Working nights....can't sleep during day

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gebbel

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I work 6 weeks of nights every 3 months. Monday to Thursday night inclusive 39 hours in total. I`m in the middle of them at the moment. The problem is I cannot sleep any more than 3 or 4 hours in the day. I get home at 9am and hit the sack at 9.30. I never sleep past 2pm. I am wrecked all week. I was told to get sleeping tablets but I don`t want to form a dependency on them. Others have advised taking a syrup called "Night Nurse" which I think is for coughs but makes you very drowsy.
Is there something I can do to get a bit more sleep!!
 
Re: Working nights....can`t sleep during day

There is no solution to working nights. I used to do it a couple of years back and would do everything to prevent myself being in that situation again.

Some people seem to cope ok with them but if your not, try and switch to another shift at the earliest opportunity. I had similar experiences in that working the nights themselves wasnt too bad - but there was absolutely no value in my time off as i was going around like a zombie. Up all night cos i couldnt sleep.

Working nights goes against human nature. There are no tablets or potions that are going to change that.
 
Re: Working nights....can`t sleep during day

you could try the air hostesses remedy - melatonin, other things to make sure you have sorted are black out curtains for your room and noise levels ... best bet as Seretoninsid says is to try and not work them if you can't rejig your body clock easily, it doesn't suit everyone. Also try to split your day's sleep into more than one chunk - it might be more hassle but it may give you more rest if you get up when you wake up for a few hours and then go back to bed for one or two later.
 
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Re: Working nights....can`t sleep during day

My solution for working nights was to try and fully switch around the day - normally when you get home from work you have your dinner, have a drink, watch telly, do some gardening, then go to bed about 8-9 hours before you are due to get up for work. As I was only working a week (7 nights) of nights every 5 weeks, it didn't matter too much to me that I was losing out on the evenings.

You need a very dark and cool room to sleep in aswell.

The important thing is not to try and work the four nights in one time zone, and then try and revert to normal times at the weekend - I reckon you have to stick to the night shift for the full five weeks, otherwise your body hasn't a clue what time it is!
 
Re: Working nights....can`t sleep during day

Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately it`s in my contract that I have to work them. I agree that we are all designed to sleep at night and work days, not the opposite. I would not mind so much however if I could get maybe 6 hours sleep during the day. I always find at work, around 4-6am, I can barely communicate which makes it very tough to do my job effectively.
 
Re: Working nights....can`t sleep during day

Some of the points made here regarding sleep for shift workers might help.
 
Re: Working nights....can`t sleep during day

Cut out caffiene for a few hours before the end of shift,wear sunglasses on the way home to fool the eyes into thinking it is evening,wear soft ear plugs in bed,get the room as dark as possible,these work for me but not for everyone.
 
Re: Working nights....can`t sleep during day

I worked an 80 hour a week night shift once a month, I thought it was great, If you want the extra hours in bed, try taping black bags to the windows it works, I do the same thing in the summer for my two kids, it keeps them asleep a little longer in the morn, there two and three
 
Re: Working nights....can`t sleep during day

Camomile tea, eye mask and good ear plugs maybe?
 
I worked a summer of nights, it killed me to see the beautiful weather as I was heading home and to bed.
As you've said you have no choice and have to work nights as it's in your contract, so try an make the best of the situation.
I agree with the weekend suggestion, just embrace your new lifestyle for the time being and stay up late on weekends and sleep in as late as possible.
And if there's someone else working nights, maybe you could even go out and do something in the morning.
A cool dark place is important and earplugs and an eye mask took some getting used to but really do the trick.
Also make sure to have something to eat before you got to bed, even if it's just some toast, the last thing you want it to get woken up a few hours later because you're hungry.
Good luck,
ad
 
A black out blind, eye mask & ear plugs. In the winter I used to time the electric blanket to come on about 6 in the morning, then turned it off when I got in at 8:30. Def have something to eat and go to the loo, so neither of these things will wake you. Lads I worked with swore by Night Nurse, but I was afraid I'd get addicted! I think there is codeine in it!
 
addob said:
I worked a summer of nights, it killed me to see the beautiful weather as I was heading home and to bed.
Click to expand...

Has`nt been much of a problem this summer :) . Thanks for all the tips. I finished work at 7am this morning. That`s me for the week. That was week 5 of 6 weeks so only 1 more week of nights left thank god!! The best thing about this shift for me is the long weekends...I`m not in again till 10pm om Monday night. This week I slept an average of just under 5 hours a day. It can`t be good for body or mind working this shift. Where I work there are employees who have worked only nights for 25 years. I always think they have aged prematurely and have a more gaunt expresssion than they should. Or maybe it`s just the lack of natural light who knows!
 
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