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Hello everyone,
some of you may know i was looking for a job for a while, hasn't been easy throughout the pandemic, ive had a couple contract jobs that lasted some months in-between each other, and alot of resumes sent with no response at all.
ive finally secured an overnight freight position.
tried to adjust my sleeping pattern a little already.
im mainly wondering if anyone here has done overnights and some tips to stay sane i guess and excel at it?
thanks in advance :)
Trying to change your biological time piece can be a real pain. Dark room, no eating before you go to bed. I did it for roughly 35 years and as time goes by and you get older, you sleep less and less after the night shifts. Gentle background "elevator music" tends to drown out other annoying noises for me. I quit nights about 14 years ago, best move I ever made.
I've worked rotating shifts for the better part of 25 years. After having kids I traded some afternoon shifts to work midnights so I would be home to help in the evenings and meet the kids after school. My rotation was 4 weeks from 11 PM to 7:30 am and then 2 weeks of 7 am to 3:30 PM. I did that for around 12 years and thankfully I have mostly day shifts now.
The best advice I can give is to forget about the fact that "it's daytime" when you're trying to sleep. It's nighttime for you, so go to bed! Darken your room, wear earplugs or run a fan to dull out daytime noises. Put your phone on silent. Don't let people give you a hard time for "sleeping all day". You'll find that many people just can't wrap their minds around it. If you like to have a drink or two in the evening, have a drink or two in the morning before bed, treat it like evening. I try to get to bed within an hour or two of getting home.
The other thing I do is I only go about halfway to normal on weekends, meaning I stay up late at night and sleep late in the mornings, but adjust a bit to make extra time when the rest of the world is awake. I sleep around 2 or 3 am to 10 or so on weekends.
The last issue is meals. I eat dinner in the evening with the family but it's my first meal so I eat fairly light. "Lunch" around 3 am and maybe a snack before bed. Lots of people get thrown off their appetites on nights but I've always found I was hungrier for some reason.
If you're going to work straight nights, make it your lifestyle and make sure your family and friends respect your shift work and aren't driving you crazy when you should be sleeping!
Good luck!
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ahh thats for that both of ya, i tend not to eat much in the mornings, my shifts will be from 10-7 i believe, i dont think the eating will be an issue as i do get really more hungry at night haha, the dark room i have with the blackout curtains, and i do have a tv as well in my room that i usually drown stuff out with with the news on really low.
The other thing I do is I only go about halfway to normal on weekends, meaning I stay up late at night and sleep late in the mornings, but adjust a bit to make extra time when the rest of the world is awake. I sleep around 2 or 3 am to 10 or so on weekends.
this sounds interesting, i guess after a week or 2 ill see how i adjust myself, the other thing im thinking about is hunting LOL
Getting up for those early morning hunts can be hard. One option might be to go out for an hour or two after work. It isn't first light, but I've had some success with both turkey and deer after working a midnight shift and missing the first hour or so of daylight.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bowjob
Just get out when you can!
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im thinking thats what i might do lol, get my dad to come pick me up with the truck packed for turkey after work hahaQuote:
Originally Posted by GW11
I find the first week a bit tough to switch, but if you are normally a late morning sleeper it should be easier. When I go on nights I usually sleep as soon as I get home in the morning then have an afternoon nap before I go in. I think it's different for everybody, you'll figure out your rhythm and either love it or hate it. I try not to drink caffeine after my "lunch" while at work it makes it easier for me to sleep when I get home.
very good point about caffeine, thanks, i was actually just debating when to take my adhd medication as it tends to keep me nice and awake and dialed into tasks, prob take my first one before i go in and the second at break maybe, i appreciate all the responses :)Quote:
Originally Posted by dean.f
I worked shifts for the better part of 30 years. The blackout curtains etc are a must. The TV on is not a good idea because of the light. I had a big box fan I turned on low and pointed it toward the wall. The steady noise usually cut out the other house noises.
fair enough i appreciate the input :)Quote:
Originally Posted by rick_iles
Everybody is a little different and of course depends on what your life looks like with or without children.
After my midnights if I wasn't already in court and was actually home I stayed up and helped get the kids to school, I then spent some time helping the wife and by then maybe midday go to sleep upstairs if I was tired if I was not I would go a 5-10k run and get tired. If I had been in court and it generally mean I was home after 3pm I would just head for bed until the start of the next shift.
