Working night shifts

[WomanThatRolls]

I'm going to be starting shift work soon, including night shifts, and I wondered if anyone had any advice about the nights - when to sleep? when to eat? etc. Thank you!

[lindsey toffee girl]

My FI used to work nights and you will have to devise your own new routine and make sure that you stay in bed I know sometimes he would get up early as he couldnt sleep though it would soon catch up on him then, maybe as its summer nearly you will need some black out curtains to. Your whole day will have to alter so when you get up you should go about a normal getting up routine so have breakfast and then have tea, rather than getting up at say four and trying to have tea

[Agent_C]

I worked shifts for several years. I found that some people just never get used to night shifts. I was one of the lucky ones but it could still be a struggle at times!

Everyone is different when it comes to sleeping during the day. I have never had any trouble sleeping, so on the first day of a night shift I would get up about 7am, then go back to bed around 2pm and sleep through the afternoon, often till as late as 8pm. Many of my colleagues liked to just have a lie-in and get up late morning and then remain awake for the rest of the day and night, as they couldn't go back to sleep during the day, but I liked to sleep as late as I could up until the shift began, otherwise I'd really feel the strain.

I got some good blackout blinds from Ikea to keep the light down in the bedroom, and also got a really good sleep mask from http://www.hypnosishealthcare.com/sleepmasklc.html (http://www.hypnosishealthcare.com/sleepmasklc.html)
I also used my Advantage card points to get a Lumie Bodyclock: http://www.boots.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10052&productId=6651&callingViewName=&langId=-1&catalogId=11051
This wakes you up gradually with light, which was useful to 'reset' myself after nights, but it also has a white noise generator which was good to block out sound. I also often needed earplugs - got some off eBay and found the 'rhubarb and custard' coloured ones to be the best, although they take a little getting used to.

The summer was the worst - open windows just carry noise in. I coped by keeping my blackout blinds down all day to reduce heat in the room, using my sleep mask, and having a fan on to create both cool-ish air and white noise.

I had a meal before setting off for the shift, but during the shift itself I would only graze on food. Your stomach isn't set up to digest food at night, and I found if I ate anything too heavy or fatty, I would suffer with bad indigestion. A mug of soup or a bowl of light cereal would often suffice.

Hope some of that helps! Myself and a lot of people working nights with me did suffer health problems, often digestive, hormone or mood disorders, and although they may just be coincidence, I can't be convinced that shift work is good for your health - although our shifts were all over the place, so a regular rota might be better. Let us know how you get on!

[amyb]

I do a random shift pattern or earlys; lates and nights which I find really hard to cope with... I work seven 6 am starts with two days off. Two 2pm starts; one 6pm (12 hr) start, six 10pm starts, four 2pm starts and then three days off. And then it starts again....

On nights I find the most important thing is ensuring a good sleeping environment during the day. Black out curtains; or good eye masque. I sometimes wear ear plugs to.

Luckily for me my first night is an earlier start at 6pm, which is fine for going to work but I do sleep a lot later then next day as am so exhausted. Normally takes me three days to get into the rhythm of nights.

Food wise; I normally eat I "proper" dinner before I go; then a few snacky bits over night. I try to have "breakfast" before I leave work (about 6 ish) so that when I get home at 07.45 I jump straight into bed and am full enough I don't wake up feeling hungry; but not so full I can't sleep.

I would then normally sleep through until 2-3ish then get up and do all the boring bits. Shopping / Gym / Housework.

A nice refreshing shower with a minty shampoo before work and I’m good to go... Helps if you enjoy the job.
Word of warning. Don’t rely on caffeine drinks and coffee to get you through the night – it’ll make sleeping in the day really hard. Been there, done it and got the eye bags to prove it.

[shudd1967]

Blackout blinds, earplugs a decent fan in the summer so you can keep windows closed (plus also helps to drown out noise of kids playing outside) Ipod with some relaxing chill out music on there for when you cannot wind down!

I usually have a decent breakfast but not too much tea and try and wind down as much as possible before going to bed.

[fairydiamond]

I find working nights easy. I work 10pm till 6am. I get home at about 6.30, eat a sandwich, go to bed around 7.15am and get up around 3/4. I normally have some dinner around 6pm and go off to work for 10pm. I don't eat very much during the 8 hours at work.

