Working Night Shift

I have to say, I like working nights except the constant tiredness I feel. The need to flip-flop sleep schedule from time to time makes it kind of a bitch but overall it's pretty good.

Anybody else work night shift?

I worked overnights for 10+ years up until recently. Overall it wasn't bad and I rarely had the need to wake up with an alarm, which is nice. The only bad part was weekends. If I had to be somewhere or do stuff I was a zombie for the most part. If I didn't have anywhere to go or anything to do I'd sleep in as usual which the wife didn't care for because it basically wasted half a day ZZZZZZ.

About a year ago work switched me to early morning shifts and I'm still not over that. They mix in some overnights here and there and switching back and forth takes a lot out of me. I'm not as young as I used to be.

I work a few 3rd shifts each week along with a few 2nd and every once in a while a 1st or two. I hate 3rd shift. I'm a morning person and I always feel very isolated when the world is sleeping while I'm awake and vice versa. I suppose it wouldn't be so bad if my schedule didn't change each week and I knew what it was going to be before the preceding Friday.

The constant melatonin to sleep and caffeine to wake up can't be good either. Overall I hate it but it's a means to an end, namely a paycheck.

It also leaves a lot of time during my night off each week to run lots of car searches, plan builds, do some laundry or lift weights...but not much else.

One of these days when I get a proper garage there will be lots of late night wrenching sessions.

In reply to sirrichardpumpaloaf:

Never worked night shift, but I gotta say, I love your user name, you demented bread boffer, you.

Night owl. I was built for nights. Sucks to have a farmer dad yelling at you to get up a 5 am though.

I just switched to an early morning shift after working overnight for about 20 years. The best thing I can tell you is cover your windows with a blanket, like an old Army blanket, to keep the sun out until you get used to sleeping during the day.

After my time in the Army I can sleep anywhere any time.

The best way I worked is Seeing the Sun starting the day and ending under the stars.

In reply to The_Jed:

I do get lots of car searching done for sure. I have a "proper" garage to work in but need to insulate and finish the inside to make it where I can heat it with a reasonable amount of fuel. The building leaks heat something terrible.

Lifting weights...... no.

Duke wrote: In reply to sirrichardpumpaloaf: Never worked night shift, but I gotta say, I love your user name, you demented bread boffer, you.

I've been known to star in a Shepperton production or two with certain unmentionable parts annexed to a fine whole-wheat loaf....

I did the night shift thing, stocking groceries, for 8 months a few years ago while I was figuring out what to do after school. I did not like it at all but that's mostly because the job itself sucked.

Some people it works with their body cycle. Other people they can make it work, but takes effort. Some it just doesn't work.

12 hour overnight shifts didn't work for me (6pm-6am 3 nights, then Midnight-6am). I realized my brain shut off and my body just sort of went through the motions starting at around 11pm. This was not a good situation for a production environment. I started making mistakes.

People kept saying that if you just give it time you'll adapt to the different schedule. I didn't. My body rebelled. Hit the point where on my day off I just woke up at noon, crashed at 11pm, got up at 8am the next morning feeling the best I had in months. My body did not want to be on a graveyard schedule.

Second shift (3-11:30) wasn't a problem. Slept until I woke up (10-11). Cooked a good breakfast. Went on an hour motorcycle ride. Go to work at 3. Grocery shopping at midnight. Shower. Computer games until about 2am. Repeat. Only issue was only really seeing the baroness on weekends.

Now I'm back to working days, and happy.

I prefer 4 - 12 over the midnight to 8 shift, it's like a normal day just offset a bit. Midnights messed me up.

Guys close to retirement would go on midnights for the last three years because 4-12 shift paid 7% more and midnights paid 10% more. 10% more retirement money for the rest of your life for a few years inconvenience?

Dan

Seems to me people love or hate midnight w/ little middle room and the people that hate it do so w/ a berkeleying vengeance. Night animal here but worked daylight over 20 years. Once I figured out midnight there is no other option.

Daylight has been shirts, dog and pony shows, suckasses and drama... at least where I been. Afternoon took the biggest chunk outta the day and wasn't conducive to accomplishing anything but they call it the drinkers shift for a reason. Swing shifts are completely out at my age. I accomplish more after midnight than any other shift.

Drive home from work is leisurely and white-knuckle free. Stores are empty first thing in the morning, run errands, schedule appointments first in, beer store opens at 8 a.m., wine store 9 a.m. I like to be done and off the road by 10 a.m. Yard, shop or house work follows. Sleep 2 or 3 to 9 p.m. Blinds and dark curtains, t-shirt over eyes, noise to a minimum. Drive to work is easier too, not even 1/10th the traffic of daylight. Win.

Midnight may be upside down to the rest of the world but once you figure it out it ain't bad at all.

I am a night owl, always have been. Not a bad one, on my own I will hit the bed around 2am and be up around 9.. work however, always has different ideas.

Unfortunately, my work does not offer the option for shift work.. I need to be there when the work is there. For example, I have been at work all this week at either 5 or 6 am.. next week I will be going in for the afternoons.. some weeks it changes like that from day to day

I worked midnights for nine months when I was still in the hospital. I really liked it, but my family didn't. I can get on a schedule and keep it pretty well. But to switch back to days every weekend kicked my ass.

The best part (when I did keep the schedule for seven days) was working in the garage on weekends. It was 100% guilt free since my family was asleep. But loud tasks were tough to get done.

All in all the work was about 90% boring and repetitive, 10% holy E36 M3 hang on to your hat!

There's a lot less BS to deal with than on days too because all the bosses aren't there.

I work 12.5 hour shifts, 7 to 7:30, with the occasional 18 hour shift stuck in the mix. Luckily, we swap days to nights and back every 3 months. I find that no matter what shift I am on, night or day, I am always ready to give the other a go around 3 months in.

The thing that really bugs me about night shift is the first day of a day off, most of it is wasted sleeping.

I agree days are better for family life. Nights are GREAT for car work, unless I have to fire up the power tools. Bummer.

I work till close a couple days a week at a late night wing joint, so till 4-430am

ive been on night shift, 10s, for years. married with two kids, wouldnt have it any other way. i get to spend all day thursday, friday, saturday and sunday with my family, then work sunday night-thrusday morning. i only sleep 6 times per week. i skip it on thursday, and stay up on sunday. i love it.

but i can 'work the sleep'. if i know i need to sleep, i sleep. anywhere, any time. the hood of my truck in the rain i could sleep...but thats me...

-J0B

I hated third shift. Theoretically it was better than second for doing stuff like working in the garage, but I felt like a zombie all the time. I could sleep 10 hours a day and still be tired. Second shift was better for me, simply because I was able to go to sleep while it was dark out and get up when the sun was up, and that made it feel more natural. But now I'm back on first and that is where I belong.

gearheadmb wrote: I felt like a zombie all the time. I could sleep 10 hours a day and still be tired.

This is exactly the experience I'm having now. Just learning how to cope with it right now.