Any nightshift workers?

I love nights, when I started my current job one of the biggest downers was that it's day shift hours.

Used to love coming home and jumping straight into bed and then getting up when I felt like it depending on how tired I was, you also get time in the day to do normal stuff that needs doing in office hours that you can't do when you're at work in the day.

Gimme nights every time.
 
Did 12 hour shifts the first 8 years of my working career, I'm 35 now and after over 10 years of doing 9 to 5 I still cannot get a decent nights sleep.
 
Just to add, I worked 6 on, 4 off, for years, loved the freedom & it was quite possibly the best shift pattern for a young person, it worked out nicely either my partner because we could do things around my shifts, then it changed to 5 nights, 2 off, 4 earlies, 2 off... No thanks, stress went through the roof!
 
Been working nights as part of rotating shift pattern since 1989.

Currently have a 12 week roster of which two are nights - one a run of 7 (which includes 2 x 12 hour Sat/Sun night) and a run of 5 (which includes 1 x 10 hour Sun night). In addition there are two "spare" weeks in the 12 week cycle which could see you cop nights if someone is on leave/secondment or there's a vacancy.

Even after all this time I haven't really got used to it. Sleeping in the daytime is a complete lottery - sometimes I'm lucky and can manage 5 or 6 hours. Other times it's head on pillow at 0710, back up for a pee at 0830, then wide awake by 1145.

As my job is safety critical not allowed to take anything (even herbal) to try and help sleep, as if something happens (or there's random screening) and you fail a drug test it's bye bye job and probably pension too. Of course though the irony is that by the last couple of nights on the 7 night week, the accumulated fatigue has a physical and mental effect worse than if I'd had a couple of 5% bottles of beer.

Coming off nights can take me several days to fully recover to a normal sleeping pattern even though you go to bed dog tired. Don't get me wrong, I love my job and wouldn't change it for a 9-5 even if I could, but as I enter my mid-50's am becoming well aware of the physical effect working nights has had and one reason why, subject to financial circumstances being right, fully intend to retire at or around 58 in the hope I can fix some of the damage that has undoubtedly been done.
 
Vern1961 said:
Coming off nights can take me several days to fully recover to a normal sleeping pattern even though you go to bed dog tired. Don't get me wrong, I love my job and wouldn't change it for a 9-5 even if I could, but as I enter my mid-50's am becoming well aware of the physical effect working nights has had and one reason why, subject to financial circumstances being right, fully intend to retire at or around 58 in the hope I can fix some of the damage that has undoubtedly been done.
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and to think i want to jack in the nights not much past my 40th next year, but again i guess depends how much you enjoy your job. the fun andg ames iv had here the past couple of weeks sorting time off and the mickey mouse wage really does push me towards jacking it in sooner than later.
 
I have worked nights for over 22 years now.
It fitted round having kids as my wife earns far more money than I do.
I sort of promised myself I would give up and go onto days when my second child reached 15. He is soon to be 21 later this year.
I can not earn as much money as what I am used to working days. Now I am reaching 50 so finding a new job is becoming hard.

I would tell anybody not to start nights, you may end up trapped.
I would not like to work shifts though and my work has a 2pm till 10pm shift. That seems worse than nights to me.
 
tnx said:
I would tell anybody not to start nights, you may end up trapped.
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This is so true. As I mentioned, my night shifts were sold to me as a step-up, but it turned out the guy who got out of doing them, that was more new than me to the job, that I trained up (!!) ended up getting the promotion. Once that happened it was clear there was nowhere for me to go, so I left.

I worked at night with other people around the building in other departments. It made me so sad seeing 50+yr old guys stuck on night shifts that were by that point so indoctrinated into it that they'd struggle to work and even socialise with other people. Even after only 5yrs doing nights, when I managed to get out with friends and acquaintances I could sense it was hard work for me to make polite chit-chat and just be a merry person. Whether that was due to lack of sleep, or just spending 12hrs a day not really talking to anyone.. It does send you loopy.
 
I rotate between days and nights and its the days I can't stand.

I'm working my favorite shift this week, Mon - Wed 7pm-7am. Off then till Monday :) I would work all nights if they let me.
 
