Soldato
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I felt like **** after doing 6 weeks of nights, going home from and starting work on the same day felt like I had no life.
Night work/Shift work.
- Thread starter SideWinder
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Soldato
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I work 12 hour shifts, they work out fine on the day pattern but the nights follow the same pattern of Mon, Tues, Fri, Sat, Sun, Weds, Thurs. It is ******* retarded because on the days off in between you are awake in the day so you have to get into and out of the routine everytime there is a day off, so over the 2 week pattern thats 5 times you have to adjust. However only 2 weeks out of 8 are nights but it royally screws your body clock.
I think the reason it suits me is that i stay in dayshift mode 4.30pm to 1.30am(4 nights) isnt that late so up early have a nice long day then work then sleep when i get in ,another thing is that time just flies ,when i cover for days it drags.
last year i did 3 12hours a week mon tue wed 4 till 4 that was excellent used to skip sleep on my last shift to have 4.5 day weekend, trying to get back on that shift
last year i did 3 12hours a week mon tue wed 4 till 4 that was excellent used to skip sleep on my last shift to have 4.5 day weekend, trying to get back on that shift
Also do this and agree with you, know exactly what you mean by feeling like you can miss another nights sleep. Although I am tired at times I think I can handle it well.
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Repeatidly mucking about with your body clock WILL put you in a early grave
If your always going to be working nights and NEVER going back to days type hours (even when off work) then it should be fine
IF your shift pattern involves doing days and then switching and doing nights , that really bad for you
If your always going to be working nights and NEVER going back to days type hours (even when off work) then it should be fine
IF your shift pattern involves doing days and then switching and doing nights , that really bad for you
Agreed there derka, it was the swapping over that used to do me.
When we got droped on perma nights, life was a lot easier, only problem i had with it was finishing friday, or saturday morning. Not bothering to sleep that day with things to do and get done.
That was all of 15 years ago, i wouldn't mind doing it again, life being easier now with 24hr tesco's, online shopping ect.
Screws with the social life though during the week, forget drinking if thats you're thing
When we got droped on perma nights, life was a lot easier, only problem i had with it was finishing friday, or saturday morning. Not bothering to sleep that day with things to do and get done.
That was all of 15 years ago, i wouldn't mind doing it again, life being easier now with 24hr tesco's, online shopping ect.
Screws with the social life though during the week, forget drinking if thats you're thing
Soldato
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I was chatting to a customer at work today and he was telling me to never work night shifts as they will eventually age you much faster than if you worked during the day. I swear i read something about this being true and a lack of natural sunlight certainly isn't good for you. Anyways, he went on for a bit about his mate 'Joe' who was 30 something but looked over 50 because of his erratic night shifts.
Anyone working nights at the moment? Do you always feel tired even when you are 'meant to be awake'? Thoughts? Input? Blah blah?
i work nights but only 2 a week and i'm fine, only feel tired in between my 2 shifts (and i felt this way when i was working days), last month i did full time on the nights and it was easy, no sweat. all of the staff there, even those that have done it 10-20 years seem normal, some of them even seem younger.
I think the reason it suits me is that i stay in dayshift mode 4.30pm to 1.30am(4 nights) isnt that late so up early have a nice long day then work then sleep when i get in ,another thing is that time just flies ,when i cover for days it drags.
last year i did 3 12hours a week mon tue wed 4 till 4 that was excellent used to skip sleep on my last shift to have 4.5 day weekend, trying to get back on that shift
That's not night shift, that's back shift. Back shift is horrible though because you can have a normal sleeping pattern but can't have proper meals at the correct times.
I did night shifts for a while in a call centre and it really messed up my days. I found it was easier to stay up until lunch time and then sleep until work because then I wasn't shattered while working. There were only a couple of people who would work night shift all the time and arranged their lives around it, most in my office couldn't stand it long term.
I can remember back when doing my A-Levels we did a large section of the corse was on things like this, and how terrible it was for your health, because of the lack of natural sunlight ect ect.
especially in low control jobs and high responsibility (for example a finisher in a factory)
Something about the "circadian rhythm", which is like your 24-hour body clock, however if you can make this clock think its night when its day by changing your sleeping patterns, in the long run it could be not so bad, as long as you keep this pattern.
Hope this helps
especially in low control jobs and high responsibility (for example a finisher in a factory)
Something about the "circadian rhythm", which is like your 24-hour body clock, however if you can make this clock think its night when its day by changing your sleeping patterns, in the long run it could be not so bad, as long as you keep this pattern.
Hope this helps
have a light meal at 3.45pm ish then another at 10pm dont mind it tbh and dont find it an issue myself
I've worked shifts - lates, earlies and nights in that order for 22 years. The night shifts have either been 10pm - 6am or 10pm - 7am.
