Workin' The Night Shift... ~*yawn*~

[NikkiQSM]

One of our QC Techs is on vacation this week. (He takes care of QC on the night shift - 7pm to 7am)

As luck would have it another one of our Techs quit last week.

Because of schedule conflicts for another one of our Techs, I was basically volunteered to take care of this wonderful position for the week.

(I started off working here as a QC Tech 7 years ago, but now I am in charge of our QMS...)

Sunday night, I tried my best to stay up "all night"... and made it as far as 1am. Woke up at 9am, and managed to go back to sleep with the help of some Tylenol PM, and was up again at 2pm.

As the hours slowly churn away, I have much new respect for our vacationing Technician.

I am having some difficulty falling into this schedule, although it is only the first night.

Any Cover's out there ever had to make a shift switch like this?

Any tips on how you made it through such long late hours?

 

[Andy Jones]

Hello Nikki,

there is no quick fix to working nights. We are not designed as humans to do so, in my mind it is torture!!! :truce:The only way you can get used to nights is to constantly do them and in doing so re-aligning your body clock, sorry but a week is no way long enough.

Andy

 

[Mikishots]

One of our QC Techs is on vacation this week. (He takes care of QC on the night shift - 7pm to 7am)

As luck would have it another one of our Techs quit last week.

Because of schedule conflicts for another one of our Techs, I was basically volunteered to take care of this wonderful position for the week.

(I started off working here as a QC Tech 7 years ago, but now I am in charge of our QMS...)

Sunday night, I tried my best to stay up "all night"... and made it as far as 1am. Woke up at 9am, and managed to go back to sleep with the help of some Tylenol PM, and was up again at 2pm.

As the hours slowly churn away, I have much new respect for our vacationing Technician.

I am having some difficulty falling into this schedule, although it is only the first night.

Any Cover's out there ever had to make a shift switch like this?

Any tips on how you made it through such long late hours?

No need to have too much respect, because after a week or two, it becomes as easy as you would do a normal day shift. Unfortunately, you're in for a heck of a ride over the few weeks, because once your body starts to get used to the night-shift, it'll be time to go back to the day shift; then it starts all over again. Your body will punish you, saying "Hey!!! What the heck are you doing out there???" The only comfortable way out of it is to take a few days off when the tech returns to relieve you.

The circadian rhythm is a powerful thing, and you run the risk of becoming ill - drink lots of water, stick to a strict sleeping schedule, use your meds when you need to.

I wish you luck.

 

[howste]

Treat it the same as you would jet lag. Being a little sleep-deprived in the beginning should help you to sleep during the day. Usually the first day (night) is the worst. Stay busy and keep as active as possible.

 

[RoxaneB]

For a few weekends, I was doing 12-hours shifts in a steel mill (7pm-7am) and then my normal job Monday-Friday. I found that by mixing up my activities during the shift, I was able to stay awake. I walked around the site a lot, hung out with the crew when I could, asked questions (both professional and personal), talked about my job (and the impact it had on them), and, despite it being a unionized mill, the guys even let me actually work on the line.

There were times I went back to my desk and found myself falling asleep. In these cases, I would head to the changeroom to grab a 10 minute break, eyes shut, and a loud alarm clock set! I certainly wasn't going to do anybody anygood if I fell asleep while out on the job, not to mention the safety hazard!

I also would keep an eye on the sports games going on and give updates over the radio to the crews...the banter that followed kept us awake and laughing.

We also had bbq's at night...it helped with morale and everyone stays up for a bbq!

 

[Wes Bucey]

One of our QC Techs is on vacation this week. (He takes care of QC on the night shift - 7pm to 7am)

As luck would have it another one of our Techs quit last week.

Because of schedule conflicts for another one of our Techs, I was basically volunteered to take care of this wonderful position for the week.

(I started off working here as a QC Tech 7 years ago, but now I am in charge of our QMS...)

Sunday night, I tried my best to stay up "all night"... and made it as far as 1am. Woke up at 9am, and managed to go back to sleep with the help of some Tylenol PM, and was up again at 2pm.

As the hours slowly churn away, I have much new respect for our vacationing Technician.

I am having some difficulty falling into this schedule, although it is only the first night.

Any Cover's out there ever had to make a shift switch like this?

Any tips on how you made it through such long late hours?

First, the bad news

According to results of a new study published in the BMJ, working the night shift or any odd-hours shift other than a regular day schedule may increase your chances of suffering a heart attack or stroke. Research in the past decades has already linked shift work to an increased incidence of high blood pressure, diabetes and elevated cholesterol– defining what we call the metabolic syndrome, a recipe for cardiovascular disease.

I was rather lucky. As an executive, I worked long hours, but not strictly a second or third shift all by itself. As often as four times a month, though, I would have to work the equivalent of a double shift: normal office work during the day, "entertaining" clients from supper through midnight and beyond. My workaround solution was to take a thirty minute nap almost every afternoon around 3 pm. I had a very comfortable adjustable desk chair and I kept a small footstool in my office so I could stretch out with my feet elevated. After pulling the double shift, for the next 2 or 3 days, I increased my nap time to an hour to catch up on the sleep deprivation.