Cheeky Monkey
Well-known member
- Jul 17, 2003
- 23,033
My dad did nights all his working life, is 77 and never had any of those. 'Can' being the key word in your post looney.
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[Misc] Night shift. Advice please...
- Thread starter The Clamp
- Start date
My dad did nights all his working life, is 77 and never had any of those. 'Can' being the key word in your post looney.
Same here,take 4 days holiday and get 12 days off, 8 days holiday and get 20 days off.
Managed to get a great sleep and eat pattern. I manage to get 7 or 8 hours sleep, tend to feel a bit washed out when I get up but a fag, cup of tea and a bit of Countdown soon sorts that out.
looney
Banned
- Jul 7, 2003
- 15,652
Some people can cope well with it and some cant. Its a genetic disposition like losing your accent when moving abroad, some do some don't. Still a lot do, I have known so many people who have done shift rotations who struggle without the regular routine and begin to balloon in weight. sleep deprevation cause many peoples appetites to spike through lack of energy because of loss of sleep not food and they compensate in the wrong manner, by consuming sugar products.
Cheeky Monkey
Well-known member
- Jul 17, 2003
- 23,033
Nights certainly aren't for everyone, and some people are arguably more biologically geared to them than others. I'm lucky in that I don't get particularly tired on nights, coffee being no good to me in any case because I don't have 'the coffee gene' (coffee doesn't work for me).
vegster
Sanity Clause
- May 5, 2008
- 27,886
My mates co worker died a couple of weeks ago, did night shifts with him for about 15 years, died of a heart attack aged 47.
banjo
GOSBTS
Not sure if it’s the same guy. Initials ML??
- Thread starter
- #47
I'm on fixed shifts. Clearly there is a right way to do it and a wrong way. I'm fairly healthy anyway and do lots of walking etc. On my days off I am outside as much as possible, soaking in the rays and reminding myself the real world is out there still. I'm also lucky in that my colleagues are genuinely good guys so there is a social aspect to being at work too. It's early days yet so I will see how it goes. And as mentioned 4 days leave will get you 12, 8 will get you 24. That's good in anyone's book.
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looney
Banned
- Jul 7, 2003
- 15,652
Yoiks. I remember reading research that was done on a US Police force who were doing 6 hour rotational shifts and adding in that is a high stress job anyway, once the research was shown to the force they junked the rotational patterns. The more stress the job entails the worse the impact also.
Worse I dont know of any companies that coach staff of the risks, I have done similar a couple of times, neither gave any advice and most managers were oblivious of the risk Employees were blaming the coffee machine for ill health among staff! also so many put on weight.
- Thread starter
- #49
My work can get very high stress at times but can also be extremely quiet for hours. It's something I will be keeping a close eye on.
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looney
Banned
- Jul 7, 2003
- 15,652
The fact you've come on here for advice tells me your management are crap or the HR staff or both. You need some counter for stressful periods, time of or shift swap system etc.
- Thread starter
- #51
I genuinely wouldn't say that. They are a very good company, constant welfare checks, regular site visits and have offered advice and support for a night shift lifestyle. I came here mainly because I wanted a few ideas about what works for others.
Mark Mywords
New member
- Jun 21, 2016
- 34
Spot on Looney. 30 years of shift work and I'm a bloater. Can't wait to retire and get back to my old fighting weight, just can't do it when on shift.
Two things above all reset your body clock, - light and food. You need to try and avoid sunlight at times when you need to sleep and you should try not to eat in those times. With food you need to establish a clear routine of two or three meals a day where you only eat at the ‘new’ time of day. You will have to force yourself to start with, but if you are disciplined your body will start to adapt. Also try and make sure you get plenty of blue/white light during the subjective ‘day’. Taking melatonin when you want to sleep helps some people, but I’m not personally sure it makes a huge difference. You can’t get it in this country, but it’s available online and over the counter in many countries - such as the US.
happypig
Staring at the rude boys
Funnily enough (not that funny really), tonight might be my last night shift for a while, perhaps for ever. I have developed an eye condition and it's much worse at night so I will probably be stopping nights until it clears up (IF it clears up, there's some thought that it might be a chronic condition).
jakarta
Well-known member
A long long time go in a Galaxy far away (well all right it was Widnes in the early 1990's) I had to do 7 days a week 12 hour nights as part of a project doing 24 hour monitoring of emissions from a New Plant we were commissioning.
As this involved the possibility of unleashing some nasty carcinogens, Hydrogen Bromide and even Phosgene on the good people of Widnes it was all serious stuff. Collecting and logging samples from process streams every hour, the shift didn't exactly race by. Lasted just under a month but got some serious TOIL (essentially almost five weeks extra holiday).
As an Old School Chemical site we had 600 plus employees and a proper Works Canteen. Everyone on the night shift piled in for a Full English Breakfast and then went home, the most bizarre way of finishing your working day ever!
I'm glad it was on a Project basis as it didn't agree with me. Funnily enough Offshore Night work a few years never bothered me and as soon as the Rigs got Internet access it was actually more pleasant and peaceful than day work. Mind you there is not much difference between day and night in January on the North Sea...
As this involved the possibility of unleashing some nasty carcinogens, Hydrogen Bromide and even Phosgene on the good people of Widnes it was all serious stuff. Collecting and logging samples from process streams every hour, the shift didn't exactly race by. Lasted just under a month but got some serious TOIL (essentially almost five weeks extra holiday).
As an Old School Chemical site we had 600 plus employees and a proper Works Canteen. Everyone on the night shift piled in for a Full English Breakfast and then went home, the most bizarre way of finishing your working day ever!
I'm glad it was on a Project basis as it didn't agree with me. Funnily enough Offshore Night work a few years never bothered me and as soon as the Rigs got Internet access it was actually more pleasant and peaceful than day work. Mind you there is not much difference between day and night in January on the North Sea...
Chief Wiggum
New member
- Apr 30, 2009
- 518
I did 25 years of shift work - earlies, lates and nights (seven nights in a row once a month). I used to find early shift the worse as it was a 6 am start which meant waking at 4.30 am, right in the middle of your deepest sleep.
I think every person has a different reaction to night shifts, but there is some very good advice on this thread and you will have to find out what works best for you. Coming off a set of nights onto a rest day was always shit though - just like jet lag.
Personally I found the following useful:
Eat a full normal evening meal before work
I never ate during the night but always had a light 'breakfast' in the morning before bed.
Make sure you drink plenty of water during the night. Yellow piss smelling of bacon is not a good sign ....
Avoid snacking or eating shit food (kebabs etc) during the night.
If possible try to snatch a cat nap or two.
Find the routine that works for you and be disciplined with it
Apparently night shifts take years off your lifespan, so whatever we try we're all ****ed anyway!
I think every person has a different reaction to night shifts, but there is some very good advice on this thread and you will have to find out what works best for you. Coming off a set of nights onto a rest day was always shit though - just like jet lag.
Personally I found the following useful:
Eat a full normal evening meal before work
I never ate during the night but always had a light 'breakfast' in the morning before bed.
Make sure you drink plenty of water during the night. Yellow piss smelling of bacon is not a good sign ....
Avoid snacking or eating shit food (kebabs etc) during the night.
If possible try to snatch a cat nap or two.
Find the routine that works for you and be disciplined with it
Apparently night shifts take years off your lifespan, so whatever we try we're all ****ed anyway!
daveinprague
New member
I used to enjoy it at American Express. Not seeing the managers for weeks for a start. It is hard to explain to family that after you wake up in the evening after your sleeping day, a roast chicken dinner doesnt make for the best breakfast.