My 30 year old son is completely different I call him Rip van winkle. He comes home from midnight shift at 6.30am takes himself of to his bedroom and generally does not get up until 9pm. So basically he is sleeping his whole life away.
In the meantime me and the misses can't make any noise for fear of waking him up LOL.
LMFAO, sounds about right haha, at least he's sleeping! I just got done a half hour ago, I honestly enjoyed it alot. Everyone was in their own zone kinda no one bothering you or hassling you at all.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gilroy
First day of training put away 2 skids around the store before lunch, guy training me if he didn't know it was my first day he would think I was working here for a while haha.
I do feel tired but not enough to fall asleep yet. Might give it a few hours haha.
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I worked straight nights midnight-8am for 3 years. The mistake I made initially was going to bed as soon as I got home and getting up around 4. Finally changed my routine and stayed up until 1pm and got up at 9pm. The biggest problem was uninterrupted sleep. Blackout curtains, unplugged phone and ear plugs helped.
Winters were hard because you didn't see the sun much. I was single at the time and it played havoc with my social life. I'm not sure how it would have worked if I'd been married with a family. On the plus side I did save a ton of money.
thank you for the input man, thats the one thing im trying to figure out right now haha, i finished at 630am, usually start at 10pm, i do work tonight again starting at 10pm, im thinking if i fall asleep for noon i should be alright, i dont really have much of a social life so im not to worried about that right now haha.Quote:
Originally Posted by Badenoch
Best answer - get a day job. But seriously, I worked nights before, and unfortunately could never get used to running backwards to the world as far as sleeping goes. Others have posted some good ideas that might work for you.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bowjob
Congrats on your new job.
I only worked shift work after high school for 4 years and that was a very long time ago. I then quit and went to college and been days ever since.
I do remember it being very hard to sleep in a house with 5 kids and 2 parents. When your young your body seems to be able to handle it even though it’s really taking a beating.
Good advice so far.
Stepping stones with forks in the road, enjoy the journey.
As far as hunting, I remember my brother waking me up after sleeping a couple hours after a night shift, he had shot a huge bull with our cousin and needed help . We had to cross a lake with the boat and three wheeler. Once across we cleaned a trail for half a mile for bike then jumped in canoe for a short ride to the Bull. Well we got back home late at night and after quick shower I headed for my last night shift. Well next day after work, I went hunting with a buddy and I shot a Bull, this one was on the road and we got help to load him whole. Well that night I was toast. Drank a few beers in the garage and fell asleep in my chair. lol the good old days.
hah thats awesome, im more of a night owl to some extent, i barley sleep 6 hours everynight so, i do have to go back in tonight i think i got about 6 hours of sleep during the day, woke up chilled out a few hours ate dinner leftovers (my breakfast) lol, i seemd to be able to stay upfor a while int he morning after work before i was tired enough to crash so i guess the coming weeks will tell if i truly enjoy it haha.Quote:
Originally Posted by Deer Hunter
I work a 28 day schedule of 12 hr days and nights. 6-6. I try to stay up a little later before my first night, and sleep in the next day., get a few things done in the morning and take a nap in the afternoon. After my last night, I try to get up around noon, so that I am tired enough to sleep around my normal bedtime.
I also dont drink anything within 4-5 hours of going to sleep, so I am not disturbed by a full bladder. I need to unwind when I get home, so I usually check emails, FB, etc for 30-60 minutes. Dark room, earplugs and phone on vibrate are standard equipment and operating procedures. I also grab an XL Tim's on the way in to work and that's the only coffee I drink, whether days or nights.
Try to keep your normal bedtimes on day shifts and days off, it tends to help adjust coming off nights a little easier, I find.
I've spent quite a bit of time working in the Arctic over the years. (24 hr. daylight) Best way I discovered to black out zero light was taping tinfoil to the windows. It's common place to see all the houses with their bedroom windows blocked out with tinfoil.Quote:
Originally Posted by Badenoch
Very interesting thanks for the additional replies!. Its actually been going pretty good. Time Flys on nights. 2 hours working. Then break then another 2 hours then lunch then another 2 hours then break then another 2 hours and home. Going to bed isn't as big of a issue as I thought it would be. Sometimes I tend to stay up when I get home till around 12 noon and go to bed. Other times I go to bed more or less when I get home and wake up earlier in the day. Thanks for the replies I really appreciate it.
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