Coping with early morning shifts and disrupted sleep

Give yourself time to wake up
It's generally agreed that getting up and skipping breakfast, driving straight to work and doing a show won't get the best out of you. Users advocate at least a 40-minute wake-up time - watching the news, enjoying fresh-baked bread, a good espresso, and checking your e-mails, before driving to work.

Some people recommend a walk to work - one member walks four miles, while others only have a ten or fifteen minute walk. It clears the head, says one, and allows you to come up with ideas.

Give yourself enough sleep
Many people advocate eight hours of sleep a day. A mid-afternoon 'power-nap' seems to do the trick for some; some simply function well when they've had a good night's continuous sleep.

Avoid coffee and tea
Many people say that coffee and tea after work is a bad idea. For some, 'after work' is 10am, after a 6am start. It disrupts sleep patterns, especially mid-afternoon power-naps which are useful for a social life.

If you're working overnight, and therefore go to bed as soon as you get home, coffee and tea won't do you any favours even if you drink it during work, since it's still in your system when you get home. If you plan on sleeping when you get home, cold water (as cold as you can manage) will increase alertness and concentration. Other substitutes are fresh orange or grapefruit juice.

Interestingly, tobacco (more specifically, the nicotine in it) is also a stimulant.

Exercise
Obviously, your body works better the fitter you are. Experts say that you ought to take exercise five hours before you wish to fall asleep; so, as you leave work, a quick gym session or a walk home might help you sleep better.

More info
There's an interesting page on sleeping (though not specifically meant for early-risers) on the 'net by the Sleep Foundation.