Night Shifts.

[Rancid0ffspring]

I'm starting a new job tomorrow night which will have me working 4 days a week starting 10 at night and finishing 8 in the morning. I've never worked a night shift in my life and I'm not entirely sure how to arrange my sleeping pattern.

At this point I'd like to hear from anyone who does or has worked nights like the shifts I've just described and what you believe the best course of action would be sleep wise.

One thing I thought of was completely inverting my sleep pattern. Basically sleep until I need to go to work like normal.

Any insight would be most appreciated.

 

[WarDialler]

Any insight would be most appreciated.

Hey dude, I recently started working nights on weekends for christmas, working 10-6. What I've been doing is basically sleeping in late as I like the daytime before I work on friday, do my friday stuff, eat meals, have a nap or just rest up for half an hour to an hour before going to work.
After work I come home for about 6:30am unwind and relax, go to bed and sleep until about 1-2pm, get up, eat, do saturday stuff, rest and or nap before going to work. Work till 6am, get home for about 6:30 again, unwind and sleep till 1-2pm again, do sunday stuff, go to bed and sleep till monday morning.

Eat during your shift breaks, drink plenty of fluids and avoid stimulants UNLESS you're really having trouble staying awake, in which case drink coffee or cola or something sugary (Fanta is my personal saviour).

Hope this was any help.

 

[Realitycrash]

Well, I'd suggest you go to sleep right away (if you can), sleep to about 4 PM, get your exercise, gaming, friend-stuff done, etc, then go to work at 10. I used to work as a bartender, and this was pretty much how I did it.

 

[HanFyren]

Well, I'd suggest you go to sleep right away (if you can), sleep to about 4 PM, get your exercise, gaming, friend-stuff done, etc, then go to work at 10. I used to work as a bartender, and this was pretty much how I did it.

I have been working nights for a little over 4 years, and this is what works for me.

 

[viranimus]

Well, Ive worked predominantly night shifts my entire career. (12+ years) Honestly thing Ive seen is that trying to go to bed early is not likely to get you the rest you need because your body will either view it as a nap, or you wont be able to sleep at all.

So, you might need a bit of chemical assistance (alcohol, Nyquil) to get anything out of trying to force your body into that pattern. However that comes with negatives such as, yanno being either drunk or zombified.

Best thing I recommend is to try to force yourself into a little nap now, but dont sweat it if you dont get it. Then work your way through your first night shift. You will be pretty rough by the time it is over with but you WILL be ready to sleep the second you get home, and so long as you dont modify it otherwise, your going to stay on the new schedule. Also, word of warning... dont make the mistake of thinking your going to go back to a daylight schedule on days off, because that in essence just resets the whole thing back to zero.

Enjoy your night shifts. Dependant on the work they can be absolutely awesome. (which is why I worked them for 12+ years)

 

[One of Many]

I'm starting a new job tomorrow night which will have me working 4 days a week starting 10 at night and finishing 8 in the morning. I've never worked a night shift in my life and I'm not entirely sure how to arrange my sleeping pattern.

At this point I'd like to hear from anyone who does or has worked nights like the shifts I've just described and what you believe the best course of action would be sleep wise.

One thing I thought of was completely inverting my sleep pattern. Basically sleep until I need to go to work like normal.

Any insight would be most appreciated.

I'm currently working nights and this is what I do. When I get home from my shift, I go right to bed and wake up in the afternoon, with several hours to get anything I need to done before work.

 

[Vidiot]

I sorely miss my night shifts. I'd game for an hour after work, fall asleep by 8 or 9 am, wake up around 3 or 4, and do your normal evening activities (friends, games, exercise, etc.) There's not much here that isn't good advice so far. Staying awake for the first shift can help if you can't sleep, avoid over-use of stims, otherwise you'll find yourself dependent on them.

Did you ever have a time when you played games all night, and nobody woke you up the next day until 4 the following afternoon? That's what night shifts feel like, but with less gaming. Sometimes I'd miss the sun, so I'd get up early or stay up a bit late, but in general it was a blast.

Have fun, the best customers come out at night.

 

[MrBenSampson]

I've been working nights since June of 2010. My shift starts at 10 pm, and ends at 7 am. I usually treat the mornings as my evening, and I go to bed in the early afternoon. I used to go to bed as soon as I got home, and wake up before dinner, but I found that I'd be too tired by the time I got to work. Find a sleep pattern that works for you.

If you have a lot of glare from the sun keeping you awake, I recommend that you cover your window with aluminium foil. My bedroom is nice and dark at all times.

