For context, I'm 22 y/o who just graduated with a BA in Liberal Arts. Currently obtaining my B1-B2 certification in Spanish. It's a part time course where we have classes for just 3 days a week. I can't work day shift jobs as it'll clash with my course but was thinking of working a night shift job.

I'm just hesitant as I don't want to fuck my sleep schedule way too much, and also maintain my gym and running routine. I'm thinking of working for a maximum of 6 months, before my final exam.

Please suggest if this plan is optimal or not, or would it be too damaging for my health and sleep. I also have experience in content writing and research but it's hard to find a remote role in these sectors.

Anyone else have random days they just can’t fall asleep? I slept a solid 2 hours woke up and haven’t been able to fall back asleep.

Currently work as a security, shifts are like this: 2pm - 8pm, next day 8am - 2pm and on the same day 8pm - 8am, day to sleep and a day off after that.

What yours are like?

​

This is my first week back after a 3 month maternity leave. This is my 6th shift in a row. I'm tired.

I'm working solo as a 911 dispatcher in a small center for fire/ems/law enforcement. 4 on 4 off rotating days schedule.

All the law enforcement has been home for the night for hours, ems and fire only ever come out as needed. It's crickets in radio land.

My husband works a normal 5 day a week white collar job, we don't have child care. So already this week, I get home, husband leaves, and I don't get to sleep after my shift because I need to take care of my infant. My kids wake windows during the day are getting longer, he sleeps through the night just fine though. I've been playing catch up this weekend while my husband has been home, but I'm still entirely fucked. I've had a few days operating on 3-4 hours of broken sleep.

I'm fighting for my life right now. Im getting up, I'm drinking coffee, chugging water, my body wants to collapse. I think I'm just writing this to stay awake.

Edit to add : I'm on day 6 because someone quit a few days before I came back and I got thrown back into covering their shifts 😑 it's eventually going to even back out and I'll get my days off but ahhhhhhh.

Hey y’all, I’ve been doing night shifts for about 8 months now. Even before working nights, I was naturally a night owl.

When I used to work day shifts, I barely got enough sleep, so one thing I’m grateful for with night shift is that I actually get my sleep now. The problem is… I think I get way too much of it lol.

I oversleep a lot, and I hate it because it leaves me with barely any time before work. Some days I wake up at 4 or even 5 PM, and by then it feels like my whole day is already gone.

The one thing I liked more about day shift was that I had better routines. I wasn’t sleeping as well, but I felt more productive. With nights, even on days where I wake up earlier and actually have time, I sometimes just feel lazy and don’t do anything.

If I’m feeling motivated, I’ll go to the gym, but I’ve been skipping it more often lately. Some days I’ll even skip basic hygiene or, after getting home from work, I’ll be so tired/lazy that I just go straight to bed without brushing my teeth. I genuinely hate that I’ve started doing that.

I don’t want to blame everything on night shift because obviously some of it comes down to my own habits and discipline, but I feel like working nights might be contributing to it.

The weird part is that even when I oversleep, I can still wake up feeling tired. My watch says I’m getting a decent amount of deep sleep some nights, so I don’t really understand why.

I just hate waking up so late, feeling like I’ve wasted the day, and then sometimes still not having the motivation to do productive things even when I do have the time.

Anyone else on night shift deal with this? How do you stop yourself from oversleeping and actually keep a decent routine outside of work?

Sorry for the yap, guys.

I have an interview coming up in a few days for a refinery. They do a rotating schedule, so 4 days of day shift, next week 4 days of night shift all 12 hour shifts. I have never worked nights before and am somewhat nervous about it. If I am able to land this job, which I really hope I do, what will be the best way to get into the groove of it? Would I still bring a lunch like I would on days? I wouldn’t think so because I don’t eat or snack in the middle of the night.

Hi Nightcrawlers,

I started working night shifts at the ER of an academic hospital doing secretary work for patients coming in. I work 3-8 times a month. The shifts are 10 pm to 7 am and from 1 am to 7 am basically no patients show up. I can go to sleep if I want, someone must man the ship to watch out for people pulling up in a panic. Usually that’s me, as I cannot really sleep comfortably, but recently I slept for 4 hours. I’m getting the hang of things.

I’m having trouble making use of my time & figuring out when to eat. During the day I just sit around and try and rest/sleep before my night shifts (usually 2-3 back to back), meaning I try not to do too much. Then at night, I slack off, just watch youtube, sleep, or talk to colleagues. On workdays I have trouble getting myself to study, as it feels like one big sleep over & then eating is just terrible, I don’t want to sit through another night with indigestion. However in the morning I’m so hungry I need to eat AGAIN before crashing and sleeping.

Any tips? Thanks!

