I had trouble to even fall asleep when the evening comes, even if I lay down I just don't get tired till it's like 1-2 hours before I went to bed the night before. If I actually fall asleep I only sleep for like 3-4 hours then wake up and at some point I get so tired that I have to take at least another 2h nap to survive. Stacking worked for me way better, staying up till it's evening again after the nightshift then sleep for like 9-11hours and rhythm is back to normal
This is so true. I work overnights at a warehouse. I ended up just keeping my sleep schedule the same to avoid all this, meaning sleep all day, be awake at night, even on days off. End result: no friends or social life!!! YAYYYY
Yeah I did that too for almost 9 months going to bed at 9am waking up at 17pm, I tired me out so much and not feeling very social if I just woke up, at least my friends got used to my "morning mood" at some point. But getting no sunlight is Probably the worst of all. Found a new job luckily remote and making my own hours, much better now.
Which is why I worked weekend nights for years. Friday, Saturday, Sunday nights. Napped Friday afternoon...came home slept Sat and Sunday, waking up for work. And Monday, napped till 11 or 2 , got back on track....until the next Friday. Worked for raising kids....hubby had them for the weekend...and I had them for the week, while he was at work. A parent was always present. Great for them.
I worked night shift for 30 years. My wife and I choose to never have child care so we worked separate shifts. Me, being a Night Owl, my parents gave me this nick name as a baby and toddler add I was alway awake after midnight. This schedule continued on through all of my school years as well. I am retired now and I am still awake every evening and usually go to bed when the birds stay chirping. I had to keep the same sleeping schedule on my days off or it didn't go as smooth. I found that keeping the same sleeping & eating routine was the key for me. I also exercised and went on walks as well. The only time I had trouble was a 3 year period in my early 30s when I started drinking alcohol quite heavy after work. I also gained weight. When I quit alcohol and smoking cigarettes I lost any weight I gained and everything went smoothly again. For me I had to keep the same routine and I also enjoy being awake after midnight. If someone hates being awake at that time it will probably be tougher for then to adapt.
Can you give me an example of what your routine was ? I'm a routine person that has only worked days in my nursing career. I'm on night shift beginning in two weeks because me and my husband do the same thing with our schedules . Thanks !
She is not lying … I’m at work right now staring at the clock.. I do the same thing .. I work MTW ( 12 hour shifts ) … Just so I could have the end of the week to myself.
Currently closing in on 30 years of nightshift work. The advantage is that I don't have trouble falling asleep at any time of the day. Looking to end the cycle of madness later this year. 😅
Regulate and time your caffine intake, keep track of how much you can handle and your perfered type, if you build too much immunity go 3 days without it or longer and you should reset
The unfortunate reality is that night shifters have to choose whether to sacrifice their mental or physical health for their job. When I worked nights, I still slept 8 hours and slept at the same time every day, even on my off days, which was better for my physical health. But, I spent my off days alone at night which really affected my mental health. It takes a special person to make night shift work.
This is so true! When I was on nights I hated having only 1 day (night) off in-between shifts because it was like having no time off. I worked nights for 2 years and that whole time feels just like a blur due to the perpetual exhaustion and lack of any normal routine. Although I would much rather have fake "days off" and be exhausted then work day shift on a med-surg floor.
Yupp I worked night shift for 5 years. I always did my shifts straight. After my last shift I would stay up until my children napped at 1pm and then would go to bed early that night to get back on a regular schedule until the next time I work.
You. Are. A. Super. Human. I worked with a few nurses who would stay up with their little ones afterwards as well and I was amazed. I tried once and woke up a few hours later covered in cheerios and drool haha
Thanks for the advice people💙💯lately it's been overwhelming I'm almost going on a year of doing this and I'm still struggling to adjust sadly but that was a great point💯
I am a night shift cop aka 12 to 16 hours a night 5 to 7 days a week (+ day time court). I don't bother ever switching to a day shift schedule even for my days off. In the past year I only stayed awake though 10 days the entire year by choice. 5 of those where on vacation and the other 5 where special occasions like weddings. It is like living in a subculture, but honestly you get used to it and learn to meet your day shift friends in the middle. It can be a little isolating at first, but you learn to love it.
I start nights 1am to 930am . Pays a lot more and actually get to see my wife more. Just on weekends I see my son I'll take small naps when he plays games or watches a movie
Night shift, Armed Security for a decade. 3 years in I gave up on trying to readjust to days on my days off. Too much effort and it took too much time. Now I only get up "early" for doctor appointments.
I work as night auditor in a hotel so my schedule is roughly 7 hours per night. It is my day off and I slept so hard I couldnt get out of bed. I admire you guys doing 12 hour shifts! I really do!
