Anyone ever work third shift before?

• Mohican00

  

  Any suggestions on making the transition to nights easier? I just started 10 - 6, Monday thru Sat mornings so I'm looking for any kind of advice on working late at night.
  
  I've already got my coffee card from the all night gas station
• Fab1b

  

  I am night owl so I have and am used to it. I would say if you have two days off before you start, the first day stay up 24 hours, then the 2nd day go to bed with enough time to get a full "nights" sleep before getting up to head in at 10pm if that makes sense.
• GoPens

  

  Worked overnights for 8 years. Has it's pluses and minuses. Get blinds for the windows or heavy curtains to make your bedroom as dark and night-like as possible. Turn off the ringer on the phone--let the answering machine get it. Stay on the schedule as close as possible on weekends.
• mrtinkertrain

  Go to bed and get up at the same time every day and do not drink caffine after 2 or 3 in the morning.
• Mohican00

  

  I tried staying up as late as possible Sunday/Monday night and sleeping in and was doing ok last night until about 2 am when I hit a wall. Hopefully tonight will go better.
  
  And yeah, I've already got heavy curtains over my windows in my apt. Unfortunately I live right off a heavily trafficked street so car noise is an issue
• Belly35

  

  Is it a Union shop ... just work the first 4 hours and sleep the rest..........
• sherm03

  

  It will take some getting used to. I worked third shift in a warehouse the summer after my freshman year in college. In all honesty, the hardest thing for me to get used to was coming home at 6am and eating dinner food.
  
  After about a week of the schedule, you're body will get used to it. Just do what you can to keep close to the same hours on your off days. You don't want to have to readjust every Monday night.
• Iliketurtles

  

  I worked nights for 2 years. The first week or 2 really sucks trying to adjust to sleeping during the day and all. Things that I tried to do:
  
  Try going to sleep around the same time everyday
  Try having the room you're sleeping in be as dark as possible
  This was just something I hated but I wouldn't take sleeping aids or anything like that they always made me feel worse waking up after taking them
  Turn your phone on silent while you try and sleep
  If you workout or anything I always found it better to do in the morning right after getting off work.
  
  Good luck man.
• SportsAndLady

  

  Iliketurtles;771797 wrote:If you workout or anything I always found it better to do in the morning right after getting off work.

  
  I've always wondered if 3rd shift workers get off work in the morning and stay up for 4-5 hours before falling asleep; like regular shift workers do.
• sherm03

  

  SportsAndLady;771809 wrote:I've always wondered if 3rd shift workers get off work in the morning and stay up for 4-5 hours before falling asleep; like regular shift workers do.

  
  I did when I did it. I basically just flipped my AMs and PMs. I would go to bed around 10am, and then wake up about 7:30-8:00pm to be at work by 9. Then I'd get off at 6am...go home, eat "dinner", and watch a little TV or do any type of running around I had to do before getting back home and going to bed.
• gerb131

  

  Never liked 3rd's, I worked them several years ago but the shift differential was 2$. I almost killed a guy who lived next door and would always start something whether it was a mower, weed eater, motorcycle or car at like 9am.
• Glory Days

  

  Been working 3rd shift for a year now, plus a part time job in between, so my sleep schedule is all jacked up. before the part time job, i would work 10pm-6am. come home, eat breakfast and goto sleep. wake up around 4pm, eat lunch then eat dinner at about 8pm before i had to get ready for work. i would also pack a light "lunch" for work too for about 3am.
  
  during off days i keep the same schedule if possible. i never had a problem sleeping during the day, so i never had to worry about covering up my windows.
  
  now that i have a part time job after my full time job, i stay awake in the mornings till around noon before i goto bed and wake up at 8pm for work.
  
  i actually dont mind 3rds. i like being able to run to the store even during the days i work because most places are empty, makes it easier to get things done.
• Cat Food Flambe'

  

  When I did them, staying awake at work was the easiest part. I had the most trouble after the shift ended, especially once it was full daylight.
• tuskytuffguy

  Belly, I'm union, and I work my ass off all 8, 10, or 12 hours I'm there, so get the fuck off your non-union high-horse.
• Hb31187

  

  When I worked 3rd, id get off at 7am and go to bed immediately, then wake up about 3 or so and have some time to still do things during the day
• GoChiefs

  

  tuskytuffguy;772072 wrote:Belly, I'm union, and I work my ass off all 8, 10, or 12 hours I'm there, so get the fuck off your non-union high-horse.

