coping with nightshift

dsg03gt said:
I work a 28 day rotating shift.


Any doctor I visit says that this type of schedule is very unhealthy and I should look into something different as soon as possible.
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I agree!
That is CRAZY to put your body through that, over and over and over.

Studies say that something as simple as "Jet Lag" take the human body 24 hours per ever 1 hour of time difference.

Shifting your entire schedule 8 hours at a time, then not having a chance to adjust before it shifts yet again another 8 hours is insane (to your brain). :eek:


I too worked nights, back in the old days. Did it for darned near 7 years straight. We were young and in love, newly married, and my wife was a bank manager, I was a grocery manager (stock crew leader).

Darkened room, CHECK.

Eye covers, CHECK.

Ear plugs, CHECK

We lived in an apartment back then (for the first few years) and I took cardboard wrapped in tin foil and stuffed that in all the windows. Kept heat out in the summer! :xyxthumbs:

Was a way to get by. Then we bought a house. There had insulated drapes. And we found some darkening shades where you took flexible magnets and stuck them to the window frames and the shades had a strip sewn into the edges. Pulled them down and it was pretty dark. Still had to stuff foam up at the top where the light would leak in. But that was better than aluminum foil over cardboard! :laughing:

Getting to bed early is also BY FAR the best advice. Staying up late, watching TV and all is a great way to unwind, but it just keeps you up longer. If I went to bed early, (by 9:00) then I could get up as soon, (or before) my wife got home from work. So by the time she was going to bed, I was walking out the door.

Finally quit that and went into business for myself. Did that for 18 years and they were the best times of our lives! :)
 
cardaddy said:
I agree!
That is CRAZY to put your body through that, over and over and over.

Studies say that something as simple as "Jet Lag" take the human body 24 hours per ever 1 hour of time difference.

Shifting your entire schedule 8 hours at a time, then not having a chance to adjust before it shifts yet again another 8 hours is insane (to your brain). :eek:


I too worked nights, back in the old days. Did it for darned near 7 years straight. We were young and in love, newly married, and my wife was a bank manager, I was a grocery manager (stock crew leader).

Darkened room, CHECK.

Eye covers, CHECK.

Ear plugs, CHECK

We lived in an apartment back then (for the first few years) and I took cardboard wrapped in tin foil and stuffed that in all the windows. Kept heat out in the summer! :xyxthumbs:

Was a way to get by. Then we bought a house. There had insulated drapes. And we found some darkening shades where you took flexible magnets and stuck them to the window frames and the shades had a strip sewn into the edges. Pulled them down and it was pretty dark. Still had to stuff foam up at the top where the light would leak in. But that was better than aluminum foil over cardboard! :laughing:

Getting to bed early is also BY FAR the best advice. Staying up late, watching TV and all is a great way to unwind, but it just keeps you up longer. If I went to bed early, (by 9:00) then I could get up as soon, (or before) my wife got home from work. So by the time she was going to bed, I was walking out the door.

Finally quit that and went into business for myself. Did that for 18 years and they were the best times of our lives! :)
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I worked in a grocery store for awhile.....it sucked lol I like my night shift job better lol


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I know how you all feel, worked 12a-8a for 15 years, finally was able to get days 5 years ago, 4 more years and 6 months and I can retire!!!:)
 
Coffee has become an extremely good friend lol

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Even with a ten year hiatus I have rarely had any issue switching shifts and not being productive.
No set start times but am limited to a 14 hour day in which only eleven can be used for driving. 70 hour week.
Today started at eight. Drove 24 miles, found load had been delayed til ten pm.
Clocked out, blinged three of the six Alcoas with the rotary, showered, caught a nap and light supper. In eleven minutes I'll hook up to the trailer, close the doors and will be Portland bound from Pomona Ca.
Did I mention that I mostly get to sleep while my new to me team driver is behind the wheel?
Anyhoo, good luck and best wishes.
 
Vegas Transplant said:
Even with a ten year hiatus I have rarely had any issue switching shifts and not being productive.
No set start times but am limited to a 14 hour day in which only eleven can be used for driving. 70 hour week.
Today started at eight. Drove 24 miles, found load had been delayed til ten pm.
Clocked out, blinged three of the six Alcoas with the rotary, showered, caught a nap and light supper. In eleven minutes I'll hook up to the trailer, close the doors and will be Portland bound from Pomona Ca.
Did I mention that I mostly get to sleep while my new to me team driver is behind the wheel?
Anyhoo, good luck and best wishes.
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So DOT will let you do 11 hour days now VT? Kewl. When I was keeping up with my "Lie Book", ahem... "LOG Book" 12 years ago it was 12 on, 10 driving (unless extreme weather or traffic of course). MAN DID I HATE THAT DARNED THING!

