Night Shift

[Tixnleeches]

Hey all!

 

Just curious how many Night-shifters we have in here. I'm working at a local hospital doing 6pm-6am.

 

Was wondering how you guys manage time; Between working, sleeping, working out, doing cardio, running errands, etc.

I'm having quite a hard tiem fitting everything in to the day. Wish it was comprised on 28-30 hours instead of 24.

 

My normal day goes a bit like this.

 

4:45pm - Wake up (sometimes snooze to 5pm)

 

5pm - Hop in the shower / get dressed for work.

 

5:30pm - Try to grab some food as I head out the door.

 

6pm - Work for 12 hours.

 

6am - Change into gym clothes at work.

 

6:10am - Gym time (Lifting and cardio)

 

7:30am - Finally get home / grab something to eat / shower / get ready for bed

 

8am - Lay in bed trying to fall asleep with no success.

 

10am - Cursing at the clock for still moving and I'm still awake.

 

12pm - Finally fall asleep.

 

5pm - Wake up for work. (That's one of those snooze to 5pm days)

 

So how does everyone else cope working nights?

 

Thanks for reading!

-Tixnleeches

 

 

[jfreaksho]

I never did full graveyard shifts after watching my mom do it for years.  It took a serious toll on her health- diabetes, chronic heart disease, obesity- it didn't help that she was always eating the vegetable oil and aspartame crap, but lack of sleep really messed with her.

 

How many shifts do you do each week?  If you are doing 12-hour shifts, then it shouldn't be more than 4 per week, right?  Maybe even three?  My best friend works 3x12 each week and just doesn't bother much with exercising on work days, unless he can sneak out during his lunch break.  Meanwhile he gets 4-day weekends every week, and has a workout plan that he fits in there.

[Tixnleeches]

I never did full graveyard shifts after watching my mom do it for years.  It took a serious toll on her health- diabetes, chronic heart disease, obesity- it didn't help that she was always eating the vegetable oil and aspartame crap, but lack of sleep really messed with her.

 

How many shifts do you do each week?  If you are doing 12-hour shifts, then it shouldn't be more than 4 per week, right?  Maybe even three?  My best friend works 3x12 each week and just doesn't bother much with exercising on work days, unless he can sneak out during his lunch break.  Meanwhile he gets 4-day weekends every week, and has a workout plan that he fits in there.

 

My normal shift is 3 on 4 off one week then 4 on 3 off the next but generally the days off aren't all in a row so I'm playing catch up with sleep / errands and stuff on at least one of my days off. However I tend to pick up a lot of overtime because I need to money, this week I'm finishing my 7 day straight of 12 hr shifts. I really wish I could workout on my lunch break haha

[KAllen]

we change every quarter (the university I work at is on quarter system).  You get used to working nights.  Nights is easier for me to work out since it's 6am when I work out and hardly any people in the gym.  I prefer to work days, but working out is harder since at 6pm at the gym is really really busy. 

[Tixnleeches]

we change every quarter (the university I work at is on quarter system).  You get used to working nights.  Nights is easier for me to work out since it's 6am when I work out and hardly any people in the gym.  I prefer to work days, but working out is harder since at 6pm at the gym is really really busy. 

 

Very true, when I get off work and head to the gym at 6:15am it is completely dead in there. No one hogging the machines / weights I want to use. That is pretty nice, the only part that I'm truly having issue with is that I'm pumped after the gym and don't feel like sleeping. Fast forward to noon and I have to get up in 4 hours to get ready for work. Then again I hate working days lol

[ringular]

I work at night as a security guard at the docks. Only part time since I am studying. And only nine hour shifts. So nothing really too bad. I can do what I want most of the time, just walk around once per hour. I try to avoid to work more than two to three days a week, because after that my sleeping rhythm starts to get weird.

[saroufall]

I work the night shift as a home healthcare aid. It's 5 eight hour shifts, but at any point we can be mandated for up to a 16 hour shift. Once home I usually nab about 4 hours of sleep.

[Devil Dog]

I work for a major trucking company in their Accident Claims Department 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Sunday through Thursday nights.  I work out at a powerlifting gym on Monday, Wednesday and Friday so on those days I don't get a whole lot of sleep.  I get as much rest as I can on Tuesdays, Thursdays and on my weekends.  It is a demanding schedule and I am glad it's just my wife and I and that we don't have children to raise. 

[megtro610]

I am a flight attendant and I will work the "night shift"/ red eye trans con one night and then an early morning day shit the next day. I have no natural sleep rhythm... It's very hard to find motivation to work out when I am off work and I'm always cheating on my diet because I'm so whacked out

[Juni0r83]

I work a rotating shift that basically means I have no circadian rhythym left.

When I'm on nightshift though, I get up at 3, feel sleepy and terrible, shower, eat, get dressed, grab work food (can't call it lunch when I eat it at 1 in the morning) and head out to work to start by 7.

Finish at 7, go to the gym and do cardio (always arrange my schedule so I'm not lifting after nightshifts) and then go home and get ready for bed. I'm normally asleep by about 9-9:30.

Then start the whole thing over again.

