Working Nights

I used to work nights at Dunlops on Cambridge Street back in the late 70s and i hated doing them, i was only about 18 years old ...... I couldn't sleep properly during the day, and before i knew where I was it was time to go back in for another nights work .... I only did them for a year or two, but was glad when it all came to an end.

Friday and Saturday night working was the worst , there was only me working in my department and I used to stand at the window and watch revellers walking into town for a night out, and wish I was with them .
 
We were on a rota that went Morning x 2 Afternoon x 2 Nights x 2 then a sleep day then 3 off. Doing only 2 at a time meant we never got into a proper pattern. Forget trying to sleep before the 1st one and hope you get some decent kip between the 2 and get up at lunchtime after the 2nd one and hope you get back to normal(ish) going into the 1st proper day off. They're not too bad when you're young but get progressively more insidious after about 45.
 
RACHACE said:
Any bluemooners got any tips/advice on getting used to doing night shifts?

I've never done nights before but my 1st nightshift is tonight, 5pm start and I'm on nights all week. This will be an ongoing thing every 3 weeks on my shift rota.

So, in preparation I stayed up last night, watched the Inter Milan v Roma game then decided I'd enter an online poker tournament in an attempt to keep me up late. Did ok, got in the money on the tournament, listened to 'the rise and fall of Madchester' on bbc sounds (highly recommended) and eventually went sleep on sofa at about 3am.

Missus was up at 6:30 to get ready for work and get little girl ready to go to her grandma's, she's two. So, i went up to bed with the hope I'd get a few hours kip when they'd gone. Hasn't happened, not a wink since I woke up so I'm going doing a night shift on what's likely to be very little sleep.

I'd have been better off going bed as normal (after watching the Inter Milan game) and just pushing through my shift later.

Anyone got any experience of doing nights and have a routine that worked regarding getting a decent amount of kip?
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I learnt quickly going to bed early because you have to get up is pointless, a lot of the time the stress of wanting to sleep makes it even more difficult.
 
RACHACE said:
Any bluemooners got any tips/advice on getting used to doing night shifts?

I've never done nights before but my 1st nightshift is tonight, 5pm start and I'm on nights all week. This will be an ongoing thing every 3 weeks on my shift rota.

So, in preparation I stayed up last night, watched the Inter Milan v Roma game then decided I'd enter an online poker tournament in an attempt to keep me up late. Did ok, got in the money on the tournament, listened to 'the rise and fall of Madchester' on bbc sounds (highly recommended) and eventually went sleep on sofa at about 3am.

Missus was up at 6:30 to get ready for work and get little girl ready to go to her grandma's, she's two. So, i went up to bed with the hope I'd get a few hours kip when they'd gone. Hasn't happened, not a wink since I woke up so I'm going doing a night shift on what's likely to be very little sleep.

I'd have been better off going bed as normal (after watching the Inter Milan game) and just pushing through my shift later.

Anyone got any experience of doing nights and have a routine that worked regarding getting a decent amount of kip?
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I’ve tried, my advice?
Sack it off as soon as you can
 
I did it for around 15 years, loved it but it suited me. As others have said don't go straight to bed. I'd get home at 6:10 and would stay up at least a couple of hours. I never had trouble sleeping though a few glasses of wine and earplugs helped.
 
I've just started a run of seven, 12 hour nights. I like them. No fucker else around mithering you. Go for a few pints at 8am when you've finished and then sleep like a baby.

I find the issue is not the nights themselves but trying to re-adjust back to normal living once you've finished them. I think it's an age thing as well. The older you get, the harder the adjustment is. I used to do a few extra shifts either end of my normal week if the overtime was going but I've stopped that now because I found that once you get up to something like 10 or 11 consecutive nights, the adjustment takes twice as long as when you just do seven. I've done a full two weeks on the spin in the past and basically the old body clock has just been fucked for another fortnight afterwards. Almost as soon as you've recovered, you're back on your next lot of nights. So fuck that, it's seven and out for me now, however tempting the extra money is.
 
expatblue said:
People often make the mistakes of finishing a night shift and going straight to bed when they gey home, on a normal day of work you have a few hours doing things like watching TV having something to eat etc, also waking up after sleep near the time for your shift start like you would if you were working morning.

Getting tired because you get up too early for nights is the same as waking up at 2am every day for a 6am shift it'll eventually get to you.
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I did similar, I only did nights for two weeks but they were 12 hours shifts. As soon as I got home, just after 6am I'd have a shower and then had my tea. Then I'd watch the football that I'd recorded the night before or watch a film, and have a few cans then go to bed about 10am.
 
The only experience I’ve had of working nights was when my wife was in labour. Terribly inconvenient that was. She was up all night moaning and groaning when the epidural didn’t work properly! Her mum was there too rabbiting on while I was absolutely knackered. Went on the next morning too! I then witnessed what can only be described as carnage, gave it an hour and finally knocked it on the head. Went to bed at 2pm, slept til 8pm through my alarm and almost missed visiting time end!

