Night Shift

[smallfooties]

So tonight i will be doing the night shift at work....
Does anybody else, on here, have to do night shifts for work?
How to survive the night shift?
Any tips?

I haven't done the night shift for a long long time now...
But here are my tips:
1. Bring sugary snacks - chocolate, jelly snakes, sweets like Jersey caramels.
2. Drink lots of coffee.
3. Bring something to occupy your time for the nights when it is quiet - lap top, book, tablet, movies!
4. Cigarettes for those who smoke and a lighter or 2 - sure sucks when you have ciggies and your lighter ain't working.
5. If all hell breaks loose, lock yourself in the office and call the Police! Triple zero is the number.
6. If somebody needs the ambulance, know your ambulance code so that they can answer to your call promptly.
7. Always have the phone or duress alarm with you in case of being attacked by zombies, werewolves, vampires, ghosts...
8. Sit back and relax... enjoy the night shift! You're the boss of the place! Make the office comfortable for you!

:D

[smallfooties]

Wooohoooo survived my first night shift in 12 months.... omg... it sure was a long shift!

[William]

I had to do a 12hr night shift once , Sitting in a Power Station in Arnhem Land (Gove) Watching a Sledge hammer tied to a rope !! That can send you crazy, :eek:

[fillum]

I think it depends on the job. I haven't done much night work since the late 70's when I did shift work (8 hr shifts) in a computer centre. The first couple of hours and the last couple of hours were fairly busy, but it was pretty quite during the middle part of the night, so we were usually able to get a few hours sleep. (Our work room was lined with filing cabinets - most of the drawers were filled with blankets and pillows :)). When I got home I only needed a few more hours sleep, so I'd have nearly a full day free to do stuff.

Glad you survived...:)


Cheers.

[FallingHorse]

I am a regualr shift worker - with night shift I try and keep my meals at the usual time like get up, have dinner before getting ready for work and then breakfast and the end of the shift. It's only a minor thing but I think it helps keep everything in balance (well as much as possible)

[enVision]

Almost exactly half of my work is 12 hour night shifts. It's easier when you have other people around you because you all keep each other awake. Always try and get a great sleep leading up to the shift, but don't stress yourself over it, because then you won't sleep at all!
I tend to find that it's best to have a big meal at the start of the shift. I don't usually hit anything with high sugar levels in it until it's later on in the shift. Drink lots of water. Water will keep you going and keep your mind active.
But the biggest piece of advice is to have fun! Muck around and do stuff you wouldn't normally do. There's nobody else there to see you, so use your imagination. I don't know anyone who says that night shifts aren't fun. Nearly all the people I work with prefer to work night shifts because they are so much fun.

And plus, you get penalty rates :)

[Xebadir]

I'm an oddity, I can work some pretty zany hours and my body lets me. Earlier this year I worked 18 hour days (PhD student, so normal rules that apply to humanity don't to me ;)) for two months straight, waking around 1pm and working solid until around 7am. I'll go through the list you've given, cause I have a few more specifics.

Tips:
1. Bring sugary snacks - chocolate, jelly snakes, sweets like Jersey caramels
Yes but be careful not to have too many, or start on them too early or you will suffer sugar crashes which are the worst possible thing for trying to work through the night.

2. Drink lots of coffee, or other products containing caffeine in relatively low doses (Colas, Mt Dew if you swing that way, Teas).
As above, be careful not to load up too much or go anything too strong, as you will also suffer a caffeine withdrawl/crash about 3-4 hours after ingestion depending on your metabolism. Sort of thing I rely on as a last resort, or I will have a cup of tea every 4 hours to keep the caffeine flowing (its relatively low in caffeine so not too bad).

3. Bring something to occupy your time for the nights when it is quiet - lap top, book, tablet, movies!
Wish I could do that, my programming and data work is pretty hands on, but I will admit to a number of TV series, movies and albums from my music collection being played while doing those boring nights. Ipod and shuffle is a godsend, especially with a wake the hell up playlist (hint loud and random ;))

5. If all hell breaks loose, lock yourself in the office and call the Police! Triple zero is the number.
I recommend checking for sleep deprevation paranoia first, sometimes it can get a little freaky with nothing to cause it.

6. If somebody needs the ambulance, know your ambulance code so that they can answer to your call promptly.
And preferably know something about CPR and first aid as response times can be a touch slower, less people around and time can be critical (5 minutes no breathing is brain damage)

7. Always have the phone or duress alarm with you in case of being attacked by zombies, werewolves, vampires, ghosts...
Sound advice :p I also like to carry a stake

8. Sit back and relax... enjoy the night shift! You're the boss of the place! Make the office comfortable for you!
This is seriously important. If you have to be up, make yourself comfortable but not too comfortable that you want to sleep.

Other points:
- If you do have to switch regularly (effectively timezone change) there are drugs that can help resetting your body clock, I don't need them but I know others who use them to great effect.
- Always have a torch somewhere when you can find it, pain in the backside when working at night and the power goes out.

[Wayne]

I have been doing day/nights for almost 18 years, alternating between them. I just sleep as much as I can during the day, and with 12 hour shifts it can be long. If you are in an office, or somewhere sitting doing nothing, then boredom will make it feel twice as long. If you have something to do, it seems to go quicker and you don't feel as tired.

[geoffsta]

I used to do security around our area.
I once did a 16 hour shift, watching a barge that had the fireworks for new years eve on it. It was the longest 16 hours of my life. I did a lot of walking and I took a book and soon got sick of that. Smoked a lot of cigarettes.
I also did 12 hour night shifts at a pie factory. I took my portable TV and a dvd player and watched movies, walked around and read a bit. I took pies from my local bakery for something to eat. There pies were crap. (And still are)

[pixy]

I have quite often done 24-36 hr shifts on ship repairs ,it is like three regular days have a meal break after 4 hours untill midnight,then a light snack at 4am and breakfast then start meals at lunch time, but I didn`t have large meals only ate what I felt like,you feel like a sleep at 3-4am then come good as the sun comes up. good fun. :eek: