Working Overnights

[Hoosier Cowboy]

As of this past Friday I'm working overnights (mid-7a) for the foreseeable future. It's been about 15 years since I worked overnights and just the few first nights are killing me trying to figure out a sleep pattern..lol...Was wondering how others do it? I've been getting home around 0730 and usually go to bed until around noon or 1 and get up for the day and try (usually unsuccessively) to try to take a couple hour nap before going in but have found that just makes me more tired...What pattern works for you??

 

[Rookie]

I used to work 12-8. I'd be in bed by nine and up by three. No naps. It sucked.

 

[tom1025]

Good luck, but you'll never get fully adjusted. Specially if everyone else in your life is on a normal schedule. I wish you luck and I will advise you stay away from energy drinks. They can be very addicting.

 

[churchmouse]

I could never get adjusted to shift work. I know folks who do it and work swing shifts as well. My body clock refuses to be messed with. I wish you luck. Get vitamin supplements and stay hydrated.

 

[chocktaw2]

When I worked 3rd, I treated the shift just like 1st shift. Ya don't go to bed when ya get off at 3pm. I stayed up until 1 or 2 pm, then went to bed. Up at 9:30, shower, and I was ready.

 

[Tactical Dave]

It was easier for me to go straight to bed when I got home... Got home around 4am.

 

[hoosierdoc]

Are there others in the house? Stay on night schedule even on the weekends. Get "anchor sleep" where you sleep the same four hour period every day. Get a sleep mask and dark shades. Do not check phone, email, Internet, TV when waking up to pee as you'll get distracted or keyed up about something and not sleep. Turn off cellphone ringer. Stop drinking liquids 3 hours before it's time for sleep.

You'll get used to it in time.

 

[Skywired]

4-5 hours as soon as I got home. Later nap as needed/available. Generally, as long as I stayed on my feet/busy/active....I was OK.

 

[Roadie]

Everyone is different..
I think you will have to try several different ways until you find the one that works for you. My brother did 3rds for years, sleeping a few hours in the mornings, then a "nap" before work. That doesn't work as well for me when I have been on 3rds, I did whatever I needed to do in the AM after work, then slept a full 8 hours before work.

 

[VUPDblue]

I work 9:30pm to 6am. I sleep from just after 6 to about two. works for me.

 

[96firephoenix]

go to the supplement aisle and get a bottle of melatonin tabs. You'll go to sleep within about a half hour of taking one. I'd recommend getting home at 0730 means showering, then getting into bed about 0830, then popping on in bed, then turn over. There's been times that I've taken one in the kitchen or bathroom and not been conscious by the time I get to bed. Also, Don't talk to the wife after you take one. You'll promise to do things then never remember.

 

[Smokle]

when I worked overnight my sleeping was all jacked up lol id work from 10pm till 7am, then go home do w/e go to sleep around 12-4pm in that time frame it always varied and wake up for 10 and do it all over again lol so yeah I didn't get much sleep back then I did that for 10 years straight

 

[sartwell]

Home at 8 in bed by 9 up by 1:30 or 2. Catch up on the weekends.

 

[Hoosier Cowboy]

Home at 8 in bed by 9 up by 1:30 or 2. Catch up on the weekends.

Not when you work them too..lol

 

[iceman7668]

I didn't like midnights, never could figure out when to sleep.
I now work 4pm to 4am. 2days on 2 days off. I stay on the same schedule when I am off. Too hard switching back and forth. I have the advantage that the kids are grown and out of the house. I don't know if I could keep up with school age kids on these hours. I get to sleep at 6am and get up at 1pm, work day or not.

 

[Newby]

I have been on nights for almost 5 years, I go to bed as soon as I get home and then am up early to live life a little with my family. You just have to be careful that you are not too exhausted on the drive home.

 

[KellyinAvon]

2 words: blackout curtains.
My son worked mids for over 5 years, both part-time (full time college student) and full time. NEVER got used to it, it took him no time to adjust back to day shift a couple weeks ago.

 

[CathyInBlue]

When you get home from work, get a nice, hot shower. It'll wash the day's work filth off you and relax you for the diurnal sleep you need to get. If you're hungry, eat a small meal. Call it breakfast, call it dinner, call it Bob, if that makes you feel better, just don't go to bed hungry. Blackout curtains are a must, as it briefing everyone in the house on the vital importance of not disturbing your sleep cycle. You should be able to get to sleep by 9, sleep till 5, wake up in time to dress and have an evening meal with the family and spend the evening with them. Put them to bed just in time to go off to work yourself.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

Edit: and double down on the no e-mail checking, turn off the phone, etc. advice so you don't check them on the way back from the pisser. That's what I'm doing right now on INGO after being up until 1AM.

 

[marrell1482]

I work 2000 to 0500 and work forty five minutes from home so I go to sleep at about 0600-0630 and wake up anywhere from 1300 to 1600. Unless my musician of a neighbor decides to play his darn drums in the morning like he did yesterday. I personally try to avoid naps before work I always feel even more tired afterwards.

 

[esrice]

Occasionally I will fill in on an 11p-7a shift. If it's just one or two shifts I'll sleep when I get home until about Noon, then be up for a while, then sleep 2-3 hours before getting back up for work. It works OK in the short term.

When I used to work a steady schedule of overnights I would go home and sleep until 4 or 5p, then be up for the evening until the next work shift.

In my experience I never felt like 8 hours of "day" sleep was equal to 8 hours of regular nighttime sleep. Even if I got a full 8 hours I still woke up groggy and tired.

As some have suggested, a good set of blackout curtains is a must. I even took it to the next level and finally taped up some heavy duty black plastic behind my blackout curtains so that absolutely NO light came in. I would also put a towel down to block the light coming under my door. White noise is your friend, and I would often have a fan running. Having a wife and 2 young kids did make it difficult sometimes with noise and interruptions when someone would come into the room.

I don't like energy drinks but at one point I did try some sleeping pills. They helped me get a deeper sleep but I still felt tired and out of it when I woke up.

Eventually you'll find some things that work and some that don't. Trial and error is key. Good luck!