Strategies for getting through night shifts

[texasag7599]

Anybody work a schedule that includes a night shift? I’m on my first one right now and I am missing sleep and my family. I’m only able to see them for breakfast in the morning before school.

I’ve never done it before. Good thing I only have to do this 7 days a month. Plus I’m a dad and not a mom. Moms that work the night shift probably have it way worse.

Any sleep strategies? Does the feeling that you are missing important stuff at home go away?

 

[Beth77]

I’ve been working night shift 3-4 times a week (12hr shifts, 7p-7a) for over a year and am also a single mom.

Stay up later the night before your shift so you can sleep for a good portion of the the day. It’s important to make your bedroom as dark as possible so you can sleep. You may also want to invest in a sound machine (or white noise) to block out noise. Mine has different options like rain, waterfall, summer night, etc. Don’t consume caffeine 5-6hrs before going to bed. If you are too tired to drive home get a ride or pull over and nap…for real.

Sadly, for me, the feeling that I’m missing out on important things or family functions never goes away…but 7 days a month will hopefully not be so bad. Good luck and God Bless!

 

[Catholic_Wife]

I’m a ‘night owl’ anyway, so working nights isn’t so hard for me. I’ve worked nights (or 24-hour shifts) for 25 years. Beth had some great ideas. I stay up late the night before I work so I go to bed about 8 hours before I have to get up to go to work. I have to have our bedroom almost pitch black and as disturbance-free as possible, but my husband (who also works nights) can sleep with the curtains open and the neighbor mowing his yard. Occasionally, I have to take melatonin to get into my ‘night shift’ sleep/wake schedule. Caffeine doesn’t affect me or make me stay awake (I’ve been known to down a cup of cappucino and hit the sack); but if it does affect you, limit when you drink it. When I get tired at work, I take a walk and/or do some stretches to get my blood flowing and to get a change of scenery to perk me up.

Are all of your shifts bunched up? Or are they spread out throughout the month? My shifts are usually bunched up, so I maintain a regualr sleep/wake schedule during those days. On my last shift for the week, depending on how tired I am, I either stay up all day and go to bed a little early to get back on a “day shift” schedule, or I take a 2-hour nap and stay up to my normal time. If I work one lone shift with multiple days off before and after it, I just go about my day as normal, try to catch a couple hour nap in the afternoon and sleep when I get home.

As for feeling like I’m missing out, I’ve learned to cherish the time I have with family and friends. My husband and I have both been on nights for so long that we’ve learned to accept that we will miss out on lots of family activities. We try to schedule as many days off together as possible so we can get things done. On the days that one of us works and the other doesn’t, we spend the mornings together doing things. Then again, he likes his “Catholic Wife-free” days, and I like my “Catholic Husband-free” days. I’m much more productive when he’s working and I’m off.

 

[latingirl]

I work 3rd shift 4 days a week and my biggest concern is that I am always sleeping every day and so tired when I’m off that I don’t have any kind of life. I drag myself to Mass to the grocery store and that’s about it. Working nights in itself is not difficult, it’s finding the energy to do anything else. How can I get more energy after of if I’ve had the required sleep?

 

[Cat]

I work in a hospital, and of course, the hospital is open 24/7, which means a lot of night shift workers.

A 3rd shift nurse told me that the key to working nights is to fully embrace being a “night person,” which means that you WILL sleep 6-8 hours every day, and you will not allow anything or anyone to prevent you from getting that sleep.

Sleep is the key. No human being can live without sleep. You can’t “have it all”–work nights and stay awake all day.

You just have to accept that and EMBRACE it, not resent it.

Would a day shift worker allow someone to keep them out all night? No. Would a day shift worker accept phone calls from someone in the middle of the night? No. Or would they accept an invitation to a midnight dinner? Of course not.

I agree about the dark room and NO INTERRUPTIONS! There are times when a parent has to work night shift and they feel guilty because they are sleeping while their child is awake. But the best thing that a parent can do for their children is get enough sleep to function as a good parent and to function well at work so that they can keep their job and support their family. Sleep is not a “luxury item,” like a cruise or a new outfit. People can live without cruises and new outfits, but they can’t live without sleep. Don’t feel guilty sleeping for 6-8 hours while your children and other family members are awake.

latingirl, I suspect the reason you have so little energy is that you are trying to live both a day shift life and a night shift life. If you can, adapt the night shift life all the time, not just when you are scheduled to work nights. Establish a regular time during the day for 6-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. I found that it worked best for me to go to bed immediately when I got home in the morning, but some people stay awake for a while, then go to sleep and wake up later.