Most of the time I was just local, but BECAUSE I did dealer trades every few weeks, or sometimes it may have been a couple months between them I always had to keep one updated. Well.... either that or spend an hour the day before I left town filling one out for the last 30 days. :rolleyes: ;)

Darned Ga PSC tried getting me one day on I-675. My truck (even though it had a 19.5K rear axle on 26K springs and a 8K front on 11K springs was derated to 25995 so that in and of itself saved me from the CDL. But I also had a triple axle, 41' tag trailer with three 7K axles under it. The guy that built it asked me what rating I wanted on it and told him to put 9998 on it. That'd allow me to pull 2 cars of any size and not go over.

Well that day I had a F250 on the bed (19.5 aluminum rollback) and a 80" stretch limo on the trailer. The jerk pulled me over and did the whole "safety inspection" then and there. Went through everything with a fine toothed comb. Couldn't find anything, (except the tag on the trailer wasn't visible) and he CLAIMED I needed a 12V breakaway on the brake system. (elec brakes). Which btw the law didn't require till 2 years after that trailer was built. That jerk kept me on the side of the road for THREE HOURS, on scales, off scales, you name it.

Thing is the trailer didn't have a GVWR tag on it, just a VIN plate. Again, it wasn't required the year of manufacturer by THAT builder. Finally put an "Out of Service" sticker on me and said I couldn't move it. (I was delivering the vehicles to my customer on the north side of Atlanta.) I told him there was NO WAY I was leaving my customers limo, much less my $10,000 custom trailer sitting on the side of the road. Then I asked him WHO COULD move the trailer? To which he replied, "It will have to be towed by a tow truck." SERIOUSLY!!!!!!! I'm driving a Medium Duty GMC 6500 CAT power 19.5' rollback with polished Alcoas, stainless everywhere, custom paint head to toe, 8 way strobe bar, every safety light known to man and he's telling me that a TOW TRUCK is the only thing that can pull the trailer. :doh: :dunno: :doh:

We got his Captain on the phone and I heard him saying "Is the trailer over 10,000 pounds?" the officer was saying, "Well no sir", "Is it a safety hazard?" "Well no sir", "Is it missing lights?" "Well no sir"...... finally I said LOOK, I'm going to turn around in the median here, I'm going back to my lot and park it there, if you want to follow me that'd be a good thing, yes?

So he followed me back and finally went and hassled somebody else.
Next day I delivered the load! :laughing:
 
I put aluminum foil in the window to keep the room dark and don't eat right before bed.
 
I have been on third shift for 23 years 10 to 6. It has to be made into a life style. sleep early, no caffine after three in the morning, no phone in the bed room, no tv in the morning, dont try to go to bed hungry, and dont let Dayshift people keep you on their agenda. Best of luck Jonathan
Ps i still have 9 years before i can retire
 
Working over nights stink but you do get use to it.. I use to go to class from 6pm-10pm then worked at FedEx overnight.
 
Looks like I maybe going to days in couple of weeks yaaay 6am to 3pm gives me more detailing time

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I work 12am to 8am. I stay up till 4pm with the kids .then when the wife comes home I go to bed. A dark room and ear plugs help but really after being up all that time I find it easy to fall asleep.
 
forgive my lack of reading this thread...this may have been suggested

Melatonin 10mg can buy any store that sells natural supplements

this is a natural substance produced by the body to help sleep.. take this and you will be asleep within 30 mins. I have had troubles sleeping because I'm constantly thinking about ideas I have and whatnot.
 
one beer and some nyquil put me right out when i worked nights...

i know, crazy right, but it was hard for me to get a good sleep during the day too. i used to do a 12 hour night bit.
 
Just one more week on night shift yaaay

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Not that great plus haven't detailed much cos of it. Now being on days detailing will be easier

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Been on swing shifts for 7 years I had a tough time at first but eventually got use to it. It will probably get easier for you. I will try to stay on somewhat of a night shift schedule on my off time between night shifts so it's not hard getting back on track. I also take melatonin sometimes to help me sleep bc it doesn't make me groggy when I get up.

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I have been night shift almost exclusively for the last 10 years. I would echo Mike Phillips and Imacanyone"s advice. Routine is key.

For me, I had to adjust my eating habits. I am a thin framed guy and gained 20lbs the first year (not adjusting my diet and lack of routine). That scared me to the core on how easy it was for me to pick up weight (especially that I had been the same weight more or less since my high school days in the 1980's).

So for me,
*establish a proper sleep routine (Go to sleep immediately when I get home)
*Make time to work out (I go to the gym 3 to 4 times a week)
*Adjust your eating habits. I finish my last meal before 8pm. I drink water throughout the night and 1 cup of coffee about 3 hours before the end of my shift.
*Finally, understand that while you can adjust your habits to fit into this schedule you will always fight your body's natural tendency to want to sleep (we are diurnal animals not nocturnal)
 
been working night shift for 5 years here. keeping to a routine is what gets me through.

the ONLY good thing for me is my car is in the garage during the heat and sun(Florida) of the day. it also misses most of the summer storms. i leave at 10:30pm and return around 8am. so at least it seems to stay cleaner longer.
 
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