Anyone here work night shift? I'm about to start part time work working graveyard shift. What are some good ways to adjust to the new sleeping schedule, etc? Kind of curious.
I used to work exclusively at night hours behind bars and one of the first things you'll want to do is blacken out your room. I used a big black blanket cover. =] then it was all about keeping the room at a comfortable temperature. It'll get hot in summer so I had a portable air conditioner I could bring in my room and it had a hose that went out the window and that kept me cool. Sleeping is the hardest adjustment, I would at the beginning, just tire myself out with exercise just so I could rest. I guess when I look into it, it was night shift that got me smoking weed because that put me to sleep when I needed it. Now another adjustment is noise pollution. Remember that no one is going to care whatsoever that you need your rest and sleep. Nobody will care about your night work so you need to keep that in mind. I have tinnitus so I always have white noise and thunder/rain/wind/fire crackle on an app on my phone that drowns away outside noise. One place I stayed in literally next door was knocked down by a bulldozer and a crane with a big heavy black swinging ball. The workers used to laugh at me when I got home at 7am because they knew how hard it must be for me to try and sleep. But don't worry. I laughed at them too. you see, all the good folk appear at night. You will be traveling down an empty road in the morning while the adjacent road is packed full of fuckwits trying to make up for the five minutes they layed in bed and now running late. The shops for you will be empty. Everything in life IMO was better while working nights despite the health concerns people have, we're humans, we adjust quite well. Have fun with it.
I worked night shift for probably a combined 5 years. Get blackout shades, formfitting ear plugs, and a face mask. Also, start taking a Vitamin D supplement. Lack of sunlight drops D levels and can lead to anxiety, depression, and a long list of problems. Human beings are diurnal, so it's a constant struggle of tricking your circadian rhythm.
Been working the graveyard shift for the past 6 years. It's not optimal for health, and it takes some getting adjusted to, but getting enough sleep (7-9 hours) should offset any ill-effects brought on by working nights. Since you will be sleeping during the day, you might want to invest in some sun-blocking curtains or an eye mask. Supplementing with melatonin (as r0llin suggested) and a good quality magnesium citrate will also help (I also rub magnesium lotion all over my body before bed, which helps). The best over-the-counter sleep aid is doxylamine succinate (not diphenhydramine).
I also forgot to mention apple cider vinegar as a very useful tool for getting to sleep. 2 tbs before bed tends to put me to sleep faster.
I just transferred to night shifts. Yesterday was brutal as I don't have any of the materials or supplements which have been mentioned in this thread for the adjustment. I got like 1 hour of sleep the whole time between my first 2 shifts. Today was better however, I got a reasonable amount of sleep but even beyond sleep, I find the whole routine of the day feels different. For instance, I wanted to get a haircut today and I found myself being rushed to get there before they closed. Waking up in the afternoon, when you got errands to attend to or stuff that needs to get done is different for me. I got my haircut though and I'm enjoying this downtime afterwards.
i'd just start precessing my regular hours around the clock till they line up with my work schedule. which means i'd start this about a week before my first day of work was do to start. i've always prefered to work the night hours, as they tend to come with days off during the week, when everything is open and nothing is crowded. when i was young enough, i didn't really have to worry about it. as i'd come home from that first shift exausted enough to maybe eat a light end of my day meal, and maybe start reading a book and fall asleep. then from then on, whatever the work hours are. my bedtime would be ten hours before my work shift started. so as to have plenty of time to wake up, have myself a decent first meal, and be ready and to work on time, without having to be in a hurry or anything. the trick is to forget about how you're used to thinking of times of day. YOUR dinner, is when you get home from work, and have had time to get cleaned up and make it. YOUR breakfast is whenever you get up, an hour or two before whenever it is you have to go to work. it helps of course, if you don't have to live with anybody. or anyone who isn't your chosen mate anyway. (i should also mention i grew up somewhat used to this, as when i was little, my dad didn't have very much seniority (how long you've been working there, is what you bid, on which positions you want, when they come up for bid), so as a result, he usually had a midnight to 8 shift or a 4 to midnight shift. the 8a to 4p shifts generally went to older people who had been there since forever. a lot of public transportation jobs work on that same principal. so i grew up used to such hours and loving them. and expecially always wanting to have tuesdays and wednesdays off. of course because this is what i wanted, i was seldom able to actually have it.)