Make sure your curtains don't let in any light and you should be fine. It feels weird at first but you get used to it after about a week.

I love working nights. Only problem is when I start on Sunday night. I normally have a weekend sleeping 'normally', so Sunday takes its toll. I normally sleep for longer on a Monday.

[Soubrette]

I used to have no problem with sleeping but found trying to time meals terrible.

Some of my colleagues would just switch to eating 3 meals during the night - eughgh curry at 3am :eek: but I found that upset my stomach.

I kept my mealtimes as close as possible to my day time routine.

So, home from work at 7.15am and ate breakfast. Go to bed at about 8.30am. Sleep though until about 3pm and then have a sandwich. Eat a light tea about 7pm. I started work at 11pm so if I was still tired I'd have a nap from 9pm to 10pm.

I didnt work nights full time though.

Sou

[custardy]

TBH it will really be down to you
when i do nights it throws my bodyclock out

i usually do a 0000-0600 night shift but straight not my 0600-1400
dont eat much on duty,usualy feel fine till around 5pm and need sleep
usually afew hours unless im back on that night.then i try and sleep till 2300

[fairydiamond]

I don't think I could work nights on and off. I am on constant nights.

[Running Horse]

I don't think I could work nights on and off. I am on constant nights.Funnily enough I find days harder than nights, it is a very early start and early bed time. We do three 12 hour shifts, alternating between nights and days.

For nights I get up very early and sleep for 3 to 4 hours in the afternoon before going in to work. The first night is hardest, but you just force yourself to adapt. Although even if we do extra shifts, I never fully adapt and have to wake up for an hour or two during the day (usually about 11am). Someone described it as licensed laziness.

The big advantage to my shift pattern is being off work and with my daughter for 3 days at a time. For all the drawbacks, given the choice, I would never go back to 9 to 5, although my wife hates the nights.

[Pink_fluff]

Eye mask. Sleep for as long as possible during the day. When I work nights, if I wake up, earlier than planned/or I'd like, then I just chill out. Lie in bed anyway. Need all the rest I can get on night shift.

[annie2005]

Eye mask. Sleep for as long as possible during the day.

Invest in some good earplugs as well as the eye mask. Eliminating sound and light will help enormously. Also your body will tell you when to eat. I personally when moving to shift work found that smaller meals/sandwiches worked out better than the full cooked meals that I usually ate. It's really easy to put on a lot of weight as your body loses it's old routine.

Also as stated above not all people can adjust to shift work. Some people's bodies just can't cope with the continual readjustments. Personally I found that working shifts meant that I slept less overall. Six hours plus a nap was the usual. It was fine and I never felt tired or out of sorts once I altered my eating to smaller more evenly spaced potions.

The trick is to design your own routine once you know how it's going to hit your body. A friend swears by home, shower, plate of cereal and 8 hours sleep no matter what shift they are working.

The hardest thing is often maintaining a social life. Especially if both of you work shifts.

[GonzoAston]

Ive worked nights for 8 years too.

I found (through lack of sleep at first) that Ear Plugs are a must. Especially in summer when its warm, the windows are open and people start mowing their lawns.

Eye mask is a must too, unless you have blackout blinds.

I normally go to bed when I get in around 8am (after a shower, that helps to relax me to sleep) and get up around 4ish. Have my tea about 7-8pm and normally have a butty or similar around 4am.

Your body will adapt to it in time, it may be hard at first though. Just try to sleep a good 8 hours and you should be ok.

Good luck :D

[roxalana]

Echo what others say about getting blackout curtains and seeing what works for you in terms of eating and sleeping.

I would like to add - have a look at the batch cookery threads which might be on the oldstyle board - i can't remember!

My OH works variable shifts and he would eat nothing but crisps and peanut butter/cheese sarnies if I didn't cook for him. If he is going to need to eat when I'm not around I try to leave him something proper that he can microwave. he never has the energy to bother making something from scratch and it is very easy to put on weight when you work shifts

[ceemilarra]

You can also try Sleeping masks at day time Sleeping. and Eat Before 30 min to Sleep.

[ariba10]

The closest we came to a divorce was when I came down from sleeping after a night shift and the OH put a cooked dinner in front of me.

She only did it the once.