Night shift whats it like

I've been working nights for about 5 years.. I occasionally have nights like tonight when i've come from working Nights and going to days.. I wake up at 2am and i'm wide awake.. i'm going back on days for 12 hours at 7 :(

3hrs sleep for the win!
 
bakes0310 said:
But what i dont get is them trying to get back into a normal sleep pattern when they have a weekend off, wont that mess with you?
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To get a proper weekend when you finish Friday Morning and Start Sunday night you need to stay awake all of Friday. If not then you **** your weekend by sleeping through most of it.

Unless you try to stay in night mode.

Night shift is a **** of a shift. Afternoon shift is the best one shift by far.
 
Zip said:
To get a proper weekend when you finish Friday Morning and Start Sunday night you need to stay awake all of Friday. If not then you **** your weekend by sleeping through most of it
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Bad advice, this is why people suffer when they do night shift. On the morning after your last nightshift you should always get your head down for 3-4hrs to recharge your batteries. Trying to stay awake for over 24hrs is not going to do you any favours. If you sleep for 3-4hrs and get up at midday, you'll still have all of your weekend bar the Saturday morning - which is probably what most people do anyway!
 
Scam said:
Bad advice, this is why people suffer when they do night shift. On the morning after your last nightshift you should always get your head down for 3-4hrs to recharge your batteries. Trying to stay awake for over 24hrs is not going to do you any favours. If you sleep for 3-4hrs and get up at midday, you'll still have all of your weekend bar the Saturday morning - which is probably what most people do anyway!
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Sometimes I do this, sometimes I do not. Depends on my tiredness levels, and if I am noght shift the next week.
I can stay up till 7 oclock or so, then go to bed around 8 ish. Usually asleep as my head senses the pillow. Sleep all the way through and I am usually peachy!

The thing is, everyone is different. The ones who say they are ill all the time, hate it, cannot do it, don't do it. People like me, who, when left to their own devices, go to bed at 3 in the morning and sleep till 10 oclock, are night dwellers anwyay, and I seem tosleep better through the day. I can get 6 hours kip and be fine. On dayshift, it kiolls me.
 
If it's continental then yes it's great but if it's 5 from 7 then it's crap. Ive worked nights for 3 years now. I work 5 from 7.

Get up at 3pm and go to bed at 7am. Friday and Saturday off. Normally go to bed as soon as I get home. Get up 1pm on the Friday then lie in on the Sunday till about 1pm. Sunday is always hard but at least that way you get 3 ish days.

Blackout curtains and soundproofing on the walls (This has other perks when you have children that you do not want to hear certain things ;)). This is a major thing when working on nights is that you have a good place to sleep during the day.

The main positive for me on nights is the ease of going up the ladder. 4 years ago I was bogo staff and now I am a supervisor. Dayshift on the other hand is like dead mans shoes.
 
Well i have been offered the job, and it is night work. Its a 9hr shifts 5 night week. The shifts start at 6pm-3am, and its a rolling week so i will end up working saturdays and sundays but i get a 20% bonus. I will be on a wage of 23k which is a nice jump from my current wage of 12-14k:D
 
That's a pretty good shift, not true night work, would love such a shift. 3am is the hitting the wall stage and you still have plenty of time to get home and fall asleep in the dark, which makes a huge difference.

Is it sun-fri or mon-sat
If it's mon-sat, then your social life is ruined.
 
AcidHell2 said:
That's a pretty good shift, not true night work, would love such a shift. 3am is the hitting the wall stage and you still have plenty of time to get home and fall asleep in the dark, which makes a huge difference.

Is it sun-fri or mon-sat
If it's mon-sat, then your social life is ruined.
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Its a rolling week so will end up working saturday and sunday but not all the time.
 
6pm-3am aint bad really like you said. By the time i get home and in bed it will be about 4am. Get 6-7hrs sleep so up about 12ish, then go gym maybe a bit of motorbiking and still have a few hours to kill.
 
Well i finished my induction and training yesturday which started tuesday. This was during the day at 8am-5pm, and i got my rota. Im starting sunday (tomorrow) and i got the times wrong its actually 8:30pm-5:45am.
I think that time time is better for me, as i can get home have a quick munch then go gym and then straight to bed when i get back.
 
Regularly work 8.30pm to 9.30am and have to swap days to night and back the other way in a day. It's not too bad when you get used to it. I use melatonin for the first shift or two, stops me waking up too soon. Nothing more frustrating than getting home after a night shift, getting your head down and waking up 3 hours later.
 
Worked nights at Asda for the past 3/4 Years now, Thu/Fri/Sat, sure it can be crap sometimes, but it pays well, and the work isn't difficult, Like others have said, I get up in the afternoon and have until about 9pm to myself which aint so bad!
 
Currently at work on nights now. I do a 4 week rotation of Mon-Thurs days, Thurs-Sun nights, Fri-Sun days and Mon-Weds nights. All shifts are 8 till 8. I get a lot of days off and find adjusting fairly easy, the only part that sucks is how little work I need to do at night (reactive IT job) which can make it drag out a bit. I don't plan on doing it for too many years, it's just a case of earning my stripes and getting a better job.

I would dislike doing nights all the time immensely.
 
Just a quick one to add to those who have already said don't bother with nights - it sucks. I did it for three years as part of a 24 hour shift pattern and it was grim.
 
I worked a few night shifts when on site work. 22:00 - 06:00.

It's hard work. One day I got back to our accomodation, decided to have a bath before bed and almost drown after falling asleep in the tub :eek:

Unless the benefits are massive, I'd avoid it. Afternoons is probably worse, as you're effectively throwing away your day, unless you get up early. Example, if you work 13:00 - 21:00, you're getting up, having 3 hours to yourself, before thinking about work, then you're in work and when you get home it's too late to do much, so you end up going to bed. Rinse and repeat.
 
I hate nightshift and can get a shift for nights with 5 hours notice,my sleep pattern is all over the place and has been for 20 years,early grave for me i think:(
These 9-5 office boys have no idea whats its like in the real world and night shift would break you within a week:eek:
 
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