Midnights....

[MissTaken]

I start working nights next week.

God help me, I am trying to change my routine, but without much success.

This ole girl wants to be sleeping at 2 a.m.

Does anyone have any ideas for how I can manage to be awake and alert from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.?

 

[catalina_francisco]

Oh, you have my empathy. I used to do such shifts many moons ago, the latest being 11PM - 8 AM. Fortunately for me I was a night owl so it didn't overly bother me in that respect. One of the hardest areas was coming down after work enough to go sleep. With the added factor of daylight, and always liking to wind down for several hours after work, it created a bit of a problem as sometimes I was required back in at work by 6 or 8PM for a different shift, or if it were a weekend, knew I would be callled in early to fill for someone else who decided to take the night off. All I can suggest is trying to adjust your body clock by practicing those hours now (yuk), but it usually isn't that simple. Good luck.

Catalina

 

[MissTaken]

I am trying to stay up later, get up earlier and sleep during the day.

It isn't working!

I will be working "swing" which is 8 pm-4, 10 pm to 6 or 6 pm to 2 a.m.

In the long run, I can get the kids going in the morning and be there for dinner hour and all the important stuff. It should work out well....if I can stay awake at work!



Thanks, Catalina

 

[sunfox]

I worked second shift for a time, which I enjoyed because I'm beyond night owl into nocturnal. I always have been, and probably always will be.

But you still need to be able to get up and do things during the day, so what worked for me to get on a decent schedule for my body was having a ritual before bed.. a couple of things that I always did that helped me to unwind and relax before lying down. A bath/warm shower, washing my face, playing with the dogs a bit to tire them out too (Though with the mud, now that comes before the bath or shower *laugh*) then prop up in bed for a bit, read a chapter of a book, then bed.

If I kept to it, after a while, my body recognized that after these tasks came sleep, and got used to that.

Good luck, MissT!

 

[WriterDom]

I found it hard. You adjust in a night or two, but the weekend always seemed to fuck me up. Even when I tried to keep the same schedule.

 

[A Desert Rose]

I am trying to stay up later, get up earlier and sleep during the day.

It isn't working!

I will be working "swing" which is 8 pm-4, 10 pm to 6 or 6 pm to 2 a.m.

In the long run, I can get the kids going in the morning and be there for dinner hour and all the important stuff. It should work out well....if I can stay awake at work!



Thanks, Catalina

Some people are night people and some are not. I happen to be a night person and prefer this particular shift... I actually was seeking it when I got this job over a year ago. The one thing I found out is that I have to keep my sleep schedule all the time or I'm really screwed up when my nights to work come along.

This might be a struggle for you the entire time you have this job. I sure hope not. But like I said, some people are just not night folks.

 

[Aeroil]

I'm a teenager, my sleep patterns are all over the place by default lol. you can indeed change your patterns, but I reccomend you don't try it all at once, do it over the course of about three days, wake up earlier, go to sleep later, etc. When I go to bed at 5am I usually will wake up around 3:30pm, which sounds like plenty of time to me.

 

[AngelicAssassin]

I start working nights next week.

God help me, I am trying to change my routine, but without much success.

This ole girl wants to be sleeping at 2 a.m.

Does anyone have any ideas for how I can manage to be awake and alert from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.?

Going reverse cycle requires a different mind set.

As others have suggested, you need to hammer out a routine and stick with it.

If you have children in the house, have Scooter get them out and to school/daycare/whatever as quickly as you possibly can in the morning. Force yourself to stay in bed until noon, even if you can't sleep. Read an interesting, involved book, one that takes a lot of concentration on your part (Hemmingway comes to mind) and try to picture the scene the author paints for you in detail. If you have a little luck, and feel just a little lethargic, you'll nod off again. When the alarm goes off at noon, hit the ground running. Don't go through an easy does it warming up to the day routine. If you have chores in the house to get done, do them all at the same time: wash clothes, put away dishes, clean up the rooms. Just stay in whirling dervish mode.

Once you get to work take care of the things that have to be done by a specific time as required, but those that need to be done by end of shift save for the hours between 2 and end of shift. You don't want your body dictating by normal hormone flow how fast you do what. If the items require physical labor on your part, all the better.

The last, and least favored method includes skipping sleep altogether for about 36 hours. Your body will try to make up for it by sleeping longer, you'll feel lethargic until after the next sleep cycle, and everyone will get on your last nerve. If you can manage to stay on that changed sleep pattern, you might have some sincere patchwork to do for all the heads you rip off in the process, but it does work.

Best of luck to you and yours.

 

[BlueSugar]

As for staying up - when I need to, I'll call a fellow night owl and it'll help. usually they call me though bc I never had any problem adjusting to different time schedules -- I've always hated waking up though no matter when I had to. Juices at night are nice, orange works for me.

