DB11 Posted 13 May 2015 Posted 13 May 2015 I work Monday Tuesday 5:15am - 2pm Then Thursday, Friday, Saturday 11pm - 7am seriously kills me I usually stay up when I get back from work on a Saturday morning go to the football go home have something to eat and leave for work. Best thing to do is keep yourself busy How is that possibly a good lifestyle? You'll waste all the days after nights sleeping and even Sunday then Monday back at work early. That's ridiculous
Guest Col city fan Posted 13 May 2015 Posted 13 May 2015 I have a job where I have to do the occasional night shifts and to be honest I'm finding it really tough to readjust myself ready to go back to day shifts. Just found myself falling asleep at 3 o'clock this afternoon and I get really irritable when my sleeping pattern changes. Just wondered if anyone else experiences this and if you have any ways of dealing with it. I used to do a shift pattern which could change within the same week. Eg. three nights followed by a 'sleep day', then back on days. It was terrible and knackered me constantly. There's a lot of research out there about stress, life expectancy etc being linked to this type of inconsistency in working pattern, especially when nights are in the equation. Now I'm in a different role, on days and feel so much better for it. I think if you work nights and just nights, your body ends up getting used to it. Chopping and changing from nights to days and then back again is the killer.
Tom's Pasta Posted 13 May 2015 Author Posted 13 May 2015 Did a couple of nights last week and found that drinking a lot of beer got me off to sleep at the right times just fine!
lestajigs Posted 14 May 2015 Posted 14 May 2015 I work Monday Tuesday 5:15am - 2pm Then Thursday, Friday, Saturday 11pm - 7am seriously kills me I usually stay up when I get back from work on a Saturday morning go to the football go home have something to eat and leave for work. Best thing to do is keep yourself busy Them shifts are awful mate,
Parafox Posted 14 May 2015 Posted 14 May 2015 What kind of stuff to people do working nights? Emergency services Nusing and medical staff (in fact all non-clerical hospital staff) Care workers Utility workers Wharehouse staff Truckers Railway staff Maintenance engineers Samaritan volunteers Highway maintenance AA RAC etc. McDonalds drive through staff (Moosbreath) Please feel free to add to this list...
Parafox Posted 14 May 2015 Posted 14 May 2015 I've worked nights on a rota for 29 years and I HATE it. I've never found a way to sleep more than 4 hours solid during the day after a night shift. We used to do 7 consecutively and by night 4 I was absolutely drained, bad tempered, unable to concentrate. I have black-out blinds, earplugs, sleep mask but my body/mind just won't settle. Plus my digestive system doesn't adjust so I'm not able to eat on a night shift (I force myself to) as the digestion shuts down at night yet when I'm asleep in the day I drool for England and get raging indigestion as the digestion works on the basis that it should have someting to do. Research shows night shifts on a rotational basis are bad for health. http://www.google.co.uk/url?url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25812422&rct=j&frm=1&q=&esrc=s&sa=U&ei=l_9UVaGaL6TW7Aapt4HwCg&ved=0CCUQFjAD&usg=AFQjCNEgOvUTO-glpv7v5ViWtFzPi_LDKQ Help here... http://www.google.co.uk/url?url=http://lifeinthefastlane.com/top-10-tips-surviving-nightshift/&rct=j&frm=1&q=&esrc=s&sa=U&ei=MABVVZHpH8WC7gbit4BA&ved=0CCAQFjAC&usg=AFQjCNHyeSJAMSTww4LuoObbejBb 3ccaOw DON'T do the energy drinks. The long term side effects sugar and caffiene will be worse in the end.
Rincewind Posted 14 May 2015 Posted 14 May 2015 Emergency services Nusing and medical staff (in fact all non-clerical hospital staff) Care workers Utility workers Wharehouse staff Truckers Railway staff Maintenance engineers Samaritan volunteers Highway maintenance AA RAC etc. McDonalds drive through staff (Moosbreath) Please feel free to add to this list... Security guards The last place I used to do Tues Wed 3pm-3am got home around 4.30 am bed 5am up at 12. Then did weekends Sat Sun 6am-6pm 48 hours. Other guard did Thurs 3pm-2am Fri 3pm-6pm Sun 6pm-3am. Does not look right though. My first time on shifts was 6am-6pm one week and 6am-6pm the next 5 shifts 60 hours. This was after around 30 years doing 8-4 max 60 hrs and avoiding Sat Morning overtime Hard to adjust 2nd place was all over the place depending on the site but at least was sent a rota sheet in time.