I'm 42 this year, no medical conditions, full head of hair, which is still dark brown (got very few grey hairs) and people are regularly amazed when I tell them I'm in my 40's - they tend to think I'm around 30 (lucky me).
I tend to make sure I have between 7 and 8 hours sleep after a night shift without fail. I eat breakfast when I get up (yes in the afternoon), have a cooked meal around 6 to 7pm and then have sandwiches, fruit, yohurts etc during the early hours (definately something light - since you don't want something heavy digesting in your stomach when you got to sleep in the morning).
4am tends to be the usual time I start to flag, but my job is usually fairly busy around this time so I sometimes run right through the tiredness. If it is quiet, then I usually park up my Panda car and go for a bit of foot patrol for a little while.
If your're sensible about eating, sleeping and exercising at the right times you shouldn't find it a problem.
I'm 42 this year, no medical conditions, full head of hair, which is still dark brown (got very few grey hairs) and people are regularly amazed when I tell them I'm in my 40's - they tend to think I'm around 30 (lucky me).
I tend to make sure I have between 7 and 8 hours sleep after a night shift without fail. I eat breakfast when I get up (yes in the afternoon), have a cooked meal around 6 to 7pm and then have sandwiches, fruit, yohurts etc during the early hours (definately something light - since you don't want something heavy digesting in your stomach when you got to sleep in the morning).
4am tends to be the usual time I start to flag, but my job is usually fairly busy around this time so I sometimes run right through the tiredness. If it is quiet, then I usually park up my Panda car and go for a bit of foot patrol for a little while.
If your're sensible about eating, sleeping and exercising at the right times you shouldn't find it a problem.
statistical data has showen night shift workers are at risk of dying early.
Sleep is so imporant to well being and it certainly does appear that sleep during the day is not the same as at night.
Why and how who knows. One day hopfully we will discover the ins and outs. But at the moment it's just statistical data.
Sleep is so imporant to well being and it certainly does appear that sleep during the day is not the same as at night.
Why and how who knows. One day hopfully we will discover the ins and outs. But at the moment it's just statistical data.
I have been working shifts for 20yrs.
What I can tell you, is that working regular nights is better for you than working a changing shift pattern.
If you work regular nights, then your body will adjust to your routine.
It's when your shifts rotate that it gets messy, as your body doesn't know whether it's coming or going.
I work 2 weeks of nights followed by 1 week of days and it's the days that tend to wear me out more so than the nights.
We have a health check ran by the company every 12 months for shift workers.
What I can tell you, is that working regular nights is better for you than working a changing shift pattern.
If you work regular nights, then your body will adjust to your routine.
It's when your shifts rotate that it gets messy, as your body doesn't know whether it's coming or going.
I work 2 weeks of nights followed by 1 week of days and it's the days that tend to wear me out more so than the nights.
We have a health check ran by the company every 12 months for shift workers.
Depends on a lot of things, if you keep the same schedule you would if you worked in the day it'll be fine.
It's when you come home and try stay up to meet with friends etc that you lose track of time and much needed sleep.
Just one example, I don't believe in statistics at all from random sources other than my own. You can make them say whatever you want and people will believe it these days.
It's when you come home and try stay up to meet with friends etc that you lose track of time and much needed sleep.
Just one example, I don't believe in statistics at all from random sources other than my own. You can make them say whatever you want and people will believe it these days.
I work shifts.. and no more than 4 at a time.. it's normally ok once i'm one in as the sleep during the day puts me into 'mode' as it were.
I do like our shift pattern as it does allow a fair bit of time off:
4 Nights, 3 days off, 3 Days, 1 day off, 3 Nights, 3 Days off, 4 Days, 7 days off.
I'm on that week off point at the moment, it's a lovely pattern especially when you hit said week off.
Edit: Forgot to mention also, these are 12 hour shifts too
I do like our shift pattern as it does allow a fair bit of time off:
4 Nights, 3 days off, 3 Days, 1 day off, 3 Nights, 3 Days off, 4 Days, 7 days off.
I'm on that week off point at the moment, it's a lovely pattern especially when you hit said week off.
Edit: Forgot to mention also, these are 12 hour shifts too
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At the min I do 3 earlys, 2 lates and then 2 nights then 3/4 days off (or a similar combination)
Finishing at 7am on your first rest day is crap. Starting on earlies is crap. The fact we used to do 5 on 4 off is crap. So yeah, shifts are generally crap!
Finishing at 7am on your first rest day is crap. Starting on earlies is crap. The fact we used to do 5 on 4 off is crap. So yeah, shifts are generally crap!
Associate
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IM (limited) E nightshift workers eat rubbish and smoke like chimneys so it wouldn't surprise me if most died early of cardiovascular problems or cancer. If statistical studys have controlled for that then fair enough i'm mainly gambling on eating decent food and not doing it for that long.