Yeah, we sleep like a regular person on our weekend because we aren't getting sleep during our week. Utterly despise graveyard shift. There is so much OT I want to work, but I sleep maybe 3-4 hours. Not enough for me to function and pick up more shifts.
I told my DON to schedule me every Saturday, Sunday, and Monday night. Because nobody usually wants every weekend. And nurses were always squabbling over weekends off. The Beauty in this is I had the rest of the week off four days straight.Everyone was really snide and judgmental at first when I suggested it.(I faced a lot of nurse bullying and racial discrimination at this job ) like I was being a fool but it was really awesome schedule and the weekends are great to work. I could be with my kids and be present for things. My weekend was Friday and Saturday morning.After I left the job another nurse took my schedule and worked it out for years and I believe she still has a schedule to this day. The other nurses didn’t wanna acknowledge it also benefited them. but AnyWho I hope someone else sees this and maybe they can use it to get though Night Shift a little bit easier 😊
That was really smart! You have a much more problem solving, entrepreneurial spirit than those side eying gossips you work with. “Do the [job/schedule/task] nobody else wants to do” is a surefire way to get far further in life than them!
I thriive on night shiift!! I feel like as a introvert night shifts are golden for me. And when I wake up I dont feel sluggish as when I go to bed at night
Traveling CNA in the state of Colorado and I work graveyard.. I love it!! I treat my nights like my days and my days like my nights.. I’m really good at working on little to no sleep too.. guess that’s just how I was born.. I love this job and it makes me satisfied when I get to see the smiles on my residents faces.. all worth it to me 😊❤👵🏻👴🏻
I used to come home & stay up for 24hrs so I’d get to enjoy my day off. Also cuz I used to work 6 days a week on graveyard so going to sleep would just waste the whole day off.
Just finishing up a ltc job that split my days up. I feel like I haven’t slept for weeks. Having three nights in a row and then 4 nights to recoup is the only way to do nights!
Yoga nidra everyone ♥️ Plenty on RU-vid. Start with ten minutes then twenty and maybe thirty. I've taught it and done it daily for 25ys and it's fantastic. Well worth a look.
I for one love night shift when I was younger because I would have Friday night and Saturday night off but me and my friends would always have something to do those nights whether it was going clubbing or having House Parties but I would always have something to do night shift really is for younger people who stay up late on their days off or for older people who don't have a family or friends
I sleep every day during the day and stay up all week to keep everything consistent. It still sucks because obviously on my days off my free time is at night. The only positive is I only work four days a week. Sunday to Wednesday.
I usually just stay on the night shift on my days off because work 2 days then I’m off a day then I come back in work 2 more days then I’m off for 2 days so switching back to the day shift on my days off really isn’t possible for me I just go to bed as soon as I get home and sleep until about 1 2 or 3 at the latest and have the whole afternoon to spend with my family till they go to bed at like 11 or 12
What is the pay difference between you and your day shift colleagues? Had a manager offer me a job but $14 doesn’t seem much compared to $12 on day shift
I’m working nights again……tired All the time. I handled it much better 20 years ago! Now I work 2 back to back. Also have the dreaded 3 in a row for a long weekend….ugh tome that is the killer!
Nope, ive been keeping the same schedule. I get 3 day weekends. My wife sleeps late. We go out for dinner. I just got done cleaning my shop now im on here and getting ready to jam heavy metal. I love this sh**
Been working 3rd shift for over 25 years now. Was a bit easier when I was younger but now my whole life is geared around getting rest so I can be sharp on the job. It’s not the type of job I can go in being overtired. Do agree on the attitudes and humor especially being a bit dark and do like that. The best night schedule I’ve worked were 12hr 3 days on 3 off one week/ 4 on 4 off the next. Currently on M-F 8hrs now which I don’t like. Weekend is far too short. Sat is a wash, and Monday I need a big nap lat in the afternoon.
The only reason you would get extra days off is because of the holiday pay creep, Night shift gets paid more and corprate does not want to pay 2-4 hours of holiday pay at the start or end of shift.
Night shift is a whole new breed. I’m technically off Saturday but I spend 6 hours of it working from midnight to 6am. So Sunday is the only 24hr block I have off. 1 day weekends 🎉🎉
Always preferred nights when I was agency (don’t have to get up super early to drive like morning shift, and the afternoon shift was cut down to 5 hrs for agency which meant it wasn’t worth my time, also nightshift gets paid the highest penalty rate) but I always try to block them, hate doing random night. Takes a full day to prepare and a day to get back to day shift. Currently doing 4 in a row and then have 5 days off because my RDO is in the middle of it so :)
I learned this the hard way when I overnight stocked at Walmart. Could end up having weeks where I had one day off six or seven nights on then one night off again 😭
I work night shift and I literally just live on nights. But I’m likely that I don’t have as many priorities that require me to be a human during the day
I agree with you. I been workinng night for about 10years. When I get off in the morning. if I have to go back to work I sleep all day. If I don’t I sleep about 2 to 3 hour so that I will be able to sleep the night I am off.