  
  Don't waste your time.
  
  I'm on midnights now myself, 10:30 to 6:30. I get home and am asleep by 8am. Then up around noon to 1pm. I'll doze off normally around 3pm again and the wife will wake me up when she gets home about 4:30 so I can spend the rest of the night with the family or do whatever I need to get done. Definitely takes some getting used to until you get on a schedule.
• sportswizuhrd

  I have been on nights for about the past 3 years. I have had some sleeping problems, where I would wake up after 3 hours of sleep and be fine. It would kick my ass about halfway through my 10 hour shift. I rely on energy drinks a lot and more than I should. I get thrown off schedule pretty easy when I get a night or two off. Often times I will go see my gf(two hours away) and then be up for 24 hours to be on the same sleep schedule as her. Again my ass getting kicked from it.
  
  Basically follow what has been said already..Stay on the same sleep schedule, eat healthy, close your blinds or get a sleeping mask, dont answer the phone and definitely have fun on your nights off. A LOT of times during the week, i will get up at about 8pm and go out with some friends and the night would be over really early for me(1-2, which is late for them due to working mornings), then if you go to bed, you are thrown off for the next night.
• OneBuckeye

  

  I worked swing shifts for 6 months last year. So I was rotating from days to afternoons to nights every week. I usually found it best to go to bed as soon as possible when I was on nights that way I could sleep as long as I wanted and got a full nights rest. made nights super easy and wasn't tired at the end. I wouldn't have more than a coffee at the beginning of the shift either.
• Fab4Runner

  

  I was seasonal at a factory during college and we had to swing shifts. Six weeks on 1st, six on 2nd and six on 3rd. I didn't mind 3rd shift but I noticed that my body was out of whack the entire time. My balance was off, I would bump into stuff...it was weird.
  
  I was off at 7 am and would be in bed by 10. I'd sleep until 3 or 4 and then sometimes I would take a short nap before going back in at 11. I never really had problems staying awake. I don't drink coffee but would have a soda occasionally if I was feeling super tired.
• Iliketurtles

  

  SportsAndLady;771809 wrote:I've always wondered if 3rd shift workers get off work in the morning and stay up for 4-5 hours before falling asleep; like regular shift workers do.

  
  I would sometimes but other days I wouldn't just would depend on my mood. I normally was only up for 3-4 hours though I always liked to try and be asleep by 10am because I would wake up at 2-3pm just so I could do stuff.
• georgemc80

  I always made sure I had some sort of meal, prior to going to bed. It helped me get into a more sound sleep.
• mallymal614

  I would rather work 3rd instead of 2nd. I think 2nd shifts are the worst. It literally takes away your whole day. By the time you go home it's sleep time and then when you wake up at 11 or noon, you have to be back at work in a couple hours.
• thavoice

  Worked 3rd for 3 weeks before I quit. I was working 11-7am, and I had a PT job from noon to 430 PM. jobs were hour and a half away and I tried to do both becuase I was unsure if I would like the factory job.
  
  I got tired but that mostly was becuase IF i slept every second I could I was only going to get 6.5 hours total sleep a night...and that was if I slept from the second I got home until I had to leave for the other job and that woulda been split up in 2 three hours stints.
• GoChiefs

  

  mallymal614;773026 wrote:I would rather work 3rd instead of 2nd. I think 2nd shifts are the worst. It literally takes away your whole day. By the time you go home it's sleep time and then when you wake up at 11 or noon, you have to be back at work in a couple hours.

  
  Agreed. I had the choice of afternoons or midnights. If I was single, afternoons would be great. But with a family, I'd never see my son on afternoons except for Sundays and in the summer when he was out of school.
• oberhaus

  

  I worked 3rd for about a year. Got off at 7-7:30 and home by 7:15/7:45. I stayed up till 9 or 10 then slept for 2 or 3 hours. I would get up and do stuff like golf etc. Then a couple more hours sleep in the evening. I really never required much sleep.