Nightshift woes…
Question:
I started working nightshift back in October. For the first couple of months it was no problem. But for the last couple of months, its just sapped the life out of me. My work pattern is as follows: Wed/Thurs/Fri (and sometimes Sat): 19:00-0700. I dont actually have any problem during this time as such – i am usually very tired on the first night of the shift pattern as effectively i’m on the go for 24hours (i cant force myself to sleep in advance of the first nights work). I between each shift, i sleep like a baby during the day – no real problem there. The problem comes once the weeks work is out of the way. When everyone else is settling in to a good nights sleep on Sunday night, i’m tucked up with a book/laptop in front of me wide awake with no prospect of sleep. I CANT force myself to sleep! I recently tried out some herbal pills (natrasleep) that are supposed to induce sleep but they obviously werent made for the nightshift worker! During my days off, i feel so dam lethargic and tired. My eyes are like pee-holes in the snow and i really feel unhealthy and ‘heavy’. I have to find some form of a solution. Last year I was very active, i would run at least 5 hours a week, ran a half marathon and was hoping to do the same this year but i simply cant do it. In addition, there were other interests that i followed that i simply cant now – all of my free time is just one big void. I welcome all of your suggestions…
Response:
Martin McGuiness wrote:
<snip> > cant do it. In addition, there were other interests that i followed > that i simply cant now – all of my free time is just one big void.
no good news… it will only get worse. > I welcome all of your suggestions…
I did four years on nights as a casual on call, so I didn’t even get the pleasure of adjusting the body for an extended period.. one night on, two off, two on, you get the idea, it was all over the place. The ONLY way I could cope was to allow myself only a couple of hours on the morning after the last shift…so..come off duty, bed at 8am, up again at 10am, but then early to bed that night, probably around 9pm. I would then sleep through til 7 the next day and feel relatively normal for a day, before beginning all over. In the end, however, I found that I was "sleeping" all the time. I could sleep all day after a shift and then again that night… I probably was already having apnoea back then, and often wonder how much of what I have now was precipitated by working nights for so long..If you can get a day shift, do it. Nobody should have to work at night. Your life just disappears into a fog.
Response:
> nights for so long..If you can get a day shift, do it. Nobody should > have to work at night. Your life just disappears into a fog.
Night shift should be reserved for those of us who suffer from Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome – my theory is God gave some of us DSPS so there’d always be people who could work effectively through the necessary night shifts! Mind you, our society has created a lot more than "necessary" night shifts – so there probaly aren’t enough of us DSPS sufferers to fill the requirement 
— Beth in Australia (I am not a medical professional and anything stated in my posts is my opinion only unless specified otherwise) =================== FAQ for alt.support.sleep-disorder can be found here http://talhost.net/sleep Newsgroup Archives http://talhost.net/sleep/archives.htm this site is a work in progress – feel free to submit info/articles
Response:
Tal wrote: >>nights for so long..If you can get a day shift, do it. Nobody should >>have to work at night. Your life just disappears into a fog. > Night shift should be reserved for those of us who suffer from Delayed Sleep > Phase Syndrome – my theory is God gave some of us DSPS so there’d always be > people who could work effectively through the necessary night shifts! Mind > you, our society has created a lot more than "necessary" night shifts – so > there probaly aren’t enough of us DSPS sufferers to fill the requirement
on the money there, Beth. its a killer for sure. I have a friend who works as a telstra droid on nights in a call centre. shes getting sicker and sicker and is looking for a medical solution (which if she keeps it up much longer will be necessary), but in fact the ONLY solution (which she doesnt seem to want to follow through on) is to move to dayshift. $$ is often the driving factor..it was for me.
