Night Shifts

tomparker95

tomparker95

tomparker95

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Joined
9 Jan 2013
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Worthing, West Sussex
Hi all, could someone give me some tips/pointers on starting night work? I'm gonna be cleaning lines for a skip company. 7pm till 3am

Just wanted some tips on how to cope with the change etc as never done nights before.

Cheers
 
How many nights on/off? Any day work?

7-3 isn’t so bad and you can almost keep your circadian rhythm normal.

Have a lie in the day you start your shifts. I’d personally go straight to bed once you’ve finished and wake up late morning.

Make sure you have something to eat before you leave for work and then have a lunch break in your shift. Stay hydrated.
 
I always have a late night the previous evening and have a good lie in the next day, apart from that I do nothing else specific

Although yours isnt too bad a shift so you’ll probably be fine just having a little lie in, mine is always 6pm-6am for 5 days
 
make sure your bedroom has good, not just decent but good black out blinds. be prepared for your social life, assuming you have one, to go to pot. do you have family, i.e. wife/kids? 7-3 is not the worst night shift ever so may not even take that much of an adjustment. 7-7, now that's a killer!
 
JBuk said:
I always have a late night the previous evening and have a good lie in the next day, apart from that I do nothing else specific

Although yours isnt too bad a shift so you’ll probably be fine just having a little lie in, mine is always 6pm-6am for 5 days
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I know a few people that have a late night before a shift. I tried it for a while but soon realised that by doing that I’m basically starting nights a day early! Staying up an hour past bedtime is different of course.

Don’t drink the night before your shift. Night shifts on a hangover are the worst!
 
tom_nieto said:
I know a few people that have a late night before a shift. I tried it for a while but soon realised that by doing that I’m basically starting nights a day early! Staying up an hour past bedtime is different of course.

Don’t drink the night before your shift. Night shifts on a hangover are the worst!
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That's the problem with nights is that you can easily lose the day before and the day after to trying to adjust your waking hours which can wipe out the extra pay for doing night shifts in the first place.

I try to stay on regular time the night before now and try to get up earlier in the day after the final shift but it does makes you feel wiped out for a while so not really sure if its worth doing anymore. 7pm - 3am could be ok though, just get your main meal in before you go and take a snack for half way through, go straight to bed when you get home and it will be just like being on student hours :p
 
tom_nieto said:
I know a few people that have a late night before a shift. I tried it for a while but soon realised that by doing that I’m basically starting nights a day early! Staying up an hour past bedtime is different of course.

Don’t drink the night before your shift. Night shifts on a hangover are the worst!
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It is starting a day early but without the work, that is the aim, I stay up until about 2am and wake at 10 - 11am

It helps me stop feeling sleepy the first night at work, I only really lose a few hours of the morning so it’s not a hardship to prepare this way
 
Working nights sucks balls. People will say and do all manner of things to try and tell themselves it's not that bad but it's a horrible quality of life. There are those who seem to enjoy it, but these people are wrong.
 
tomparker95 said:
Hi all, could someone give me some tips/pointers on starting night work? I'm gonna be cleaning lines for a skip company. 7pm till 3am

Just wanted some tips on how to cope with the change etc as never done nights before.

Cheers
Click to expand...

Just out of curiosity, what does cleaning lines for a skip company actually involve?
 
TBH everyone is going to be a bit different in terms of adjusting to night work - some find it a lot easier than others. I recommend investing in some blackout blinds/curtains though and watch your caffeine consumption as it is very easy to get it messed up and throw your sleeping totally out.
 
Never done it myself, but my mate years ago who had to rotate shifts from days to nights would often go out on **** night before he started nights so he cloud easily sleep through the following day, then have a big meal early evening before going to work to be full of energy to get through the 1st night and get his body clock adjusted
 
My approach to changing from 7 - 7 days to nights was always stay up for 24 hours on the last day shift. You'll be sure to get a good day's sleep.

A similar but less extreme approach would probably work great.

Booze helps.
 
With those times you'll be grand for going straight into the weekend and hitting it large :p

I found keeping my meals at 'proper' times was best. Don't swap them around. In other words eat your dinner at 6pm, go to work, have a light 'lunch' at 1-3am (when you feel hungry) and then go to sleep as soon as you get home. Bed for 4am, up at 12 with breakfast, dinner again at 6pm.
 
Thanks for the all the pointers, really helpful cheers.

The job itself I've only been given vague information on, I'm having a chat with the employer Monday to see if its right for me etc and if so I'll be starting asap.
 
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