Been working night shift for a year and am falling apart!

[thegirl_00]

Has anyone else ever worked a night shift job for a long period of time? I'm not talking about shift work, because that is much different and is much better on the body. I'm talking about FULL TIME nights.

 

I am feeling extremely drained. I have huge black circles under my eyes and look about 5 years older then when i started the job (I'm only 21). Also... I feel as though I am on bed rest because i HONESTLY spend every second i have in bed. Mainly because I have trouble sleeping for more then 2 hours at a time, so I just lay in bed trying to sleep without any success. If I do manage to get out of bed to try and be social, I am extremely tired and feel extremely sick.

 

Yes, I make sure my room is PITCH black when I sleep. I am wondering what are some other idea's to cope with working nights... I have tried a few things but clearly they are not working.

[errrness]

Yah night shifts can be hard. I've been doing it for 8 months and I suffer from some of the same problems you do. Its hard for me to sleep and when I so sleep I feel like that is all I do. Its hard to have a normal life when ur awake when everyone else is asleep. I am extremely tired 24/7 no matter how much sleep I get. I did okay until I got to the 6 month mark and that is when I noticed more of the things mentioned above. The only thing I might suggest that helps me sleep is I work out when I get out of work, take a shower, then sleep. I dont think this is helpful but just wanted to let u know ur not alone.

[sidehop]

Night shift is bad period There are a lot of studies out there that associate various illness with night workers.

 

I've done it for close to a year in the past and I was always exhausted even though I was only 19 at the time. It's not the same, even if it pays more it's not worth it in my opinion.

[jony1234]

yea exercise after work can be helpful.. it might give you alitle rush at first but you will crash...

 

 

 

also if you drink coffee dont drink it all night ... it might make you have a hard job sleeping..

[anggrace]

The thought that stood out to me the most is your possible lack of sun. Sun is very therapeutic for us emotionally and physically. Do you ever take walks or spend time in it?

[Doc Blaze]

i didit for a while...i was going to college in the day..to tell tou the truth i felt like a zombie 24/7 i wasnt in a good mood at all and i dontknow hwo to example it like. when you work days you go home and relax, for people who work nights its like as soon as you get out you mentally count down till the next shift,, its like oh crap 8 hours till work again...i dunno...it sucks big time..i really hated it..i worked midnight shift for 3 years all together

[acfan]

I have worked nights and shift work most of my life. I have always had trouble sleeping and dealing with it. What has always made it worse is co-workers telling me that they are fine with 2 or 3 hours sleep and are up doing stuff. What I have found out is everyone is different and listen to your body. Nights are an unnatural state and they are very hard on your body and that is why it pays more and most people don't do it. The old term for nights is "graveyards" so, that should tell you something there. I also learned that the people who say they are fine with nights are usually sneeking off and taking naps somewhere and lying about that. I don't sleep at work, because it is wrong and I suffer through. I just want to validate your feelings and say I was tired when I was your age and still have trouble with it. My personality is better suited to nights, but my body is wearing down and I think I will have to change soon. Hang in there and remember it is YOUR life and body and take care of it.

[teabee]

This thread is a couple of months old but I'm reviving it to tack on my own question.

 

I have the opportunity to switch to the full-time overnight shift at my job. I only work part time right now because of school, but the semester is almost over so I was going to start looking for a second job anyway. If I can get full-time at my current job, it would save me the trouble of trying to find additional work plus having to coordinate 2 jobs.

 

We can sleep from 2am to 6am. For those of you who have worked night shifts, how much of a difference do you think those 4 hours of sleep would make in the longterm?? It seems like it would be better than nothing. I work that shift occasionally and it's not too bad once in awhile on the weekend, but I can't figure out if this is something I should take on full time.