Graveyard Shifts

[Naeton]

If you sleep when you are tired and take the time you need to sleep and do whatever you want in the rest of the time, then your body will get the sleep it needs, but if you stay up too much when tired over a long period, you will get behind the curve and suffer the results.

The problem is that I can only sleep between 9am and 9:30pm. I have a lot of traveling to get to work. And between these hours I am rarely sleepy.

---------- Post added 2012-10-16 at 02:58 AM ----------

The definition also includes


And I'm going to stop on that subject before I get warned/banned for going off topic. I've stated my opinion, going to leave it there.

As for the OP, I thought of something else. Have you tried listening to something soothing like Trance? DI.FM has some good stations to relax to. Especially if you're a pot smoker, you can really just space out and eventually fall asleep listening to certain types of electronica.

Thank you very much for the trance station I will check it out for sure!!!
But yeah I understand your point, I'm not addict but I'm def craving it... lol.
Much love, have a great night

[Kivimetsan]

Just smoke weed, works for me, puts me to sleep like a baby after work.

[PizzaSHARK]

Hello everyone!
I decided to make this thread so I can get tips about sleep.
If you ever worked graveyard shifts you probably know that sleep is a major issue.
Why? because your biological clock is going mad at you for not having a ''normal'' life.

"Normal" is defined by your circadian rhythm, which you can adjust to suit your needs. I've worked stickup shift for more than half of my adult life and I don't have issues getting sleep or being alert anymore than people working a normal 9-5 have.

However, I'd like to know how do you get yourself to sleep once home?
I tried ear plugs, bandage on my eyes, a good curtain but nothing seems to work... Once the sun is out here, I... just... can't... sleep.
The only thing that is working is Marijuana which is okay sometimes but I don't want to develop an addiction (too late ).

Sleep when you feel sleepy. I found sleeping from 14:00-22:00 (I start work at 23:00) works best for me.

It's harder to fall asleep and stay asleep when it's light out, so buy blackout drapes or a sleeping mask. Earplugs can be useful if sounds disturb you.

You can alter your circadian rhythm by adjusting when you eat. Your body will consider morning to be when you eat your breakfast, so make sure you eat soon after waking up, even if it's just a muffin or something. This will kickstart your digestion and wake up your body, and after enough repetition, your body will adjust and consider this to be your natural "morning." Even on my days off I tend to go to sleep in the early afternoon and wake up late at night; I might sleep 12 hours instead of 8 hours (hey, I like sleeping), but otherwise it's pretty much the same.

Exercise is also highly recommended.

[Naeton]

"Normal" is defined by your circadian rhythm, which you can adjust to suit your needs. I've worked stickup shift for more than half of my adult life and I don't have issues getting sleep or being alert anymore than people working a normal 9-5 have.



Sleep when you feel sleepy. I found sleeping from 14:00-22:00 (I start work at 23:00) works best for me.

It's harder to fall asleep and stay asleep when it's light out, so buy blackout drapes or a sleeping mask. Earplugs can be useful if sounds disturb you.

You can alter your circadian rhythm by adjusting when you eat. Your body will consider morning to be when you eat your breakfast, so make sure you eat soon after waking up, even if it's just a muffin or something. This will kickstart your digestion and wake up your body, and after enough repetition, your body will adjust and consider this to be your natural "morning." Even on my days off I tend to go to sleep in the early afternoon and wake up late at night; I might sleep 12 hours instead of 8 hours (hey, I like sleeping), but otherwise it's pretty much the same.

Exercise is also highly recommended.

I will try to eat when I get up, I only eat once between 10pm and 9am because I'm simply not hungry during nights. I'll make the effort.
Thank you very much for your tips it's appreciated.

---------- Post added 2012-10-16 at 03:04 AM ----------

Just smoke weed, works for me, puts me to sleep like a baby after work.

This is what I was doing but it affected my mood in the end so I'm trying to find an alternative.
Keeping weed for weekends.