[KnightOfHvn]

When I was in college, I worked a stint in a tire factory doing the 7 to 7, Friday through Sunday. Took me forever to get back to normal after the contract ended...I remember some of the other workers and I would sneak out to just sit under the stars because we'd forgotten what the night looked like.

[Kahzgul]

I don't work nights anymore, but I did, for 12 years.  I worked out before going to work.  Wake up at 2 pm, breakfast, hit the gym at 3, work out til 4 or 4:30, head home, shower, change, go to the office at 6.  When I got home from work it was right to sleep.  This was by far and away my most stable workout routine, it was easy to follow because there is just so little to do when you wake up 4 hours before work, and almost no one was ever in my gym during the 3-4 pm hour, so I had my run of the place.  I worked out 6 days a week back then and it didn't feel nearly as hard to do as my current 3 days a week plan (though I also now have a family).

 

Good luck!

[dcade1987]

I'm a PICU nurse and I work 7p-7a for seven straight nights, then I have an entire week off. I like this schedule despite the fact it takes me about 2.5 days during my week off before I can go outside and socialize with friends.    I have never had a need to take vacation days, since I just plan any vacays I want to do during my week off. My hospital lets us turn in vacations days for money, so you can see the incentive.

 

I'm bad at giving advice to new nurses when they ask how I cope with the night shift. I've been doing this routine for 6 years now and it's just natural to me at this point. Black out shades to keep light out when you lie down to go to bed at 9:30am? 

[Storm00]

I work 7p-7a in the ER on Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Then I do clinical during the week. One thing that i do when I do work out is I work out before work instead of after. A lot of times if I work out after work, it is much harder for me to go to sleep, because my body is all hyped up. I am usually asleep by 8am, then I get up at 2pm. Sit around a bit, have my coffee. If I go to the gym it is about 3pm. Then I get home, shower, eat a bit, and go to work. 

 

Then Monday morning I usually take a quick nap when I get home about 2 hours or so, then stay up all day Monday, to do clinical on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday during the week. If I do any work out on those days it is after clinical, so its in the evening because I have more time before bed between working out and actually laying down. 

[Jland002]

Does anyone know of a nightshift group to join in NF? I've been trying to find one.

[Tyburn Lil]

I'm not sure what time zone you're on, but NF spans continents if that's what you're asking about?

[Deidara]

I only work nights. With my current job at a chat hotline, I'm always at the office until close - On Tuesday-Thursday, that's midnight. On Sundays and Mondays, that's 2am (and I work from home on those two days). But until recently I don't do anything to try to cope with the lack of sleep. I've had bad insomnia all my life and am always sleep-deprived, so I've just learned to function that way. 

 

So I have one 12hr shift on Sunday, an 8hr shift on Monday, and 7hr shifts Tuesday through Thursday.

 

My normal week day:

 

8am - my partner wakes me up getting ready for work, I take my allergy meds and try to go back to sleep

11am or noon - I finally get the energy to actually get out of bed

12pm-12:30 - exercise on Tues/Thurs

1pm - breakfast, clean the litterbox, shower, pack some snacks if I remember

3:30pm - leave for work if I'm not working from home

5pm - start work

9:30pm - take a melatonin supplement (dunno if this works, it's been less than a week)

1-1:30am - I get home and try to sleep but usually am somehow still up until like 4

 

Of course if it's a Wednesday, I have therapy at noon so I have to get out of the apartment by 11, and those are my worst days because I'm so tired.

[Wyld Bill]

Oh I love my night guard job. It gives me time to read and troll the NF forums. My normal day goes like this:

1500 Wake up, pack my gym bag, and prep and pack my food for the night.

1600 GYM TIME! Favorite hour of the day. Got to get my Crossfit on.

1730 Get to work, shower, and dress out.

1800 Clock in and start my 12 long hours.

1900 Breakfast.

2200 Snack.

0000 Lunch.

0300 Dinner.

0600 Go home, shower again, eat again, and play with the dog.

0700 In bed for a good days sleep.

[Hellany]

Night crew here too. I go for a run after work to relieve aggravation and I find it's a great motivator.

[Fitz_Hulk]

I just started doing two nightfill shifts a week at a supermarket and I have uni on those days, too. So my routine is kinda:

 

Sunday 5pm - try to get to sleep

 

10 pm wake up, eat, make coffee, get ready for work

 

10.45 pm head in to work

 

11.30 start work

 

around 3 am - eat a museli bar while working

 

7 am finish work (MONDAY)

 

8 am get to bed

 

10.30 am get up, shower, breakfast

 

11.15 go to uni

 

2 pm ish - lunch

 

5 pm finish uni

 

5. 30 get home, shower

 

6 pm try to sleep

 

10.45 pm get up, eat, make coffee

 

11.15 pm go to work

 

12 midnight work

 

3 am ish eat a museli bar

 

5 am finish work

 

6 am get to bed

 

8 am get up, coffee, breakfast

 

9.15 go to uni

 

10 am uni

 

12 /1 ish lunch

 

5pm finish uni

 

then I get home, try to eat dinner and hang out with the bf before going to bed at a regular time for uni the next day. 

 

I should probably be able to make healthier stuff to eat during both work and uni but at the moment I'm finding it hard to get my shit together. Plus, I am finding it difficult to fall asleep on Sunday afternoons. Help?