Working the Graveyard shift and sleep patterns.... suggestions PLEASE!!!

working in a graveyard shift is not that easy. we all know that whatever we do, our body clock will still recognize the normal way of sleeping at night. it's a tough job to be awake in the wee hours of night & to be asleep in the sunny hours of the day. i've been working in a graveyard shift for almost 3 years now & believe me although i'm used to it already, i'm still having problems especially when we transition to our days off. some tips i could give are the ffg: since our body associates dark to sleeping, try to make your room a bit darker. doing this, you could fool your eyes & body that it's already night time. if you have kids or family members in the house, they should be advised not to disturb you. arriving your house after work & you feel really sleepy, go to bed immediately & try not to fight it off. make sure though you have food in your stomach. or if you're not yet sleepy after work, make yourself busy -- login to mylot & if your eyes are kinda stressed try to get some sleep. also try taking vitamins & drinking milk before going to bed -- not only will it help you release the stress but feel refreshed when you wake up. there are still many ways that you can do, try to be creative. also, with this kind of working hours we can't remove the fact that we will get 8 full hours of sleep. there are times that you can get this 8 hours in a broken manner -- like 5 hours then another 2 or 1 hour after some minutes. it's hard i know but we really need to adapt. one more thing, you also need to check transitioning of day off. during your day off your body won't resist sleeping at night & with this you will be having more problems sleeping when your shift is to start. at times during my 1st day for the week i won't even have sleep at all. so in any case that you have 2 days off, try to cope on the 1st day off by sleeping at night & the 2nd day off to prep you for your next shift. happy mylotting!

I never was able to adjust to the graveyard shift and eventually had to give it up. There are some medications that you can take that will help you sleep although make sure that you will be able to drive while on them. Some of the advice I got from a night-shift veteran was this. 1. Invest in blinds that shut out the daylight. 2. When you get off work don't go right to bed - treat it like a day job by working, staying up for six or so hours and then go to bed. When you get up it will be time to go to work. 3. Make sure that you find time to be in the sun. This has an enormous effect on your mental state and can make the difference between being able to handle the job or not. 4. Let your family know when you will be sleeping so that they don't call. People don't realize how much rest is needed when you work at night. They wouldn't want you to call them to chat at 3:30 AM. Good luck!!!!!

I work the graveyard shift, I just started this in April of this year and it was new to me at first I couldn't sleep either, now it is much easier. I get off at 7:00 in the morning, I live alone so really it is no problem for me. I have the bedroom real dark I put a heavy dark cover over the window , this room have only one window, I usually wake up around 11:30 -12:00 am. I get up and do my daily routine, then around 4:00 pm I lay back down in the dark room, I have the telephone turned down real low. I get up around 8:30-9:00pm and I am out the door at 10:00 pm. I don't have any problems getting sleepy at work. I work from 11:00 pm -7:00am. I really don't like the graveyard shift, it was given to me I didn't have a choice. I will be out of a job at the end of the year the company is closing, 176 people will be out of a job.

First thing is to get backto a regular shift if possible. If not possible, then try to get the atmosphere in your bedroom as close to what it is at night. That is keep the curtains drawn, keep the room quiet and dark, Pick up a really boring book and try to read it before you fall asleep.

I work a midnight shift so I can relate. It took a while for me to adapt to it too, but you will eventually adapt. Look at the reasons as to why you aren't sleeping - is the room to bright or is it too loud? Also, talk with your doctor, they will be able to give you meds to help you destress and help you sleep. This is only done for a short time until you adapt. Chances are your stress and emotional state is related to your lack of sleep. Finally, set a pattern to your day. Have a set time to wake up and go to bed, this should make the tranistion easier.

If you are working in an I.T. Field and using computer, then I would suggest you not to sleep imediately after work. We must not sleep immediately after working in computer for 3 hours as our eyes need to get exposed to the natural environment. Our biological clock is designed to sleep at night and hence it will take time for you to adjust with the grave yard shifts. My suggestion is, after your working shift, try to exercise for 15 to 20 minutes and stay awake for the next 5 hours and then goto sleep. Once you get up, you can immediately go for work and if you practise this, i am sure you will not be facing the night shift problems. Some of my friends who work in night shifts follow this process and they are able to maintain a balanced sleep. Thanks for starting this discussion and have a great day. Happy Mylotting. Cheers:-)