[Pendulous]

I only worked one for a short time, but the one thing I recommend absolutely number one: talk to your boss, whoever does the schedule. Stop working different shifts.

As bad as this is for a normal schedule (working first shift some days, working second the others), working third shift is bad enough on your body. If this is a problem with them, start looking for a new job the millisecond they say "no".

[Naeton]

I only worked one for a short time, but the one thing I recommend absolutely number one: talk to your boss, whoever does the schedule. Stop working different shifts.

As bad as this is for a normal schedule (working first shift some days, working second the others), working third shift is bad enough on your body. If this is a problem with them, start looking for a new job the millisecond they say "no".

Yup, I think I'll just get a new job I can't stand night shifts anymore.
/depression

Thanks! :3

[Deleted]

Yea, sounds like you like the light and not walking around in the dark like a zombie and thinking "what is everybody wasting their daylight on? sleep ftw"

[Gestopft]

Thick, dark curtains.

[Deleted]

I used to work "rotating" shifts (in theory we were supposed to go from "morning" to "regular" to "early evening" to "evening" and then gently back again, in practice it was more like "night shift for a week", "morning shift for a week", "night shift for two weeks", "day shift for two days", "night shift for three days", "morning shift").

Never had any trouble with sleeping enough though, more like the opposite, I'd sleep a lot more since I was always tired and didn't have any sane routine.

[Liliannan]

I did night shifts from 11pm-7am for 8 months straight as a resort (night audit).
At first, it was difficult to adjust yourself to the new times, but then got easier. I had to re-arrange the way I thought about the shift. I had to ignore the sun and reset my body clock (its difficult, and not normal, but it can be done!). Since I was working in the winter up in Canada, it was pretty much dark all the time anyway so that helped a bit
I thought of it like this, I was working 11am - 7pm. If you were working that shift normally, you would come home and probably not go to bed until 11pm-1am (at least for me). So that is what I did. I stayed up until 11am - 1pm, made sure not to drink any caffeine or foods that would keep me awake, and then slept in a pitch dark room. I would usually wake up around 8pm-9pm (or 8am-9am if you are thinking of it as your day). I would have a proper breakfast, then get ready for work. I never took any sleeping pills, I had to force myself to sleep for the first couple weeks, then I gradually became adjusted. I even had a roommate (staff housing, two beds one room) which made my situation a little more difficult as she worked days.
Now - on my days off I had to try and keep to this schedule. Luckily I had friends who worked night shifts as well and we would all hang out together. Every so often I would stay up during the day, but only if I had special events planned with friends or family.
I have a co-worker at the moment who is alternating 3 night shifts, one day off, two days shifts, one day off. It's absolutely killing him, the inconsistently, and he's been getting sick a lot.
If you find yourself unable to adjust to these weird schedules, then maybe it's time you find a different job or try and arrange different shifts with your employer. 8 months of night shifts was enough for me!

[Deleted]

How about visiting the doctor and tell him/her that you need help sleeping. I did that and slept like a baby on thoose pills!

[Naeton]

Thanks all! I'm def trying these tips out.

[Anakso]

I've never had this issue, so even if you completely block out the suns light from hitting your room and eyes, you still can't get to sleep? Being in complete darkness usually works to get me to sleep.

Another issue you might face is if you have only just started working the graveyard shift, it will take your body a while to get used to your new sleep patterns but once you've been at it long enough it should start to feel more natural.

I see you said you do swing shifts sometimes and also have to be awake in the day time for weekends, so that will probably make it tough. In that case I'd try some of the over the counter drugs someone else mentioned earlier.

[Aceda]

I just couldn't adapt to the roving schedules. It's been a little over a week, and I'm starting to adapt to the 0400 - 1200 shift I do. I like some of these ideas, but one that always worked for me is just to force myself to sleep. Even if I just lay there for 2 hours, not tired at all, it puts me in the groove for the days to come.