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Night shift is ok while deployed maybe, but I would not do that in the real world. It is depressing, no one to hang out with when you are off work, and your weekends are totally screwed. As far as the most popular argument third shifters use for trying to convince people it's not that bad "well I can do stuff during the day that you normally can't do" well that's what I have vacation days for!
Unless a person is working security (and sometimes not then) they are usually working with others on the midnight shift. I worked at the main Post Office in Chicago on midnights and there were hundreds, if not thousands, of others there. It operated just like it did during the daytime, except at night.
I worked nights for a few years while attending college. Tough on the body, but I just "winged it" and always took a quick nap (30-45 minutes) between 3:30-4:30 AM, which made my body feel a lot better.
It is not permanent shift but I haven't done it in years.
I will have 3 days off and start at 11pm on the third calendar day.
So what is the best way to prepare? just wing it? Stay up as late as possible and sleep as late on the first day off? What is the best sleep period, evening or as soon as one gets home? I had issues with this the last time I did it many years ago, sort of stopped sleeping regularly and caffeine became highly necessary because of it. But maybe since I'm older now that won't be an issue. I'm also concerned about depression as daylight will be lacking. Anything ideas to help would be great.
Yeah sleeping will definitely be your biggest adjustment, I was on a 10-7 for like 8 years. If you don't have anything very important to do after work, probably want to began sleepin then. Try not to eat too heavy during your lunch break cause at that time of the morning sometimes eating heavy makes you even sleepier. Good luck!
My husband works a rotating shift and three months out of the year he works the overnight shift. From his perspective, it's not bad because he likes to be going home when everyone else is going into work, traffic is not as bad, and there aren't as many bosses or office staff there. When he works 3rd shift, he goes to sleep when he gets home and then gets up about 4 or 5 in the afternoon. He'll eat his heaviest meal before he goes into work, and then a smaller meal midway through his shift, and a bowl of cereal when he gets home, before he goes to bed.
I homeschool my kids so we used to change our sleep schedule to match my husband's schedule, but we don't do that anymore.
I worked third shift at a few jobs. I liked it a lot, but I march to the beat of a different drummer in a lot of ways. I always went home and went to bed soon after my shift was over. I never had a problem getting 6 or 7 hours of continuous sleep. Some 3rd shift folks break their sleep up into a couple of naps. I think that's a bad idea, because you're always sleep deprived that way. I also installed dark, heavy curtains over my windows to keep sunlight from getting in. Some studies show that 3rd shift people have more health problems. I was happy as could be. I agree with Hedghog_Mom. I didn't like having a boss looking over my shoulder all the time and having a very busy workplace, and I loved less traffic. Ironically, now that I'm retired, I go to bed at 9 PM and wake up at 3 AM. That works fine also.
I worked the pm shift for over 20 years and my usual bed time is between 3am and sometimes 5am. My job just converted to 12 hour shifts and I decided that I didn't want the health risks associated with working nights. I had another job lined up for the pm shift but my job called me back after being off for two weeks to work the pm shift again. It evolved into working back to back 15 hour shifts from 3pm to 6am and 3pm to 730 am. For some reason I can handle the 3pm to 6am a lot better then getting off at 730 am and not getting to bed until 8am. I'm totally useless the next day. If you're a night owl you have a better chance of adjusting to the night shift. If you're a day person like my husband working midnights is hell. He rotated shifts every 28 days for over 20 years and the night shift was torture for him. Putting me on day shift would be torture for me. I'll turn into something that spits pea soup while my head is spinning if you try to talk to me before 10am. The key is trying to stay in tune with your circadian rhythms and working as close to that as you can. Try going to sleep an hour later each day and sleeping an hour later. Do you have some time off before you have to start the night shift? There are sleep aids like Melatonin that may help you reset your body clock until you get used to a different sleep schedule. There are people out there that love working nights and you may be one of them. I hope it works out well for you.
Night shift is ok while deployed maybe, but I would not do that in the real world. It is depressing, no one to hang out with when you are off work, and your weekends are totally screwed. As far as the most popular argument third shifters use for trying to convince people it's not that bad "well I can do stuff during the day that you normally can't do" well that's what I have vacation days for!
Maybe we don't want to "hang out" with anyone. Seriously, the last thing I want to do is run errands, go to the dentist or doctor on my "vacation days."
It's easier to adjust than it seems. After a couple weeks you'll be fine. You'll have a tougher time if you're not a night owl, and then you'll be able to decide from there if you'll want to stay with those hours long-term or look for something more suitable to your Arcadian rhythm.
I've been working nights for---over two years. (Minus a few months of unemployment.)
What I've learned:
(1) Room darkening shades are a MUST. I didn't have them when I was at my first night job and really, that was idiotic.
(2) Try to stay on at least a semi-night schedule on your nights off. Many times I try to stay up at least part of the night when I'm off because otherwise it really does a number on you.
(3) Consistency. Try to go to sleep around the same time, don't get up too many hours before you need to go in, etc.
(4) Food. Nearly everyone I know who has worked nights has put on weight. At my previous job, I used to walk to work and when I moved, I stopped walking. That, coupled with 3 AM runs to 7-11/Burger King/etc. led to some weight gain for myself. I still eat like crap but I keep an eye on my calories (I actually lost all of that weight and then about 20-25 more pounds) and I've been keeping it off now. But now I also try to WALK. It's really hard to get in the exercise I want but now I really make it a point to get outside. Not seeing the sun can make you really miserable...
I worked night shift recently for about a year and I am glad to be off of it. I'm not exactly a morning person, but my body never truly adjusted to working nights.
I darkened my room by taping black trash bags to the windows. I also used ear plugs and eye shades to sleep. I tried to sleep the same time each day, around 10 or 11 AM after work (I got off work around 8 AM). At least 5-6 hours of sleep but more like 4.5. Just the smallest thing would wake me up, and that was a problem if it was only 1 or 2 PM, since I never could go back to sleep (I started work at 6 PM).
Sleep habits were irregular on days off, I took naps or slept and sometimes just slept for hours on my days off.
It is not permanent shift but I haven't done it in years.
I will have 3 days off and start at 11pm on the third calendar day.
So what is the best way to prepare? just wing it? Stay up as late as possible and sleep as late on the first day off? What is the best sleep period, evening or as soon as one gets home? I had issues with this the last time I did it many years ago, sort of stopped sleeping regularly and caffeine became highly necessary because of it. But maybe since I'm older now that won't be an issue. I'm also concerned about depression as daylight will be lacking. Anything ideas to help would be great.
You're worrying about it way too much. Do you need lots of sleep? Then plan accordingly, Take coffee and it'll be business as usual. I worked my first 3rd shift while going to high school, and I STILL work 3rd now and I'm 53.
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Seriously, the last thing I want to do is run errands, go to the dentist or doctor on my "vacation days."
