The Graveyard Shift

[jaybird2001wi]

Does anyone, like me, work third shifts? I am just wondering how you folks who work third shift deal with ever changing sleeping patterns throughout the week to have a semblance of a functional life. I have worked third shift for more than three years now between two jobs (the first was an odd job in Whitewater where I was a demolition man at the WalMart store during their remodeling phase) and I find it hard to have a stable appetite and now I find myself eating six or seven small meals instead of 3 meals some days and then other days where I anticipate having to sleep longer, I find myself eating a huge 1000-1500 calorie meal in one sitting and then a smaller meal later on.

[BrewCrewForever]

I don't work 3rd shift during the week, but the radio station I work at on the weekends lately has me working the 12am to 6am Sunday morning shift. Alot of times that ruins my entire weekends thus screwing up my sleep patterns for the first few days of the week.

[dadofandrew]

You're going to feel a bit crappy and off if you don't keep a regular pattern. I'm incredibly refreshed since going to all days, and I just used to just work some days and some 12-9's. I've worked with several people who would take a second job a couple days a week working 3rd shift and without fail, their reliability suffered, more illness, more "bad days", more crabbiness. You can get past much of that with the proper attitude and training, but most people are not Army Rangers, nor do they want to be.

 

If you have to do it for your finances, well, you have to do it and suffer. If you do, your choices are to pretty much schedule sleep and follow it, or to feel bad much of your off time. I used to work 60-80 hours a week for 3 years or so, and sometimes, I was taking 12 credits as well. It was demanding, but other than not having much time to myself, it wasn't all that bad.

 

That said, I'm sure it was a lot easier at 23-25 than it would be now. The family time missed out on with my son would leave me feeling quite guilty right off the bat, for one thing. Of course, if the decision is losing your house or working crappy hours, most of us would choose to work odd shifts.

 

EDIT: I should mention that 20-40 hours of my week was delivering pizza, so it was one of the easier jobs out there. Even if it wasn't physically demanding, a whole lot of people could not handle the 5PM-4:30AM shifts either. I cringe when I recall I started at TRU as a storeroom guy, and spent my entire day on concrete...now, 60 minutes back there would have me in pain for a couple days.

[madbad2000]

I'm working "third shift" right now and did it for many years. I had good success doing this pattern. After your last night of work for the week (say Friday night), get about a 4 hour nap in on Saturday sometime before 5-6 pm. That way you are awake for most of the day time hours that everyone else is on. That night go to sleep like a normal person. Next day (Sunday), you are awake and then go to sleep like normal people. Monday wake up like normal and do whatever...I saved all my errands for Monday like laundry and grocery shopping so that you maximize your time on the weekend. Plus, shopping on Monday is great because everyone is at work. Take a nap that ends just before you work....so if you work at 9 pm....take a 4-5 hour nap that ends with you waking up at 8 or 8:30 pm, getting ready and heading to work. On a schedule like this you have a somewhat normal weekend that you can spend with your day working family and friends, can catch the games you want to see and even go out on Saturday night if you want. The nap on Monday night gets you rested enough to fully function on your first night of the week and allows you to be tired enough to sleep your full 8 hours during the day on Tuesday. It may sound rough but I've found that 4 hours is enough to get by and be fully functioning...once you get past 5 hrs and before 7 then I get tired and sluggish. Being in the Army has really helped me appreciate my sleep and has also given me a better understanding of my sleep patterns. As for your eating problem, all I can suggest is get on a schedule. If you do something like what I do, then it's easier to plan your meals with your sleep and be on a "schedule". That's the biggest key....get a rotation of food/sleep and go from there without interrupting your sleep and eating schedule drastically. Everything else will fall into place and your body will adjust to it and you'll find yourself less tired. Hope that helps.

[Baldkin]

To be honest, health people say eating 3 meals a day leads to your body retaining more fat than if you eat 6-7 smaller meals.

 

At least, thats what I keep being lectured.

 

So, maybe you're lucky in that regard.

[gypcasino]

I work in a 24/7 office and take it when I can get it. It goes by seniority and I'm usually the last one on the list that gets the Midnight-8:30 shift so if somebody with more seniority decides to take it I'm knocked off. I don't have much useful to add since my sleeping pattern is usually a mess. Sometimes I go to sleep right after work, sometimes I stay up until 4 or 5PM, sometimes if I'm busy the next day I grab an hour or two nap. I've been doing 3:30-Midnight the last several weeks but am switching to 8A-4:30P for awhile starting on Sunday.

[InsomniacInkRoss]

I spent last summer working 3:30am-9:30am

 

I lost weight and saved money because I never remembered to eat or when to eat, and never wanted to do anything but sleep

 

It was OK in the summer, i could never pull that in winter