I’m on 50mg of Amitriptyline to knock me out, and stop me from waking up if I roll over on my shoulder. Makes you a bit groggy when you wake up, but it helps me sleep

Sometime around 1-2am I used to click over into ‘night mode’, find your tipping point and go to bed before then otherwise it’s wide awake until 7am.

I hate this. The weekend after nightshift I will go to bed tired and, like a switch, at 1-2am I will wake up and be instantly wide awake. Just like tonight 😕

My shifts are completely random. I can have 4 different shifts in the space of 5 days, ranging from 0430 starts to 2315 finishes – totally destroys me. But I think ‘proper’ overnight shifts would actually kill me.

Sorry, no advice, just sympathy with how crappy shift work is for your health and wellbeing.

Hope you get a routine sorted OP.

A Buff makes a comfortable, effective eye mask.

I work shifts, two days, two afters, two nights then four off. I’d love to give you some tips and advice but I don’t think my body will ever get used to the chopping and changing all the time. Done it for fourteen years and got another fourteen to go before I can retire at fifty five. I guess permanent nights would help. Sleep when you can and just accept that your non shift working other half will never understand!

You are all on time and a half?
Because this thread isn’t really selling shift work!

Sometime around 1-2am I used to click over into ‘night mode’, find your tipping point and go to bed before then otherwise it’s wide awake until 7am.

I hate this. The weekend after nightshift I will go to bed tired and, like a switch, at 1-2am I will wake up and be instantly wide awake. Just like tonight

I do that an awful lot, get exhausted physically and mentally, cant keep my eyes open, then get to bed, and 10 minutes later I’m well awake and stay like that most of the night.

I’ve been thinking its elevated cortisol levels

its no good going to bed when youre not sleepy. better get up until you are

google diuretic and check everything you eat. Lemon balm and ginger may make you sleepy, but if that also makes you piss thats not for you

MrSmith – Member
You are all on time and a half?
Because this thread isn’t really selling shift work!

There are lots of advantages to shift work. I do 2 days, 2 nights, 4 off. Get paid quite well. I only work half of the days per year. 182 – 24 days holiday. So for 4 days holiday I’m away from work for 12 days. I get to see my kids a lot. Take Boy2 to school and pick him up again. Do the housework and get to ride 3 days a week when everyone else is at work.

Compared to day workers, Monday to Friday, 260 days a year – 25 days holiday, ish, plus bank holidays. 227 days. 5 on, 2 off. And then they get to go everywhere on the weekend when everyone else is there.

Swings and roundabouts, but it suits me.

I love a compressed work week, get lots more time to do stuff and once the school hols start see lots more of the kids

Hi all
I work 12 hrs 4on 4 off, 7 sets then 18 day break with 5 pay back days, sounds great butbhere I am in bed on a Saturday afternoon getting avfew hours priorbto my first night. Wife works full time so her weekend and minevdont coincide which means she doesnt get a proper weekend either
the thing is I look forward to nights as no management (senior) about so can do our jobs.

Been doing shifts for 26years, 53 this year, slow heart rate on thyroxin so will need a change soon

It WAS great when I 1st started with the prison service. Get in for about 7.30pm, do what needed doing & get your head down by 10, usually to be woken at 6 for a radio check. Go home at 7.30 for a lie down. Or a ride on the bike. 😆

Not nowadays, you get in for 7.30pm to find there’s 3 shitting up down the seg, 2 more smashing up on A wing, an ambulance is on the way for some crank who’s gone under on spice, 3 more need Listeners & the electrics are off on D wing cos someone’s been trying to charge a phone!
Sleeping after nights in HMPS isn’t usually a problem these days.

Blackout curtains/blinds.
Earplugs.
No caffeine during the shift.
Night Nurse.

Eat half a lettuce, knock one out then lash a whisky in.

Passed out in 10 mins.

If you wake up early stay in bed dozing, don’t get up until you have to.

Drink less if you have to keep getting up for a slash.

What’s the drive home like? Take it handy to keep the adrenalin down.

I was thinking about starting a new thread but then found this one.  Anyone else on nightshift right now?

Things are quite quiet for me at the moment.  Looking forward to getting home though.   2 1/2 hours left.

I used to work offshore so there wasn’t really much I could take to help with sleep.  Now I work onshore and I’ve discovered 5mg of valium and a decent sized whisky knocks me out in about 15 minutes. Let’s me sleep for almost the full 8 hours as well.

Did you know the WHO classes nightshift work as a carcinogen?  That’s a cheery thought.

I used to be really good at sleeping in my 20’s. Not so great now I’m 34 :/

I find I sleep best if I go straight to bed quickly after getting home.

Cannabis is very helpful too.

<waves> unusually Q one tonight here. Can’t wait to hit the sack; roll on 7am…

I’m lucky in that I’ve never had a problem sleeping during the day. My biggest challenge is waking up at a sensible time; I could get my head down at 0745, and easily still be dozing at 1700. Not good for the switch back to day living.

If I had to give one bit of advice, it would be that if you wake up too soon, don’t stress and worry about it; easier said than done I know. As soon as you start ‘thinking’ when you wake up, you’re done for. Be more zombie 🧟‍♂️

Drugs are just a bad plan, your body will want to sleep anyway so why push the issue.

Discovered recently that I do a lot better sleeping to 1600 so that’s the best part of 7 hours. No bother turning around either as I only do a a max of 4 nights at a time.

Not really.  If you’re awake until 08:00 then your body is telling you it’s time to be up and about, even if you’ve had no sleep for 30 hours.  You’ll get to sleep but you’ll be lucky if you manage more than a couple of hours before you’re awake again.  Then you spend the next few hours sort of half awake, half asleep.  It’s not quite so bad the next night and it gradually gets better the longer you do it but you’re in for at least a week of being a zombie.

When I was working offshore you couldn’t take anything but at least there was no commute and all your cooking and cleaning were done for you.  You didn’t have to worry about anything except work and if they’d run out of chocolate ice-cream.

Now that I’m onshore I’ve found that a valium and a whisky knock me out straight away and I can stay asleep for at least 6 hours.  I guess if you drank and took valium regularly then the effect wouln’t be the same but for me it works well.  After a day or two I’m switched over.

I work on harbour tugs and the shipping movements mean we work all sorts of horrific hours. I always struggle with working all night but generally have found that when we switch from days to nights, staying up for 24 hours helps with sleep the next day – I.e wake up 0900 and have day to ride, swan about etc, start work 2000 and finish at 0800, come home and have breakfast and in bed by 1000. Usually sleep through till 1400 then up.

I find a good fast 2 hour ride helps with sleeping – either before or after the day sleep. In the summer I’ll try and ride as soon as we finish then sleep. Winter time, sleep then up for a ride in the afternoon and possibly an hour’s kip before getting up to go to work.

We have the benefit of being able to cook on the boat so meals are done when at work which is helpful.

Loads of good advice in this thread but the harsh reality is you have to just figure out what works for you. Try to stay away from sleeping drugs etc unless really needed.

You need to work out what routines work for you. For me I got up early did all the “evening” things – cooking, movies etc then went to work, got back and slept.

Took a few weeks to get into and I had to keep the timetable through weekends.

I work 4 on 4 off (2 days, 2 nights 6-6). I find staying up late as possible then getting up early on my first night shift, go for a ride or do some house work then go back to bed and up a few hours before shift start works ok.

In 16 years of the prison service I never got to grips with it. It wasn’t too bad years ago when you got your head down by 11pm till 6am but then it all changed.

7 nights on the trot starting on Monday night & by Friday I was fubared. Best thing I found was a good glug of Nightnurse when I went to bed around 9am, but was still up by 12.00-13.00.

The only consolation was I was off for 7 days afterwards.