working nights

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spin_echo
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working nights

Post by spin_echo »

I am working nights and am having a LOT of trouble sleeping during the day despite earplugs and essentially complete darkness

I wake up every 30 min to hour

Anyone else have this problem? any suggestion on how to adapt to working nights better?
SP-diceman
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Post by SP-diceman »

How long have you been doing it, maybe your body clock hasn’t adjusted.
I’ve worked 4 to 12, since I’m up at midnight on a normal day I did have to adjust my sleep.

I’ve heard when you get up having it bright helps.
(maybe tricks your body into thinking its daytime)

Do you like to work at night?
If you’re angry that could be an issue.

Thanks
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MWCA
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Post by MWCA »

I had the same problem. Lucky for me I only had to work nights for 2 years or so. I never did get used to it.
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dm200
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Post by dm200 »

Tough life (on the body as well as other apsects of life).

I have read that those who keep this up over long periods show health issues eventually at a higher rate than others.

Back in the '70s, when I was in the Navy, I worked 6 days on, 3 days off (weekends were irrelevant) from 10:30 pm to 6:30 am. I generally was ok because I had the 3 days where I could actually do things during the day. Then, we went to 5 on, 2 off (no Sat/Sun night). That was rougher because just 2 days. Saturday was a long day with no sleep and then Monday was tough because no sleep til Tuesday morning. Sunday was just all screwed up.

I also gained weight because I was eating 4 meals a day.

Fortunately, I had the option after a year or so to work regulat M-F days.

For a while, I was very adjusted to it -- and it fit well with taking a college class given during the day. Then, all of a sudden, I had lots of problems.

The really bad schedule was some Navy colleagues (lower enlisted folks) who worked in a high security communications facility. These guys worked rotating shifts - two days midnight to 8 am. Then 2 days 4 to midnight (with only 8 hours off between shifts), then 2 days 8 am to 4 pm (again only 8 hours off between shifts). Then 2+ days off and start all over again. These guys didn;t know which end was up much of the time, and when they had only 8 hours off, they wouldn't sleep, but spend a lot of time drinking.
Uninvested
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Post by Uninvested »

If noise is the problem, there are many sound machines that give off white noise. If its not the light or noise, maybe you drink coffee or have a lot of things worrying you?
Ampy
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Post by Ampy »

I would sleep twice in a day when I worked midnight-8 a.m. Once in the morning, and once in the night before getting up for work. I would be up during the afternoon and early evening. It made a bad situation better.
nl2134
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Post by nl2134 »

I've worked 4 shifts in my life.

6am-430pm - Easiest to sleep. Usually go to sleep at 830pm and wake at 330am-4am.

230pm-1am - Slightly more difficult if stressed from work. Otherwise, would go right to bed once I got home at 2 and wake up at 9am.

730pm - 330am - Same as above situation, only a little later. I did this for a year and got into a routine where I'd sleep at 430am and wake up at 1230pm. I used some poster board for darkness - but was able to sleep through

830pm - 6am - the worst. Tried to do 730am-230pm for sleep, but ended up being 8-12 a lot of the time.

My advice? Definitely pitch black, and definitely ear plugs.

I'd also recommend being at the point where you want to fall over by the time you want to get home...then sleeping for 6-7 hours and getting up, and keeping on a set schedule. I've found that works the best for me. Also, if I got more than 5 hours and just woke up, I'd just get up and deal with being tired. Perhaps not the best idea, but it worked for me...

best of luck.
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spin_echo
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Post by spin_echo »

thanks everyone -- off to work (start at 10 pm)

fortunately this is just for two weeks, but suprisingly difficult to sleep, given how tired I am at the end of the shift
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norookie
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Post by norookie »

:D Was always my preference. Although 4-12am was nice" too.Good
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dm200
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Post by dm200 »

spin_echo wrote:thanks everyone -- off to work (start at 10 pm)

fortunately this is just for two weeks, but suprisingly difficult to sleep, given how tired I am at the end of the shift
When do you try to sleep? Perhaps earlier or later in the time you are off.
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Post by justkb »

Hi Spin,

I've worked a 12 hour rotating shift for years... these are some of the tricks I've used to make it somewhat bearable. When I get home from working a night shift, I go right to sleep in a very dark room, and I make sure it's nice and cool to aid in sleeping. If I need to crank up the air or use a fan, I do it. I only sleep about 4 hours or so, at which time I wake up. I'll then take a nap for about 2 hours before heading off to work again, which helps take the edge off.