Spiritwalker Posted 14 May 2015 Posted 14 May 2015 I used to do a shift pattern which could change within the same week. Eg. three nights followed by a 'sleep day', then back on days. It was terrible and knackered me constantly. There's a lot of research out there about stress, life expectancy etc being linked to this type of inconsistency in working pattern, especially when nights are in the equation. Now I'm in a different role, on days and feel so much better for it. I think if you work nights and just nights, your body ends up getting used to it. Chopping and changing from nights to days and then back again is the killer. Your right about the chopping and changing. Many years ago I did constant nights and never had any issues with sleeping, then I changed to 3 shifts only doing nights every third week and found it far more difficult. Currently I am on days, however every 2nd week I start at 04.30 which is a nightmare. I probably average about 5 hrs sleep per night on my early shift and am a miserable git all week.
Tom's Pasta Posted 18 May 2015 Author Posted 18 May 2015 Two night shifts coming up this week- Wednesday and Thursday. Hoping the weather stays miserable to be honest cos I sleep far better during the day when it's like this
lcfc"weasel" Posted 20 May 2015 Posted 20 May 2015 My shifts over summer: Mon: 05:30 - 14:00 Tue: 07:00 - 16:00 Wed: 10:00 - 19:00 Thur: 12:00 - 21:00 Fri: 16:00 - 01:00Sat: 21:00 - 06:00Sun: OFF Prefer my starts to get later as the week goes on so I can have more of a lie in each day, but I could possibly switch it around if I wanted, will see how it goes.
notnow john Posted 21 May 2015 Posted 21 May 2015 I've had working nights for twenty years and came to the conclusion that nights are for bats and tw@ts !
Tom's Pasta Posted 22 May 2015 Author Posted 22 May 2015 My shifts over summer: Mon: 05:30 - 14:00 Tue: 07:00 - 16:00 Wed: 10:00 - 19:00 Thur: 12:00 - 21:00 Fri: 16:00 - 01:00 Sat: 21:00 - 06:00 Sun: OFF Prefer my starts to get later as the week goes on so I can have more of a lie in each day, but I could possibly switch it around if I wanted, will see how it goes. Is that every week? I've never seen such a varied shift pattern before
lcfc"weasel" Posted 23 May 2015 Posted 23 May 2015 Is that every week? I've never seen such a varied shift pattern before Will be from June until September, it's so I work every sort of shift going.
Crinklyfox Posted 23 May 2015 Posted 23 May 2015 In my youth I spent a year working what was then called a 'Continental shift system' which was: 4 nights 2300 - 0700 1 day off 3 afternoons 1500 - 2300 1 day off 3 nights 2 days off 4 afternoons 1 day off 7 days 0700 - 1500 2 days off I never got used to it. For the night shifts I used to go to sleep as soon as I got home and woke up around lunchtime; afternoons I went to sleep as soon as I got home and slept 'til morning. What I didn't realise it that for most people it takes your body a couple of days to adjust to a new sleep pattern, just like jet lag. As I've grown older I've found it harder to adjust so as far as I'm concerned a varied shift pattern is for the young only. Losing sleep can have a negative effect on health.