As a postscript to my earlier response...

Got to bed ~0710 Monday morning after being up since ~0730 Sunday (I never try and nap before starting nights).
0710 - 0725 Drop off to sleep.
0835 Wake up bursting for pee no choice but to get up and go.
1150 Wake up bursting for pee no choice but to get up and go.
1150 - 12xx Lay there quite unable to fall back off to sleep though at some point I must have as I remember dreaming. So...
12xx - 1405 Some sort of shallow/REM sleep.
1405 Get up as things to do.

This is quite typical and despite taking several measures to mitigate - blackout curtains, eyeshades and windows closed to shut out external noise. I also try and make a point of not eating anything after 0300 and ensure most of the food I take to work is healthy(ish). Nothing to drink after 0400, apart from a sip or two of water before getting into bed.

Multiply that by 4 or 6 (I don't worry about the day I finish nights as I get up at mid-day and burn the candle) and you can see how the sleep shortage mounts up.

So to the OP, if the money is good and/or the work is rewarding then worth considering but it will come with a very likely both short and long term effect on your health.
 
i work 17:30 to 3:30am, its fantastic, i did do 4 months of 6am to 2pm but told boss i wanted back on night or was walking. i dont understand ppl that want to get up at 4am for work.

Been on nights now for 8 years, its the only shift for me, less boss's on your back and more money.
 
P4Clock said:
i work 17:30 to 3:30am, its fantastic, i did do 4 months of 6am to 2pm but told boss i wanted back on night or was walking. i dont understand ppl that want to get up at 4am for work.

Been on nights now for 8 years, its the only shift for me, less boss's on your back and more money.
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My job used to not have a night boss so it was pretty much do what you need to do in your own time which was fantastic, unfortunately they changed that and now plus I find myself naturally waking up around 4am on my days off. So this will be my last week on nights hope I don't regret it.
 
tnx said:
I have worked nights for over 22 years now.
It fitted round having kids as my wife earns far more money than I do.
I sort of promised myself I would give up and go onto days when my second child reached 15. He is soon to be 21 later this year.
I can not earn as much money as what I am used to working days. Now I am reaching 50 so finding a new job is becoming hard.

I would tell anybody not to start nights, you may end up trapped.
I would not like to work shifts though and my work has a 2pm till 10pm shift. That seems worse than nights to me.
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Amen, i've worked a rotating pattern with ~1/3 nights for about the same time and i'm pretty much gone as far as i'll go in the company but your options are close to zero unless you start afresh.
 
Vern1961 said:
Been working nights as part of rotating shift pattern since 1989.

Currently have a 12 week roster of which two are nights - one a run of 7 (which includes 2 x 12 hour Sat/Sun night) and a run of 5 (which includes 1 x 10 hour Sun night). In addition there are two "spare" weeks in the 12 week cycle which could see you cop nights if someone is on leave/secondment or there's a vacancy.

Even after all this time I haven't really got used to it. Sleeping in the daytime is a complete lottery - sometimes I'm lucky and can manage 5 or 6 hours. Other times it's head on pillow at 0710, back up for a pee at 0830, then wide awake by 1145.

As my job is safety critical not allowed to take anything (even herbal) to try and help sleep, as if something happens (or there's random screening) and you fail a drug test it's bye bye job and probably pension too. Of course though the irony is that by the last couple of nights on the 7 night week, the accumulated fatigue has a physical and mental effect worse than if I'd had a couple of 5% bottles of beer.

Coming off nights can take me several days to fully recover to a normal sleeping pattern even though you go to bed dog tired. Don't get me wrong, I love my job and wouldn't change it for a 9-5 even if I could, but as I enter my mid-50's am becoming well aware of the physical effect working nights has had and one reason why, subject to financial circumstances being right, fully intend to retire at or around 58 in the hope I can fix some of the damage that has undoubtedly been done.
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Railway worker?

I used to be a PM doing some railway stuff and had to do some night work for a while. Killer is not the word. Most horrible experience of my life.

Luckily I had a site manager so I snucked away most nights and went home. Although there were some nights when we were dropping in an over-bridge or something likewise that I had to be there.
 
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