For me, the key to success is resting. Resist the urge to "do something" just because it's noon and 70 degrees outside. After all, you wouldn't go "do something" at 0200, would you? When working night shift, resist the urge. I also listen to my body. If I feel tired, I take a nap, plain and simple. I also ride my bike on my days off for exercise and stress reduction, which helps in a sounder sleep (and less sleep needed overall).

Best of luck,

Ken
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Don Christy
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Post by Don Christy »

I've heard some people benefit from taking melatonin. I have no idea if it's a good idea or has side effects.

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epilnk
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Post by epilnk »

You are fighting a built in program. You sleep cycle is synchronized to your core body temperature cycle, which hits a minimum at the time of deepest sleep (for most people around 4 am). The body temperature cycle is synchronized by melatonin release. And melatonin secretion is synchronized by light exposure, with the functional wavelength (for this purpose) in the blue spectrum around 460 nm or so.

There are many ways to tamper with the program. One is by taking melatonin supplements, but there are a lot of problems with this. First, although melatonin is a hormone it has been ruled to be a "supplement" in the US; quality control issues are severe. Most melatonin supplements come in 1-3 mg doses but the dose that is optimal in clinical studies for regulating sleep is 0.3 mg, and in fact high doses have been shown to disrupt sleep. Finally, the timing is critical - swallow it too early or too late and you can do more harm than good.

A simpler method is to use a lightbox and sorry, not a cheap one. Because the active wavelength is low this has to be either blue LEDs or a clinically approved broad spectrum unit; there is no low cost "broad spectrum" light that is precise enough to let enough 460 nm through while completely blocking UV. Once again timing is critical. If you are trying to wake up earlier than you body wants you to, you use the light first thing when you wake up; if you're trying to delay sleep onset or stay asleep longer I believe you use it in the evening (not my problem so not sure). It takes a couple of days to adapt, depending on the size of the shift. Sometimes it helps to dim the lights for the last two hours before the desired bedtime.

I've never used mine for shiftwork or jetlag, so I can't help you with the details. There is "information" on how to reset sleep cycles online but beware of skeevy sources, which seem unusually bad for this; my old trusted links no longer work. Lots of people will try to sell you "full spectrum" lights, though.

I have a circadian rhythm disorder with a body temperature minimum around 8:30 am and a "natural" sleep cycle of 4:30-11:30 am. I've used a lightbox for 20 years to stay on the same schedule as the rest of world. Melatonin (even under a physician's supervision) didn't work for me; while I did get to sleep earlier I woke up feeling unrested and oddly, it made me sweat profusely.
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Re: working nights

Post by White Coat Investor »

spin_echo wrote:I am working nights and am having a LOT of trouble sleeping during the day despite earplugs and essentially complete darkness

I wake up every 30 min to hour

Anyone else have this problem? any suggestion on how to adapt to working nights better?
All nights or occasional nights?

I do occasional nights. I'm so exhausted I collapse into bed, dead to the world for at least 4 hours. If I get woken up by the kids it is hard to get back to sleep. I can occasionally get 8 hours during the day, but it is rare.

The usual sleep hygiene stuff applies- exercise, but not right before bed. Eat well, but not right before bed. Dark, cool room with white noise. No sleep partner interruptions. Don't do anything in bed but sleep. Go to bed same time and get up same time each day.

Once you get beyond that you're looking at drugs for help.

If you stay on nights for months (including days off) your body will eventually get used to it. I spent 5 months on night shifts while deployed. No problema. Much easier than cycling. But I didn't have any family responsibilities.
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stemikger
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Post by stemikger »

I have been working midnights for 17 years now. In the beginning it was tough, but now my body is used to it. However, on the weekends I sleep nights like a normal person.

