h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: How To Survive 'Night' Shift - A13361618
Author: Matt [Help the AViators A13264670 fly] - U168592

Just a fun little Entry I lnocked up this morning. Comments, suggestions etc. as always

Ooo... a lickul typo

>>All in all, look after your body and it will oook after you. <<

oook = look

Who is feeling a tired boy today then?

Ah, I think I deal wiv dat problem.

Yeah, I tired

After 'Neighbours/pub/grandmas' would there need to be an apostrophe in grandmas as you probaby mean 'grandma's house' or something?

But great entry!

ah, Duly fixed

I confess!

I yawned when you mentioned yawning

tee hee

Argghhh! Nested footnotes! Run! Run for your lives!

Sorry.

Night work - something I know far too much about and have promised myself I'll never do again as long as I live. I used to enjoy it at first because my night job involved driving around London between about 11pm and 5am and, of course, there's next to no traffic at that time of the day I found that the coppers were often a lot more lenient regarding speed limits as long as a) you looked like you were a working vehicle and b) you weren't taking diabolical liberties. An extra five to ten mph over the limit would usually be overlooked. But towards the end of my 12-year stint I found increasingly difficult to drag myself off to work when both my body and my mind were screaming 'Bedtime' at me.

One thing sort of hinted at in the entry but not really expanded upon is this: if you're able to, start winding things down at work about an hour before you're ready to clock out. If you work in an environment with bright lights, lower them if you can to fool your mind into thinking that it's sunset. Change the kind of music you're listening to from grindcore/harcore punk/thrash to something a bit more soothing. And in these days of the Internet, perhaps stream Radio 4's Book at Bedtime

Vitamin C tablets can also help the body cope with night shifts, and some people on long-swing nights (7 or more consequtive shifts) find vitamin D helps - (have loads of margerine on your butties.)

"have loads of margerine on your butties"

And make them bacon butties

all, have added some of the ideas

I work the night shift, midnite till noon for 42-49 days straight, on a ship. Been doing this for 7 years...

A GOOD multi-vitamin is an absolute necessity! Strong coffee at wake up and Sleepy-Time, or chamomile (sp) tea at end of shift are also musts. The best thing I have found for sleeping after shift is a punishing exercise routine just before you hit the rack. I would reccomend sex as a much better alternative, but alas THAT is not available out here Also, avoid carbs as much as possible when on the night shift.

B_K, I've added a bit more now.

Good entry, Matt. :D Well amusing. Here's hoping it ends up in the Edited Guide.

I used to find that as long as I had something to do I was ok. Being in the Army there was always something to paint or polish when all else failed.

However in the job I did we almost never worked more than one night shift in a row, which really messed up my system.

Good tips though, and since I can't think of anything to add...

Chock-full of excellent information

One of my favourite night shift jobs was for a gas station - just me in a little 6 x 12 kiosk from 10 to 6. The worst part was that I had to inventory everything in it every night . Other than that it was great, except for the eerie time the power went out... (totally off subject, sorry)

A very persuasive reason people like to work nights (and the reason most of my "night shift" friends love it) is to avoid workplace politics.

On getting sick: we call them 'Mental Health Days'. That's when we call in because we're sick of work. (of course, we might throw in a cough or sniffle for "authenticity" when we call off).

A note about drugs - if you're not used to taking them use caution - more likely than not you will be unprepared for how they will affect your system. The first time I took a caffein pill I swore I'd never do it again. And I haven't.

Another method of getting through a night shift (also good for getting through exceptionally long day shifts - my shift is 13 hours) is to follow a routine. Don't look at a clock and lament that there are 6 hours left on your shift, instead try doing certain tasks at specific times, take breaks on schedule, even the peripheral stuff. On nights I used to listen to a specific radio programme that was on from 3 - 4 am. It helps to go from event to event instead of blindly trying to fill the hours.

If making you're own way >> your

And I've read this twice and haven't yawned yet

Great stuff, Matt!

all, have updated and credited where appropriate

Reference post #16, I too did many different military locations that demanded rotating shifts. Commonly 2 graveyard shifts, 24-hours break, 2 days, 24-hr-break, 2 evenings, and then what-ever the off time was. I know there have been studies that say if you MUST work a rotating one, ensure it is a 'forward' one as I've just described. The worst one I worked had the final day run followed by the graveyard, ... 8 clock hours later. The body didn't have time to adapt, and by the time you were halfway through the 2nd graveyard run, you were running on caffeine and will-power alone.

Anyway, a great and light read. That might include a mention of rotating shifts, and a need to allow transition time from one stage to the next.

*displays ignorance*
what's the graveyard shift?

My last shift work went like this:

day 1: 13:00 - 21:30
day 2: 07:30 - 13:00 then 21:30 to 07:30
day 3: sleep day (until 14:00 at which time we were often called upon to do stuff like sport)
day 4: 13:00 - 21:30
day 5: 07:30 - 13:00 then 21:30 to 07:30
day 6: sleep day (with the same proviso as before)
day 7: off! yippee!!