The main thing is to not allow anything or anyone to interfere with that sleep time. Don’t make dentist appointments at 10: 00 a.m. if that is when you are normally sleeping. Say “No” to the invitation to lunch if that is when you are normally sleeping. Don’t putter around your home doing little chores instead of going to bed and sleeping.

latingirl, if you are working a swing shift (working both evenings and nights), this is really really hard for many people to get used to. If you can’t adjust to this schedule, please think seriously about trying to find another job with a regular shift. Some people are afraid of working nights because they don’t want to become a total night person, so they decide to try a swing shift to be able to have some of their days available. But if they aren’t able to function well during those days, it would actually be better for them to work nights all the time. Please consider what is best for your health and well-being.

 

[Chantal25]

I use to do this and i surely don’t miss this. Don’t eat at night, food increase your metabolism, you will need to fall asleep when you are done. Having a dark room is great idea, i personally didn’t need it due that i was a great sleeper then. Some people travel and the time change for them, and they had to get use to it. I think the first two days, will be challenging.

Best of luck!

 

[robwar]

Anybody work a schedule that includes a night shift? I’m on my first one right now and I am missing sleep and my family. I’m only able to see them for breakfast in the morning before school.

I’ve never done it before. Good thing I only have to do this 7 days a month. Plus I’m a dad and not a mom. Moms that work the night shift probably have it way worse.

Any sleep strategies? Does the feeling that you are missing important stuff at home go away?

I work every other weekend on MN. I take about a 2 hour nap before I go in and find that helps. Although it is hard, try to rest in a dark bedroom (shades closed etc). While working, it is much easier to stay moving and active, the busier the night the easier it is. If it is slow, get up and walk around if feeling sleepy. On breaks, reading will put me sleep, so don’t read if that has that effect on you. I am not a coffee drinker but I do use pop which helps. I’ve used that energy drinks but they make me jittery so I don’t use them. Likewise at work, if you feel real sleepy, go wash your face with cold water. I hope this helps and tried to give different ideas that hopefully will work or help you. Likewise, I find having an energy type snack helpful as well. Take care.

 

[LSK]

I supervised Graveyard for 5 years. I used to listen to EWTN on my iphone and lectures from the Dominican School of Philosophy.

 

[latingirl]

latingirl, I suspect the reason you have so little energy is that you are trying to live both a day shift life and a night shift life. If you can, adapt the night shift life all the time, not just when you are scheduled to work nights. Establish a regular time during the day for 6-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. I found that it worked best for me to go to bed immediately when I got home in the morning, but some people stay awake for a while, then go to sleep and wake up later.

The main thing is to not allow anything or anyone to interfere with that sleep time. Don’t make dentist appointments at 10: 00 a.m. if that is when you are normally sleeping. Say “No” to the invitation to lunch if that is when you are normally sleeping. Don’t putter around your home doing little chores instead of going to bed and sleeping.

latingirl, if you are working a swing shift (working both evenings and nights), this is really really hard for many people to get used to. If you can’t adjust to this schedule, please think seriously about trying to find another job with a regular shift. Some people are afraid of working nights because they don’t want to become a total night person, so they decide to try a swing shift to be able to have some of their days available. But if they aren’t able to function well during those days, it would actually be better for them to work nights all the time. Please consider what is best for your health and well-being.

I work a night shift, no evenings. I find I have to put everything off late in the evening and I can never seem to make phone calls or do business because I’m constantly sleeping. There isn;t much I can do to improve the quality of my sleep because I live with three other people who have three different schedules and my bedroom is right next to the kitchen and whenever someone eats, they clatter and clank and it wakes me up. In a year, I am going to ask for a shift change but I just got this job and don;t want to be too picky.

 

[28562]

I work 3pm to 145am. I sleep about 4 hrs each night because I wake up to take my daughter to school. If I didn’t do that, I would never see her. I enjoy being home with my wife and boys all day and normally I am able to get quite a few things done around the house. If my kids were school age, I would definitely miss them more than I think I can stand. I used to drink a can of mountain dew at work to help get me by, but I gave that up for lent… No fun, but I am making it work.

I think I would be more miserable if the job I quit for this one wasn’t so horrible and this one so awesome. I can deal with anything now that I have a job I don’t hate!

I really do miss having dinner with my family, but I know this won’t be forever. The other downside is that this shift really gets in the way of marital intimacy…definitely one of my biggest complaints.

I guess what really gets me through it is knowing that as a man, this is what I have to do to give my wife and kids the best life possible and that I am proud to be able to do it. I’m also very competitive and hate to fail. I don’t believe that most people could keep up with my schedule (I am also taking 16 hrs of college classes) and that drives me to work harder at it without complaining.

It is also a huge help to have a very supportive wife.