Your evening may begin when someone else is making breakfast. If you work nights, early starts or changing shifts, advice built around a nine-to-five day may not fit. There is no ideal clock time for closeness that you have to match.
What one clinic study found
A 2020 study by Rodriguez and colleagues analysed questionnaire data from 754 men attending one andrology clinic; 204 reported non-standard shifts. Shift work alone was not associated with poorer erectile-function scores in the adjusted analysis. Men screening positive for shift-work sleep disorder had lower scores than those who did not. [1]
This was a cross-sectional analysis of a selected clinic population, with self-reported symptoms and many participants already using testosterone treatment. It cannot prove that shift work caused erectile difficulties, diagnose a reader’s sleep disorder, or establish that changing a schedule or taking a treatment will improve erections. The study’s funding included research and career-development awards; individual author conflicts were not verified.
Start with the timetable you actually have
The UK Health and Safety Executive suggests recording sleep patterns and problems, identifying a suitable sleep schedule and making the sleeping environment favourable. Its shift-worker guidance recognises that daytime sleep can be shorter and poorer in quality. [2]
A simple note can help you describe your week: shift start and finish times, roughly when you sleep, and when tiredness feels most difficult. You do not need a wearable device or a perfect sleep score. Keep it useful rather than turning rest into another job.
Give closeness a flexible invitation
As a practical relationship idea, you could talk about the parts of the week when both of you tend to have space, rather than reserving intimacy for bedtime. “I would like some time together after I have rested” can be an invitation without a promise of sex.
Allow room to change plans. A quiet meal, conversation or an affectionate moment can count as time together. This is an editorial suggestion, not a tested treatment for sleep problems or erectile difficulties.
When the pattern deserves support
If sleep difficulties or tiredness are affecting you, raise them with a GP or occupational health service. NHS Employers recommends prompt advice for shift workers experiencing related health problems, including sleep difficulties. [3] Mention your work pattern rather than assuming the clinician knows it.
If erection problems keep happening, the NHS recommends a GP or sexual-health-clinic appointment. [4] You can ask how sleep, medicines and wider health should be considered together. This article does not recommend hormones, sleeping medicines or a particular treatment.
Blue Zeus is not a treatment for a sleep disorder or erectile dysfunction. The study did not test it. For related reading, see our sleep, rest and desire guide.
Sources
[1] Rodriguez KM et al. (2020), Journal of Sexual Medicine 17:1687–1693, original open-access paper linked above; discovered and fetched through Consensus. [2] HSE, hints and tips for shift workers. [3] NHS Employers, shift-worker health and wellbeing. [4] NHS erectile-dysfunction guidance. Checked 1 November 2026.
For adults. General information, not a diagnosis or personal medical advice. Prepared with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed; no clinical review is claimed.