During the week I sleep about 4 to 5 hours a day and then around 7:00p.m. I sleep about 2 hours before I go to work.

I heard it is really bad health wise, but I think that is when you rotate every other week and never let your body get used to a set schedule. I actually think it is healthier for me because I don't get stressed over traffic becuase there is none when I go in and also, there is less BS (as far as office politics at night) so I find that much less stressful.

Good Luck. It's not for everyone, but after all these years, I guess it works for me.
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spin_echo
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Post by spin_echo »

Thanks again everyone -- I will be doing nights a few times a year, so it would be nice to adapt a little better

I think one of my problems is that the work is relatively stressful, so even thought I am tired my brain is very "on" when I get home, and instead of going immediately to bed (as suggested by one of you above) I run around doing things (including going to the gym), and then at 1 pm I realize I should be going to bed and I can't relax

So, maybe I will try to go to bed ASAP when I get home -- already have the pitch black cold room with earplugs thing going :)

(umm, not I guess not today since I am up emailing....)
Last edited by spin_echo on Thu Jun 09, 2011 10:27 am, edited 2 times in total.
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spin_echo
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Post by spin_echo »

Its funny -- the other thing that has been totally screwed up by this is my eating schedule
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dm200
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Post by dm200 »

spin_echo wrote:Its funny -- the other thing that has been totally screwed up by this is my eating schedule -- I end up eating 4 times a day instead of 3, weird
Exactly what happened to me, when I was in the Navy. I lived in a (Army) barracks for a few months and ate in the mess hall most of the time. I would get off duty at 6:30 am and be hungry (dinner time for me). SO, I would eat a full breakfast, eggs, sausage, toast, ... all the stuff. Then, do some things and eat lunch middle of the day. Then sleep. Get up early evening -- and eat a dinner meal in the mess hall. Go to work at 10:30 and send out for takeout food about 2 am. FOUR big meals a day.
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Duckie
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Post by Duckie »

I worked midnight shift for 20 years. Here's what I did.

Got up at 10 pm, took a shower and ate breakfast. Puttered around and left for work around 11 pm. Started work at midnight. Ate lunch at 4 am. Got off work at 8 am (usually) and arrived home before 9 am. Exercised for half an hour, showered, and ate supper. Had four hours to do whatever. Went to bed at 2 pm.

I did not follow that schedule on my days off, so I usually had only four hours sleep before my first day back. But that was okay, I made up for it elsewhere.

The key to sleep was a dark, cool, quiet bedroom. Besides earplugs, get a sound machine and a fan. Having an air conditioner in the bedroom is good, too.
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Post by shipwreck »

I worked a 3x12 . It was 2am to 2pm for almost 10 years... (15% diff was nice)
I forced myself to sleep at 6pm , 5:30pm, 5:00pm accordingly.

My trick was to keep same schedule (or almost) even on days off.
Rajsx
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Post by Rajsx »

I know it is tough. Some 20 years back, we use to do rotating nights which is worse than straight nights. Luckily it was for only 2 months during my training years.

(I know this was not the question, but nevertheless) As we learn more about the harmful effects of lack of sleep, putting on the weight, day time nibbling, lack of concentration, depression & accidents due to dozing off on the wheel, I would try to get off nights ASAP.

I struggled to cope then, by shutting off the phone, trying to sleep after lunch, going to the Gym before starting the night shift, stealing a wink between 1 to 3 AM on light shifts (Not on record).

Good Luck
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Post by awval999 »

I work a 7 on-7 off schedule. I only work 70 hours (paid for 80) and get 10K bonus. 26 weeks vacation + 3 earned weeks. I don't know if I'll do it forever but its good for now. I'm only 25 though.

The only rough days are coming off night shift, I try to sleep for 6 hours instead of the normal 8 and try to have a few beers at night (usually go out for dinner to celebrate week off). This sort of reboots me.

A lot of people have issues because they don't sleep enough. This especially occurs with my co-workers that have kids. They try to get their kids off to school, pick them up, run to their sporting events, etc. My recommendations, 8 hours of sleep and a little bit of melatonin when trying to convert between shifts (I only use it when going back to days during my off week).
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