things it's built to do. Get to sleep faster. Wake less at 3am. Sleep deeper. Wake up refreshed. On nights, your 3am just happens to fall around lunchtime.
Each scoop carries 3,000mg of glycine, 200mg of L-theanine, 730mg of magnesium glycinate (146mg elemental magnesium), 900mg of inositol and 50mg of chamomile flower extract, plus about 1,000mg of sodium and potassium citrate. That electrolyte layer is there so eight hours without water doesn't wake you dried out and needing to get up, which counts for more after 12 hours on your feet on a ward, in a kitchen or on site. We explain the electrolyte side in why electrolytes belong in a nightly drink.
To be straight about it: Settl hasn't been trialled in shift workers, and it won't replace a dark room or a caffeine cut-off. Take it at home, as the last step before bed.
Common questions
What can I take to sleep during the day after a night shift? Over the counter, the options are magnesium, glycine and herbal blends, none tested well in shift workers. Melatonin has the best evidence but needs a prescription for shift work in Australia. A dark, cool room and a caffeine cut-off do more than any of them.
Can I buy melatonin for night shift without a prescription? Not for shift work. The two pharmacist-only lanes cover adults 55 and over (modified release, 2mg or less) and jet lag in adults 18 and over (immediate release, 5mg or less). Everyone else needs a script. Full details in our melatonin guide.
Should I sleep straight after a night shift or before the next one? Healthdirect and the Sleep Health Foundation both say sleep before work is better than sleeping earlier in the day. Many people split it: a main block after the shift and a short nap before the next one. Keep one block at the same time each day.
Is it safe to drive home after a night shift? Be careful. The Sleep Health Foundation says 17 hours awake is as dangerous as a 0.05 blood alcohol reading. If you're struggling to keep your eyes open, nap first, then walk around for five minutes before you drive.
Can I take Settl in the morning after a night shift? Yes. Take it before your main sleep, whenever that falls, once you're home. It has no melatonin, so there's no clock timing to work around.
Try it before your next day sleep
Get to sleep faster. Wake less at 3am. Sleep deeper. Wake up refreshed. One scoop, cold water, before bed, whenever bed is. Packed in Sydney, in a TGA-licensed GMP facility.
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Cheers, Roy
Sources: Sleep Health Foundation, "Shift Work"; Healthdirect, "Sleep: shift workers" (reviewed November 2023) and "Melatonin" (reviewed June 2025); TGA, "Regulation of melatonin products in Australia"; Safe Work Australia, "Managing fatigue: for workers" fact sheet (October 2025) and model Code of Practice "Managing the risk of fatigue at work" (September 2025); Liira et al, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2014; Drake et al, Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 2013; Crowley et al, Journal of Biological Rhythms, 2003; Minors and Waterhouse, International Journal of Chronobiology, 1981; Bannai et al, Frontiers in Neurology, 2012; Sleep Health Foundation, "Herbal remedies and sleep". This article explains the general research picture and isn't medical advice. If sleepiness is affecting your driving or your work, talk to your GP.