night shift workers how much sleep do you really get?

When I was still an EMT I used to work nights in a busy EMS system. After going to work without enough sleep just once, I never let it happen again. Whatever I had to do, exercise, benadryl, etc., I made it happen.

I force myself to sleep after work 'round 9am or so. It takes a lot, but right now I'm scheduled 3 12s back to back, so I'm in a sleep/work cycle. On my last night, I stay up all day, and I can run a good 24 without sleep. After 24, I start seeing things!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_deprivation

...the brain would sometimes attempt to compensate for the adverse effects caused by lack of sleep. The temporal lobe, which is a brain region involved in language processing, was activated during verbal learning in rested subjects but not in sleep deprived subjects. The parietal lobe, not activated in rested subjects during the verbal exercise, was more active when the subjects were deprived of sleep. Although memory performance was less efficient with sleep deprivation, greater activity in the parietal region was associated with better memory.

According to a 2000 study published in the British Medical Journal, researchers in Australia and New Zealand reported that sleep deprivation can have some of the same hazardous effects as being drunk.[18] People who drove after being awake for 17–19 hours performed worse than those with a blood alcohol level of .05 percent, which is the legal limit for drunk driving in most western European countries (the U.S. and U.K. set their blood alcohol limits at .08 percent). In addition, as a result of continuous muscular activity without proper rest time, effects such as cramping are much more frequent in sleep-deprived individuals.

Since school schedules are based around the adult workday, it is not surprising that students have difficulty obtaining adequate sleep.[citation needed] In 1997 the University of Minnesota did research that compared students who went to school at 7:15 a.m. and those who went to school at 8:40 a.m. They found that students who went to school at 8:40 got higher grades and more sleep on the weekdays.[19]

i can't sleep worth crap... i'm up at 4am right now and went to sleep around midnight. i am trying hard to get off night shift! i am pretty desperate! night shift just is not for me, i've been doing it for 2 years and it has taken its toll on my body and mind.

nights is fine...low admin pressure and less likelyhood of seeing the management. However, I am home by 0600 usually, in bed by 7, sleep til 3 or so....so I get some chances there.

I sleep best during the day... definitely not at night. Now, if everything was open 24 hours....

I try to go to bed by 9a and sleep till at least 4pm. I start at 10pm and work until 7:30am... If I don't enough sleep I can go the next shift, but if I don't sleep well for more than 2 days in a row I'm a mess. I've always been a night time person... This time it's been 4 years. It is difficult at times, and I'm with having everything open 24 hours so I could do my shopping then too!

I work 7p-7a, usually 3 12's in a row. On my first night back, I can take a quick nap beforehand and usually be ok (sometimes it's only 30 minutes or so, I aim for an hour but it's hard when I'm not sleepy). My next two nights, I try to go to bed by 9 and sleep as long as I can. Usually I wake up by 3ish, I just don't sleep that well during the day. After my last shift for the week, I take a several hour nap then I'm back to a normal daytime schedule.

I like working night shift when I'm at work due to the more relaxed atmosphere, less procedures, etc, but I hate the toll it takes on my body and my social life.

well..my maximum hours of sleep when im on my night duty is five to six hours..and im already happy with that,but I know that's not healthy cause its shows in my face and in my skin.. my eyes looks like im a zombie my skin is dry and my face I cant even look at my face and its soo depressing. But what I love about grave yard shift is the night differential its worth it during pay day..atleast!

Right now I do 8 hour shifts, 11-7 x4 straight days. I usually stay up until noon or 1pm, and sleep until around 8pm (on a good day). Yesterday I only slept 4 hours, since I was getting back into my routine, and it SUCKED. I did learn, however, that 5-hour energy shots will be my friend if I have another night when I'm that tired before going into my work. :)

I've worked night shift for a while and I always go back my first night on with no sleep, but my first day off I sleep forever. I work 3-4 in a row 12 hour night shifts- I spend my first day off asleep from about 09-1500. I get up mess with the kids, eat, do whatever, stay up till midnight then go to bed to "readjust my clock". I usually don't sleep well that night- I get up around 0430 ready to go.......I'm tired that day but the next is better. My last day off I get up around 0600 and stay up until its time to go to bed after my shift the next day- It doesn't bother me. I've noticed since working nights I'm more tired- spend less time with my family - and much less time on house work. I don't think it will ever get better for me. I love night shift though- Much more laid back and less BS. Plus I make more --- It works for me