Try and watch your eating habits. Its not the greatest thing to do... but try and eat a heavier meal before going to sleep like a big breakfast. You will be up and active at different times now so eat the meals in retrospect to when you'll be up now. Try to not depend on cafeine to stay awake. Sugary foods metobolize quicker and give you a punch an instant gratification. Starches/Carbs naturally calm you down bc it takes your body longer to metobolize them.

Reading is great, doing breathing excorsizes works, meditation to focus and clear your mind to gear yourself to sleep. Boring movies, a bath. There are sound machines to either block out sounds so you can sleep (works like white noise) and others with soothing tracks to lull you to sleep -- and if that works in reverse us it in reverse
Even think about the things we give children to help them sleep or stay awake. Warm milk and other comfort food, excorsize etc...

 

[Vixandra]

I work 6pm to 6am so know how if feels to live opposite the rest of the world.

Keep busy on your nights off- pick up a project, be it a puzzle, painting or knitting that you've been meaning to to do and get to it.

Also- lots of fluids. I tend to drink more fluids at night, so keep bottled water, juice and the occasional soda on hand. Start getting sleepy then drink something cold.

And AA's right about staying in bed till your scheduled wake time. It'll suck the first couple of days but your body will get used to the fact that its okay to sleep and stay in bed then, making it easier to adjust.
And there's always a lot of new stories that need comments and voting on them to browse through if you're truely bored.

 

[MissTaken]

Wow. Thank you for all the responses and great ideas.

I have been trying to stay up later and get up early, 3 am ish right now. Then, sleep during the day.

Work will be busy, but we get 20 minute breaks every hour. (I know, what a hardship! ) I suppose if I get really loopy the first few nights, I can cat nap, but dont' want to get into that habit. It sort of defeats the purpose, ya know?

So, look for me in the wee hours of the morning for the next few nights as I try to assimilate.

Thanks!

 

[dragonlace]

Perhaps you can try to take a nap before work, and it will help to keep you up later. I know if i take a nap too close to bedtime i have trouble getting to sleep because i am wired. Also exercising before work might help as it gets me energetic for a bit.

Good luck

 

[MissTaken]

I start tonight.

I have been staying up as late as I can and scooter stayed up with me last night. He has been uber supportive.

I have been forcing myself to sleep in the mornings and already my eating habits have changed.

However, I was very bad! I do use caffiene to keep me going, but as I now have the cold from hell, think juice will be the beverage of choice tonight.

This is a new job for me, so I am quite nervous and excited. Nervous because I don't want my being tired to interfere with my newbie status and excited because I intend to enjoy it!

Thank you all.



Does anyone want a wake up call about 5 a.m. tomorrow?

 

[Shagly]

Take it from skyace4 that it requires adjusting the old sleep cycle, coffee and time.

I had the rotating shift for 2 years on a old job I had 10 years ago, I never could get use to it.

 

[MissTaken]

Woohooo

Chicken Wings at 5:30 a.m.
I am going to bed at 7.

I just might get the hang of this upside down lifestyle!

 

[SweetDommes]

I tell every employer when they interview me that I can do dayshift if I *have* to, but I prefer nights ... and switching me back and forth is hazardous to my health and that of my patients ... so except for orientation stuff, they pretty much are happy to leave me on nightshift, since almost everyone else wants dayshift anymore.

Going between 'days' for classes and nights for work sucked really bad ... I never did really get the hang of it, so I'm definately not the person to give advice about it ... LOL

 

[MissTaken]

Going between 'days' for classes and nights for work sucked really bad ... I never did really get the hang of it, so I'm definately not the person to give advice about it ... LOL

I think that if the family can adjust with me, I am going to LOVE this.



As my children say, "Mom, you are going to be nocturnal?"

 

[lorddragonwolf]

Some people are night people and some are not. I happen to be a night person and prefer this particular shift... I actually was seeking it when I got this job over a year ago. The one thing I found out is that I have to keep my sleep schedule all the time or I'm really screwed up when my nights to work come along.

This might be a struggle for you the entire time you have this job. I sure hope not. But like I said, some people are just not night folks.

have to agree with rose on this i have been working nights again and it took a bit ofgetting used to. get dark curtains so you can get used to sleeping days. you will get used to it with time.

 

[rosco rathbone]

I've been getting up at 5AM for years and I still can't get used to it. Every single day it is a struggle to get out of bed. Usually, only fear of losing job makes me get up. Funny thing is, if I can sleep just an hour longer, I feel much better.

The only way I'd work a night shift is at double-time.

 

[SweetDommes]

I have a job interview for an evening shift job (3pm-11pm) ... it sounds perfect except for one thing ... it's in a nursing home ...

but ya know what, the pay will probably be more than worth doing it for at least awhile, right?