diff --git a/backend/watcher.js b/backend/watcher.js
index 3796f8d..9e5e5bc 100644
--- a/backend/watcher.js
+++ b/backend/watcher.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ const chokidar = require('chokidar');
 const { exec } = require('child_process');
 const nodemon = require('nodemon');
 
-const nodeEnv = 'dev_stage';
+const nodeEnv = process.env.NODE_ENV || 'dev_stage';
 const childEnv = { ...process.env, NODE_ENV: nodeEnv };
 
 const migrationsWatcher = chokidar.watch('./src/db/migrations', {