Tom's Pasta Posted 28 May 2015 Author Posted 28 May 2015 Just done a 2000 til 0800... I am feeling more control of my sleeping patterns on nights now, just taken a bit of practice
daventry_fox Posted 15 June 2015 Posted 15 June 2015 Them shifts are awful mate, yes they are mate it's good in the respect i never work saturday day time means i can always go football, but by tuesday i feel like death. I wouldn't advise shift work at all
Hollism Posted 13 September 2015 Posted 13 September 2015 Bump. Moving onto nights as of tomorrow. Previously doing Monday late, Tuesday early, Wednesday off, Thursday and Friday late, Saturday off and Sunday 7-4. Now it'll be: Sunday: 18:00-06:00 Monday: 22:00-06:00 Tuesday: 22:00-06:00 Wednesday: 22:00-06:00 Then the rest of the week off. Really looking forward to it. A couple less hours, an extra day off and a bit more money. Plus I regain a weekend
ScouseFox Posted 6 October 2015 Posted 6 October 2015 got my first ever set of nights coming up starting tomorrow night. 23.30-07.30. should i sleep as normal tonight, get up at a normal hour tomorrow morning, enjoy my day off and then try an power through my night shift tomorrow night until 8am the next morning? or should i stay awake quite a long time tonight (maybe 1, 2am?) then sleep till tomorrow afternoon (12/1pm, major sleep) to ease myself in and make my night seem more like a late shift? or should i sleep like normal then have a nap tomorrow evening (8 or 9 o'clock til like half 10?) then go to work? or is there no cool way of going from a day shift to a night shift? Maybe they are men of the night this is why i do nights fyi
Bryn Posted 6 October 2015 Posted 6 October 2015 I've done nights covering both medical and surgical wards, hated surgical nights but I'd just started as a doctor so having my senior doctor in theatre operating all night whilst I looked after the poorlies was hard, if I had to do it again now with 16 months under my belt I would find then straightforward. Did medical nights a bit further in, the patients were much more poorly but I had more experience so found it more manageable. Quite liked them, you had to be resourceful and I would have a lot of autonomy and ability to make decisions on my own. With a few months experience as a doctor you've got a better feel for who is genuinely very unwell and needs escalation to a senior doctor and who you can manage alone. A lot of the less serious things can be, not ignored as such, but your response is limited to an assessment to ensure there is nothing seriously wrong and then a plan to hand over to the day team to review in the light of day when there's more access to diagnostic tests and such. I learned loads from my night shifts, people tend to get very very unwell overnight. Used to come away feeling very fulfilled and like I'd really made a difference, unlike the day shifts which as a foundation doctor often involve just being directed by a senior. I also liked the small, close knit team and the camaraderie that would build.
Guest Posted 6 October 2015 Posted 6 October 2015 It'll take a few shifts to figure out what works best for you Scouse but I'd advise first time staying awake late the night before, sleep late, makes it less of a change for your body clock
Bryn Posted 6 October 2015 Posted 6 October 2015 It'll take a few shifts to figure out what works best for you Scouse but I'd advise first time staying awake late the night before, sleep late, makes it less of a change for your body clock Disagree with this, optimise your sleep the day before you start work. Trying to force yourself to go to bed early will lead to poor and broken sleep and if you go too late chances are you'll still wake at your usual hour and so feel inadequately rested. Go to bed at a decent hour, unwind slowly and get a full nights sleep, you can get through 24 hours on one good sleep. You'll be worn out by the time you finish your shift, probably go straight to sleep and then you're in the pattern you need for your shifts.
Guest Posted 6 October 2015 Posted 6 October 2015 Disagree with this, optimise your sleep the day before you start work. Trying to force yourself to go to bed early will lead to poor and broken sleep and if you go too late chances are you'll still wake at your usual hour and so feel inadequately rested. Go to bed at a decent hour, unwind slowly and get a full nights sleep, you can get through 24 hours on one good sleep. You'll be worn out by the time you finish your shift, probably go straight to sleep and then you're in the pattern you need for your shifts. That's fair enough, which is why I also suggested it would probably take time to figure out what works best for each person. Having done nights for more years than I car to remember I know people who deal with it in a variety of ways
ScouseFox Posted 6 October 2015 Posted 6 October 2015 think my plan is what some shit on netflix or a film or something in a bit, fall asleep naturally in the early hours. with no alarm i'll easily cruise through til past midday, have enough time pre-shift to enjoy a "day off" and still not be falling asleep mid shift. then hopefully by the end of the first shift i'll be as tired as i am at the end of a normal day so be able to get off to bed and be in a tidy little cycle for the rest of the week. that's the plan anyway, probs be on here at some ludicrous hour in a few days time crying about not having slept for 3 days or something
Guest Manini Posted 8 October 2015 Posted 8 October 2015 11pm-8am today and 10:30-8 tomorrow, was at Uni 9-5 today as well so I'm not looking forward to it at all!
Guest Col city fan Posted 8 October 2015 Posted 8 October 2015 Did em for years and hated them. Not the shift itself, but I just couldn't sleep on the day after. I'd typically wake up around mid-day and that would be it. On a stretch of four, by the end of the fourth I'd be like a zombie. Working permanent nights would be better cos the body clock would get used to them, but I did both nights and days often in the same week. The research stated that this could take years off your life due the complete fook-up to your system. Now I'm a Monday Fri 8.30 to 4.30 man...and so much happier because of it.
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.