As my wife reminds me regularly it wasn’t
My finest moment!!
 
1st night is an absolute killer!! I work 1 out’ve 3 weeks on nights have done for last 18yrs, kinda got used to it if that’s possible!! nights this week & school holidays not a good match for sleeping :-/
 
I've done it for a few years now, 2 to 3 shifts over every 2 to 3 weeks, dependent on the roster, the 3rd shift is always the hardest.
It's difficult as the rest of the world is on daytime life, so dogs bark, birds sing, bins get emptied etc.
I would always stay awake for a couple of hours when you get home in the morning (as you would if you got home in the evening), block out curtains - if possible, and turn your phone off, or to silent
 
DenisHasDoneIt said:
The first one of a run of nights is the toughest. I find going to the pub the night before the first one, then getting up normal time the day of your first night - i.e. before you’re ready to get up - means you can get some afternoon kip before going on.

Don’t drink too much coffee on shift, or you’ll be going for a slash when you should be asleep back home.

And when you’re finished your run of nights, get up at lunchtime. Don’t waste your life recovering from night shifts, or getting ready for them: enjoy spending or saving the money you get from doing them. On which subject: if you can work out a net financial gain for doing nights, put the money somewhere else, so you can see how much you’re getting, so you can buy things you wouldn’t normally be able to, and work out when to sack it off.

Black-out blinds top tip. Sympathetic neighbours might take in deliveries if you let them know, and not get their law mowed at 9am either. Good luck.
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That’s a big thing. Neighbours. I have always been sympathetic to my neighbour who works shifts but my neighbour on the other side, the less said the better.
 
expatblue said:
People often make the mistakes of finishing a night shift and going straight to bed when they gey home, on a normal day of work you have a few hours doing things like watching TV having something to eat etc, also waking up after sleep near the time for your shift start like you would if you were working morning.

Getting tired because you get up too early for nights is the same as waking up at 2am every day for a 6am shift it'll eventually get to you.
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nearly 40 yrs on shifts, most of my co-workers went straight to bed then up early afternoon. i found staying up 'til dinner then sleep until it was time to leave for work suited me Bit of a pain for the family tip-toeing around but worked out for the best when the kids were older.
 
I worked nights for years before I retired 7 years or so ago.

It didn't bother me at the time. I was a coach driver based at the airport so I enjoyed the quiet roads and during the late spring and early summer experienced some fantastic sights with the sun coming up while driving home through, say, the Welsh hills, and so on.

It was though, looking back, a bit of a strange existance which I glossed over for the most part. Meal times reversed. I'd have what would be considered an evening meal when I got up, a normal lunch early in the morning, and a bacon sandwich or something similar when I got back home.

I wouldn't go straight to bed, but have a couple of tins at 7 in the morning, and in the winter the curtains were always drawn. I'd go to bed at 8.30 when it was dark and get up at 4 when it was still dark.

The one struggle I remember was after having a few days off. I'd have to force myself to stay up until the wee hours so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch before going to work at 8 PM.

I coped with it quite well, but I wouldn't want to go back to those hours.
 
Reference the sleeping after the shift, my shift is 11pm to 7.30am.
I get home, take Mrs Screamer's grandson (who lives with us) to school at 7.45am and in bed at 8am.
Wake up around 11 - 12 noon in time for The Chase (noon time over in New England)
In the evening I'll get my head down around 7 - 7.30pm until 10 - 10.30pm and into work for 11pm (it is 4 mins away in the car).
We get an hour break so again head down around 3 - 3.30pm.
It's in a residential setting, all residents (six) bar one are asleep (the drugs do work...) so a great time to be on Blue Moon and researching my up coming bridge episodes and other nonsense I need to do!
 
1st one down. Wasn't too bad really. Job much easier with hardly anyone on the roads.

I'm shattered so I'm fairly confident I'll sleep well but missus and little one will be up at 6-7am and it'll be then when it'll be a test.

Tomorrow's shift will start at about 5pm so want 6-7 hours kip.

Haven't gone straight to bed, had a camomile tea and gonna read bluemoon for a bit, I usually nod off after 10-15 minutes of reading stuff on here ;)
 
I did 25years of 12 hour shifts and I mean 12 hours apart from three 30 min breaks no bunking off for a snide sleep , retired 5 years ago and my sleep pattern is fucked I’m still in the same mode as you can see from the message, it suited me at the time because you get into a rhythm. Horses for courses as they say.
 
RACHACE said:
1st one down. Wasn't too bad really. Job much easier with hardly anyone on the roads.

I'm shattered so I'm fairly confident I'll sleep well but missus and little one will be up at 6-7am and it'll be then when it'll be a test.

Tomorrow's shift will start at about 5pm so want 6-7 hours kip.

Haven't gone straight to bed, had a camomile tea and gonna read bluemoon for a bit, I usually nod off after 10-15 minutes of reading stuff on here ;)
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You can watch my covered bridge videos..... you'll be out for the count on 10 mins!
 
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