I started working evening shifts in 2008 and in 2014 I started working graveyards and I'm still at it. It does take your body time to get used to it but even after getting used to it it still does take a toll on you
in my unit the day we get off night shift is considered our day off - so if I get off night shift at 7am, that’s my day off. If I’m not scheduled another day off the next day, then that’s that. We go back to shift the next day. The lack of sleep is real
This is true. They really need to make it mandatory for Nights to cluster their 3 days I a row together. I just pick up on that 1 little night off... Pointless to sleep the day away. But this is why I'm gonna go part time.
Night guy here in hotels for 6 years, this hit uncomfortably close to home. I think you shouldve added that you're never allowed to phone in sick because no one want to do the shift or no one is trained to do it. Vicious cycle but still better than working with day walkers
I work 10p to 6:30a, while my fiance works 9a to 6p. I come home, wake him up to go to work. He comes home and wakes me up. I work Friday night through Tuesday night. He works Friday through Tuesday. Every other Wednesday, I come home, take a nap from about 8a to noon, and them I'm up until 10, 11p. The other Wednesday, I stay up until 10, 11pm without a nap (on weeks I nap, I have DnD from 6 to 10. I've tried playing with no sleep and it's rough). I wake with him on Thursday, and wake up with him on Friday, stay up until around noon and then nap until 7. I end up feeling like I had a 3day weekend when in reality I just have two nights off
I am done trying to adjust. Night shift destroyed my health. Best thing to do is stop working jobs that require working mights. I have work nights 20yrs +.
I been on nights for 10 years at a sawmill. 4 nights 13hr shift Monday - Thursday. Off Friday Saturday Sunday. Took some time getting use to. But anything else i wouldn't like. Iv got use to having my 3day weekends an dragged for 4 days. Who really needs more than 8hrs of sleep on a good day anyway 😂
My body doesn't flip well, so my days off, I keep a modified night shift schedule--stay up late and sleep till early afternoon. Works much better for me than keeping a full night shift schedule or flipping (although let's be real, even before working nights, I stayed up till 2-3 am and slept till late morning. I never got up at 7 or 8 unless I had to for class or something lol).
I work 4 12s. I was working 7 and still do now and then to get extra $. I love the 3 day weekends. I keep the same scehdule on days off its 530am and im still up. I actually do things also. Winding down on youtube. I do take a nap for a couple hours in the evenings on days off. I stay up because otherwise it seems like you didn't have time off. Its not all cheerio. Drawbacks are the days you work are completely shutdown except for a few fast chores, work sleep and travel. Ive come to the conclusion I hate all schedules lol. I am currently looking for 4 10s thoh.
When i work nights, i live nights. I sleep every day. I dont tey to do anything during the day ever, even on "days off" keep that same schedule. When night shifts rotate back to days, i just stay awake all day until night and sleep hard to get beck on day shifts.
I get off tues an tend stay up all day an pass out at 10pm an sleep 12-14 hrs wed . Then normal then try sleep at 2am fri morning to get ready for 16 hr shift
Ah…hm…I work nights and have been for a while. I have been hearing that night shift cleave years off your life but, I think it’s because you guys do it like this. Yeah I live entirely different. I sleep eight hours every night (when my childhood insomnia doesn’t keep me up) but even when it does- I prioritize sleep above everything. I work out (I’m not like a fitness influencer) but I make sure my body moves around at least a little bit but- no I workout and eat homemade meals. I make sure my groceries are grains, meat, fruit, veggie fiber and I take my vitamins daily. I drink water all the time and make sure I spend time with friends. Sure they get off at four pm but that’s when I’m waking up. I think you guys are just working/living a lifestyle that’s not for you.
Imagine working swing shift rotating 1st 2nd and 3rd. Working 3rd shift into a 2nd shift the next day only 8 hours between. Pain lol. Now add one of those being a 16 hour shift. Feel like death lol.
no lie I have 2 days off b2b.....Saturday wasted sleeping and miserable don't want to be bothered...it takes 2 days of sleeping to feel like normal self.....Sunday is better but that Monday your wide awake with energy and have to work that night....which sucks can not take nap before too woke