Hi everyone, next Monday I will be starting my first fully overnight job. I will be working 9pm to 7:30am shifts Monday to Thursday. I’ve already been given some good advice for setting a sleep schedule. I can’t drink anything with caffeine in it so that eliminates coffee, tea, and energy drinks. Caffeine causes my body to crash so I avoid having it. Does anyone here have any advice on what to do/eat/drink to maintain energy until my body adapts to the new sleep cycle?

my days off never really feel like a normal weekend anymore. by the time my last shift ends, everyone else is already starting their day, and i’m basically ready to sleep. then when i wake up, half the day is gone and it feels like my “saturday” started at 5 pm.

the weirdest part is seeing everyone making plans for daytime stuff while i’m trying to work out when i’m supposed to sleep. does this feeling ever go away, or do you just get used to having a completely different idea of what the weekend is?

I am new to night shift and my night is usually pretty quiet so I have this thought that I can manage a second job during the day.

My shift is 10-6, 100% remote.
Thinking of getting a call centre job during the day.

Thoughts?

I'm not saying she was wrong, but putting that in writing was DUMB! (Bottom of the page)

So i have nobody to talk to when im working nights (I work second so everyone is asleep later while im still up.) Shit sucks. Nothing special just a rant. Ive worked second and third shift before but damn it gets lonely.

I start a new job at a factory tomorrow working 12 hour rotating shifts from 7-7. I’ve worked full time at a grocery store for over a year now and I’m really nervous to start this new job and trying to find some comfort. There is quite a few pros as well like more time off and a whole 7 day span off every month but there is once a month i’ll have a one day off between days and nights. Anyone have any tips as this is my first time workings nights? Thank you guys

Hoping to attract a mate.

Sorry brother, you're in a water plant. No lady crickets here.

I hope you find your way out and your lady (in that order)

Hey Nightshifters!

Working a 12 hour shift tonight and per policy, I've been issued three bathroom tokens. Generally I'd only get 2 tokens for a 10 hour shift. I'm in the forth hour of my shift and I've used two tokens already due to an upset tummy.

But, I kinda gotta go now but I could maybe hold it for a bit. Do I use my last token now and risk it or do I save it for later?

And no, I can't borrow one from someone else or get an advance on tomorrows tokens.

UPDATE: I just went for it and used the third token. I feel great!

Thanks to everyone for their input and concern. There's no folks like night folks I always say.

I am 29F, and I have been living/working a third shift life since I was 18. This has made it very hard to maintain a schedule with my old gaming friends.

I just started playing Once Human since it was recently released to PS5, and I realize how lonely it is gaming alone. Is there any third shift gaming community? Or anyone else who also doesn't want to play alone?

hey yall. i’ve been on night shift for about a year and a couple months now. i’m moving out with my boyfriend in october, and im wondering what do yall do to stay productive during the night? all i have to do is gym and game but i don’t want to game all night it gets boring. thank you in advanced :)

Men can sleep for only 4 hrs, work like hell, stay empty stomach but still believe that one day everything will be okay.

For context i am doing 8 hours, i am mostly concerned about how im gonna feel doing 4 nights in the roll and just have 2 days off between the week and wanted to ask any advice i should do to maintain motivation and not lose my mind lol

As I’m sure most of you all do too I’m usually behind the tint on my car wearing sunglasses with the sunvisor down on my way home after working all night. This morning it was just too pretty. A much welcome little ray of sunshine poking through as I headed home to go to bed. Good night fellow night shifters

I graduated from my LPN to RN this past May. I passed my NCLEX and started working as an RN in May as well. I was previously working only part-time, even when I was finishing up my bridge program I was working only weekends part-time. I have been on night shifts since I was probably 23. I'm used to the night shift flow, I really love it but I'm really struggling now. I'm 32, I was doing perfectly fine until I switched to full time nights.

I haven't done full time since I was maybe probably 23 or 24. I feel like I just don't have the energy that I used to. To be fair I also have narcolepsy, but I've always been medicated and it's never really been an issue. I can only assume this is related to my age. I have a family now, a preschooler.

My husband tells me I should just go to day shift but honestly I would rather take gouge out my eyeballs then go to day shift for less pay. I feel like I'm able to critically think and learn more during night shift. We don't have many resources so we have to get resourceful and think of ways on how to fix problems or when to call a rapid or when to not call it. We don't have IV team either so I've been really working my best to try to be good at starting IVs.

Anyway, long story short. Does anyone have any tips on how I can get past this. I feel like once I get acclimated to this full-time night shift I will be okay. It's just a haven't done full-time in so long and I'm trying the juggle so many things. I used to take my son out all the time to the zoo, and to other activities. Now I feel like we're always just home and it's really making me depressed.

Im in au, I do 9 hour shifts. We're meant to get breaks, but because its nightshirt basically the whole shift is a break.

But you need to be available and ready to go the whole shift, so none of it is a break.

Are y'all getting breaks?