I’m interviewing for a night shift position in a couple days and I’ve always worked 8-4 or 9-5. I’m a little scared of the idea though! I’m worried about seeing my family less because my sleep schedule will be totally different than theirs.
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<span style="color:#323232;"> So, night shift workers of the world, what has your experience been like and how do you manage being present in your family life?
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Look up "night shift belly." I did night audit at a hotel for a year and a half. By the end, I could only really stomach eating the kale salad from Whole Foods and not much else.
It also wrecked my social life and when I got sick, I got really sick, so I think my immune system was out of whack in general.
Like others have said, the commute is a dream. The shift itself is quiet with plenty of time to have deep conversations with any coworkers you may have, read, listen to podcasts, etc. It's like living in a different world.
I say give it a try, but listen to your body and find something else soon if your health is affected.
I did it for seven years. I recommend earplugs and a white noise machine when you sleep. Stick to a strict sleep schedule. Take lots of Vitamin D when you wake up. I was taking 5000 IUs a day when I was on overnights, it helped immensely.
I worked midnight to 8am as a security supervisor at a hospital. It was nice in some ways and awful in other ways. Honestly, all the ways it was awful occurred outside of the actual shift itself. It was harder to hang out with friends, I was always tired, I had to try to get tired and sleep while it was sunny out (blackout curtains and sunglasses on the drive home ftw), and the world was waking up while I was going to bed. It was hard on my relationship with my wife.
The shift itself was pretty great actually. The hospital was quieter at night. As a supervisor, I did have some issues with my guards falling asleep at desks or trying to hide and take naps. Two people got fired over it. But most of them were pretty good. One guy fell asleep while driving the patrol vehicle and crashed it into a gate. That was embarrassing for everyone and he ultimately lost his job (he didn’t admit to falling asleep, but we all suspected it - he was working two jobs and was perpetually tired). The best thing about the job was sneaking up onto the roof early in the morning on my patrols and watching the sun rise.
I worked graveyard shifts at a gas station for a year or two. My general experience beyond what other people have said–good commute, fucking with your social life, taking its toll on your body, all that–is that working graveyard shifts is lonely. I cannot understate how lonely it got; there were stretches of multiple hours where there were no customers at all, and it was just me and the long list of nightly chores I had to do (mopping floors, prepping food for breakfast rush, restocking shelves, etc., etc.). Not having any human contact at all fucks with your head something fierce, especially when you mix in sleep deprivation and your body rebelling against the normal sleep rhythm into the mix.
My advise is that if you’re going to be working night shift all alone, get into podcasts. Having a radio that I could use to listen to NPR was the main thing that kept me sane, because I could at least have a human voice to listen to and keep my mind somewhat engaged.
I loved being able to sleep in, do what I felt like doing during the day, and then going to work. I also enjoyed being alone at night.
It was hard on my body, though. I don’t think my brain ever fully adjusted, because on the weekends it was like my body tried to switch me back to a normal schedule (because I was hanging out with family and friends), and I had to re-adjust on Monday. It also doesn’t really work with dating. And I wanted to kill the landscaping people who would trim the hedges at my apartment complex at 10am.
Some people got it some people don’t. I cant function on nights. I did graveyard shift as hospital security supervisor (like another poster stated), also did 6 weeks rotation from days to nights as a deputy in county jail (living hell!) for a year.
Basically as others said. Black out curtains, melotin or sleep aid, sound machine, blue light filtering sunglasses, and consistent schedule is key. Also be careful of health because you will want to eat and drink coffee out of boredom or fighting sleep off.
I have delayed sleep phase disorder so I'm one of the ones who got it. Nights are amazing, I function so much better and feel so much more energetic.
But it's tough on your career. You will never move up working nights, because the faces the bosses see are there during the day. Sucks but that's how it is.
I grew up with a dad that regularly worked nights, and I worked nights for a few years when I first moved out. It will definitely mess with family plans, especially if you have young kids. Holidays and get togethers often mean getting less sleep so you can get up and travel or cook on a day shift schedule. Invest in a white noise machine or app if you aren’t a deep sleeper, and get a sleeping mask or blackout curtains.
Depending on what time you get off anything before early afternoon is now in the middle of the night for you. All your errands have to be run within the first hour or two after waking up, unless you want to try doing it at ass o’clock in the morning after working all night.
Despite the problems I honestly did enjoy working night shift, I’m a night owl anyway and night shifts are usually quieter. It also helps if you live in a large city with more 24 hour stores.
I did 4 years of nights. The real trick is being able to sleep during the day. So whatever ear plugs, face mask, blackout curtains you need, make sure they work for you. I generally would work up to it staying up until 2 AM, then 5 AM, then going to work. I believe that most people found that they had more time with their family because instead of being at work 8-12 hours during the day, they were only sleeping 6-7, and were home when their kids were getting up, going to school, coming home, etc.
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