Night Shift Question

It takes time getting used to the time change, me personally... caffeine was and is my best friend?. The first couple of shifts will be hard, but you will get used to it after a while. On the days off I usually catch up on sleep the first day off and after that I sleep regularly through the night. But I know a lot of my coworkers have trouble getting back to their normal sleep pattern, but unfortunately we will never have a normal sleep pattern because we do nightshift?. Some tips to help go to sleep is invest on dark curtains, earplugs, benadryl(if u really can't sleep), and a warm bath before bed. Goodluck!?

Whether you flip your schedule on your days off or not is up to you and your life circumstances. I have a family, so it's not an option for me. On days off, I sleep at night and interact with my husband (who works a M-F 8-4 job) and children during the daylight hours they are home. But some people choose to just keep the same schedule they would as if they were working, and love being able to get things done during hours most people aren't awake. With 24 hour grocery and drug stores everywhere, you can even get your shopping done with almost no one around to bug you. You could even go out for dinner with friends first, and then while they sleep take care of your chores, errands, etc. on your days off.

I do love me a good cup of coffee. I drink two cups during a 12 hour shift usually. More than that doesn't help keep me awake, it just makes me jittery and my stomach unhappy. I try not to drink any after 4:00 am (I get off at 7:30) so that the caffeine is out of my system by the time I'm getting in bed. Usually I'm in bed before 9:00 am, and can sleep about six hours before I need to get up and start getting kids from school. With my 16 year old driving this year, though, she's helping me out with that, and oh my, it feels almost luxurious not having to get them myself all the time. I have my bad days where I have trouble sleeping too, but have rarely had to resort to any chemical aids, and even then it's a glass of wine or a benadryl.

I haven't had any trouble flipping my sleep schedule like this, mostly because my body is like, "Yay, sleep! Any time is good for sleep!" But also even before I started in this field I was kind of a night owl and had no trouble staying up very late into the night. My DH is the early to bed, early to rise type, and my job/schedule would kill him. He's tried working nights and he just can't do it. So your natural tendencies may influence your success with this a great deal, but there are strategies to help you do better with it if your natural inclinations are against it.

Also, getting regular exercise and eating good, healthy food is essential. My husband and I use dinner leftovers for lunches all the time, and you can make big crock pot meals and then freeze individual portions.

Thanks a lot for your comments!

I worship coffee, therefore I am happy that I have a friend there...

Wow. Excellent advise. Thanks for your comments duskyjewel. I am also a night owl, sometimes it is 3 or 4 in the morning and I am still up watching tv. Can't wait to start.

I have yet to work any shift BUT night shift. Well, sometimes to get more hours I'd come to work the last few hours of evening shift but that's just laying people down to bed. I have worked 10PM-6AM, 6PM-6AM, 7PM-7A, and now I am currently working 11PM-7AM. It's a struggle but you get used to it. I'm only 21 years old and single with no kids so I guess I have it easy compared to others. I carpool with my mother because she works the same shift as me only at a hospital a few miles away. We take turns driving if one of us is too exhausted. I like to sleep immediately when I get home by 8:00, wake up around 12:00, then take another nap between 4:30-6:00 'til 9:45, depending on how I feel. Sometimes my mom likes to do her errands right after work which makes it easy too because normally grocery stores aren't that crowded at 7:30 in the morning and most things like bread are fresh. I drink LOTS of water, add in a coffee or soda during the shift. Sometimes I eat during my break, sometimes I eat before I go to work, but I always eat 'cause if I don't I get sick really easily. It just takes time for your body to get used to it. :)