 

[firemark]

That is my exact work schedule. Use thick curtains or whatever else you have available to cover your windows. The best sleep schedule has been described above; however, because I am unable to come straight home and go to sleep, I come home and unwind for a couple hours gaming and watching some TV (I recommend getting a DVR, most of my shows are on when I'm gone). I wake up at around 6pm and then leave at 9:30 for work.

As far as your eating habits should go, I have been on this shift for almost a year now and I would highly recommend keeping to your meal schedule as best as possible, eating before you go to work, during your break, and when you get home. Do NOT use energy drinks or you will regret it. This shift is not healthy for your body and consuming those will only do more wear on your body. As far as weekends go, I typically stay up to switch my schedule over (as I'm married it benefits my marriage more to be on the same schedule as my wife). However, it does get very wearing to continuously switch back and forth. Also, Friday nights are a blast because you are used to staying up late if you take naps after you get off work on Friday morning!

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

I work midnight to 8 am and it takes quite a bit of getting used to. I would say that you never really get used to it. I know some of the Officers I work with go to bed around 4-5pm and get up right before work but I am the opposite. I crash the second I get out of work and sleep until about 3-4pm. That usually is enough for me to be good to go.
I also don't change my schedule, even on my days off, unless I have early plans. That way my schedule stays constant, it makes it a lot easier.

 

[Rancid0ffspring]

I have to be honest and say I thought this thread had been buried under the other threads out there.

I'm not 100% percent how this may be best done but you've given me some good ideas to work with. So far I'm leaning more towards swapping working with sleeping... if that makes sense.

I managed to get a bit of sleep earlier and i'll be staying up as late as I can without completely wearing myself out. The plan is to then sleep in as late as possible.

At this time my plan is as follows:

Work at night
Sleep when I get home from 9 till mid or late afternoon.
Do my thing (socialise, game, chill, whatever) during the afternoon/evening
work at night........ you get the idea.

I think the important thing is to ensure I get a good 8 hours sleep.

I'll post on here how my first shifts goes and I'd like to thank you all for your advice. It has been most appreciated.

 

[DefunctTheory]

Well, I wish I could help, as I too work night shifts.

But I work 12 hour nights shifts, 7 days every 14. So basically I work 12 and sleep about 10-11. I'm going to take a wild swing and say that's not the plan.

After you get off work, force yourself to stay awake until when you WANT to sleep. Do this for a week or so. Your body should compensate.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

One thing I thought of was completely inverting my sleep pattern. Basically sleep until I need to go to work like normal.

I'm currently working nights and this is what I did. Not as many hours but still; 1030p-530a. I basically just try sleeping between 10a and 8p. I have a lot of trouble sleeping personally but my method works...in my mind anyway. I am considering investing in sleeping pills to be honest which I guess is always a viable plan B (especially since night-shift workers get paid slightly more than their daytime counterparts).

 

[ace_of_something]

I've had a few jobs at night shifts starting at 10pm 11pm and 12am. I found it a lot easier to sleep shortly after getting off work. That way i could enjoy my friends and family in the evenings/afternoons like a normal person. Made it suck if I was forced manditory overtime though.

 

[Insanum]

I'm starting a new job tomorrow night which will have me working 4 days a week starting 10 at night and finishing 8 in the morning. I've never worked a night shift in my life and I'm not entirely sure how to arrange my sleeping pattern.

At this point I'd like to hear from anyone who does or has worked nights like the shifts I've just described and what you believe the best course of action would be sleep wise.

One thing I thought of was completely inverting my sleep pattern. Basically sleep until I need to go to work like normal.

Any insight would be most appreciated.

I worked nights for around 18 months. Make sure you have Thick Curtains if you're light sensitive, and a quiet but effective fan/A/C system if you intend to work during the summer.

For me i found Food was an effective way of making a boring night shift exciting. You can try and 'invert your sleep pattern' but its nigh on impossible. There's only so many times you can tell yourself its normal to work an 8 hour shift then go home with a McMuffin.

It'll take you a few weeks, but with careful planning, you will completely ruin your bodyclock for life. (I know I have).

P.S Stock up on Red Bull/Relentless. You WILL need it.

 

[thegoldenwang]

ive worked roughly half of my jobs on nite shift... most of which i didnt have a gf... it makes work harder but life a lot easier. its so much easier to do stuff that needs doing during the day. most of the time i worked 11 to 7 and i got home at 8... went to sleep around 9. woke up around 12 did stuff came home took a nap and went to work. hope this helps.