Night shift working, tips required please

sb44

Does anyone have any advice re night shift working ie sleep patterns, eating times etc.

The hours would be 8pm to 6am, four days a week (office based job).

I always assumed anyone on nights would come straight in and go to bed for a few hours. Thinking about it though, you don't come in from a normal days work and go straight to bed.

Evening meal would be 5.30pm to 6pm? (work only 15 mins away).

Regarding these working hours, would most people stay up for a few hours when they come home or go to bed?

Ta.

wiogs

I used to come in watch TV have a meal, not breakfast then go to bed about four hours after I came home.

I would get up and have breakfast before work.

Basically tried to shift the whole day around.

sb44

wiogs wrote: »

I used to come in watch TV have a meal, not breakfast then go to bed about four hours after I came home.

I would get up and have breakfast before work.

Basically tried to shift the whole day around.

Four hours isn't a lot of sleep though, is that all that you had for the whole day?

ohreally

Is this a long term arrangement? If so you may want to consider doing a bit of reading around associated health issues.

sb44

ohreally wrote: »

Is this a long term arrangement? If so you may want to consider doing a bit of reading around associated health issues.

Haven't got a clue yet. After 3 months of unemployment due to redundancy, any job is better than a life on the dole, beggars can't be choosers.

[Deleted User]

My mother has worked nights for a couple of decades now and it's definitely something that requires significant adjustment and does have associated health issues. You're right that a job is a job, and fortunately over the short term it's not terrible but it isn't something you want to be doing long term if you can avoid it.

You need to prepare to be tired more often than normal, you need to be prepared to sacrifice sleep to get things done and you need to be prepared to lose more of your time to work than just your working hours.

My mother will generally: leave for work ~7:30pm, finish work at ~7:30am, go to tesco/asda, get home ~8:15am, eat breakfast and do misc. morning tasks, then go to bed at ~9:30am, then get up at ~4pm, cook dinner, spend an hour watching tv then get ready for work again...

Congratulations on the job

wiogs

sb44 wrote: »

Four hours isn't a lot of sleep though, is that all that you had for the whole day?

Reread my post.

I said I went to bed four hours after I got home.

smifffy1989

Home, Breakfast, wake up around 1-2pm have a snack and then dinner like you suggest at 5:30-6pm

sb44

wiogs wrote: »

Reread my post.

I said I went to bed four hours after I got home.

Oops! Sorry, didn't read that properly.

EmmaHerts

I've done night-shift for seven years. Everyone I work with have different routines they follow. No one is the same. You will find you work out the best routine for you.

DCFC79

I made the mistake of goping straight to bed once I got home at half 8 (was quite good going in opposite direction of the rush hour traffic.) on a midnight to 8am shift 5 days a week, I should have had soemthing to eat once I got home, watched some TV for a few hours then go to sleep.