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Excessive Force
12-04-2007, 07:10 PM
Anyone else work night shifts and have trouble getting a full 8 hours sleep? What do you do to help you sleep?:mad:

AZJD
12-04-2007, 07:10 PM
Anyone else work night shifts and have trouble getting a full 8 hours sleep? What do you do to help you sleep?:mad:
Drink............

Excessive Force
12-04-2007, 07:16 PM
Drink............
I have a friend who pounds 10 shots of hard lickher, sleeps like a baby, wakes up hungover. Can u say AA

Moneypitt
12-04-2007, 07:42 PM
what hours do you work? .....Think about the day shift...Get up 6-7AM, work, get home 5-6PM, Putter around the house/garage/yard, go to bed 9-11PM...Now 2nd shift gets home about midnight, +/- an hour.....Find a project in the garage, or local bar until 2AM, then garage/house...Go to bed around 4-6AM........Sleep until 2PM, go to work.....It is hard to mimic day workers routines when working nights. They don't get home at 6PM and go to bed at 6:30......So, plan on winding down after 2nd shift, the same as you would on 1st....A few hours before bed.......I actually got alot done on projects in the garage at night after 2nd shift...No kids, no phone calls, no distractions......Hope this helps..........MP

CARLSON-JET
12-04-2007, 07:48 PM
Tax forms? :D
I started graveyard about 5 months ago. We did 6 day weeks and it kept me pretty burned out so I made the shift pretty fast. Now we are back on 5 days and I am having a little trouble on saturday a.m. waking too early and of course sunday night is BRUTAL.
I've tried the few beers but I just wind up staying awake longer. I go to bed when I get home, it seems better then waiting untill after noon.
another thing is to stay off HB in the am. :eek:

909punk
12-04-2007, 07:52 PM
I work till I crash.
So its like 2 days stright until I can no longer function then I dont work until I feel like it again. Normally the next day and start the cycle again until the weekend.

Excessive Force
12-04-2007, 08:03 PM
I work 12 hour shifts...7p-7a...basically 3 nites per week. On my off days i sleep my full 8 hours. its during that 3 day stretch that i cannot sleep more than 4 hours......I get off a 7a...get home at 8a....in bed by 8:30 or 9am.....then im awake by 12-12:30.......:mad: :mad:

boatnam2
12-04-2007, 11:04 PM
I have the worse, its called the roatating 12 hours shift.Eample woke up yesterday 6am messed around all day took nap 2pm before work went to work 4pm hour and a half drive work 6pm to 6am got home this morning 7am went to bed 7:30 woke up at 9:30 stayed awake until 1pm took nap until 3pm back at work tonite until 6am.get off 2 day then i will work days for 2 days then off then night for 3 days.It is the by far the worse schedule you could ever work.I have yet to find anything that helps, a dark quiet area is a start,but sleeping at night for 2 days then sleeping in the day for a few days then back to nights i have yet to find much that helps been doing it 20 years.

Excessive Force
12-04-2007, 11:11 PM
I have the worse, its called the roatating 12 hours shift.Eample woke up yesterday 6am messed around all day took nap 2pm before work went to work 4pm hour and a half drive work 6pm to 6am got home this morning 7am went to bed 7:30 woke up at 9:30 stayed awake until 1pm took nap until 3pm back at work tonite until 6am.get off 2 day then i wil work days for 2 days then off then night for 3 days.It is the by far the worse schedule you could ever work.
thought i had it bad. nite shift ages you, i can feel it

riverbound
12-04-2007, 11:17 PM
I sleep in 4 hour intervals for the most part. I work nights with my guys, but am also woken up in the early morning hours by calls from back east. then when those calls stop I usually get a couple hours sleep until the west coast cals start coming in. then its a couple more hours of sleep and get up to take the crew out to dinner then off to work. this and Im pretty much on call 24/7 as I have all my emails sent to my phone nad have various crews working accorss the country all at different times and days. pretty much any day any time I have a crew working somewhere.
The only nice thing is I dont have a set schedule and a long as I am somewhere where I can get cell reception I cna work from anywhere....I do quite a bit of work on my drive to the river and back. which gives me the ability to almost always have a 4day weekend.

boatnam2
12-04-2007, 11:17 PM
Its not only the sleep, but eating also your body is made to sleep at night and digest food and relax not eating at 3am tired as hell.It is one of the worst things health wise you can do heart attacks are the highest among rotating 12 hour shift workers.

riverbound
12-04-2007, 11:19 PM
but to answer the original question any OTC sleep aid will help and in the event they dont work well enough. I have a prescription that works VERY well, but use it only if I havent slept for a couple days.

boatnam2
12-04-2007, 11:30 PM
i have tryed all the otc sleep aids most did me no good.Doctors have a hard time prescribing sleep aids and i have asked a few times.Finally got my doctor to give me something to help relax and sleep works ok.

Excessive Force
12-04-2007, 11:36 PM
many have told me that they have become addicted to them, cant gett off them due to your body needing it to sleep. wont sleep without them. a buddy is supposed to hook me up with some herbal stuff thats supposed to work

riverbound
12-04-2007, 11:40 PM
many have told me that they have become addicted to them, cant gett off them due to your body needing it to sleep. wont sleep without them. a buddy is supposed to hook me up with some herbal stuff thats supposed to work
Pot works too ;) :D

Excessive Force
12-04-2007, 11:48 PM
Pot works too ;) :D
as gay as it may sound...milk is supposed to contain tryptophan which makes you sleepy....so i tried it and NOTHING!

riverbound
12-04-2007, 11:59 PM
as gay as it may sound...milk is supposed to contain tryptophan which makes you sleepy....so i tried it and NOTHING!
Nyquil. works in a pinch.
As far as the sleep aids go as long as you dont take them all the time you should have no problems. I use them only on ocassion and have had no prblems becoming addicted to them. usually pop one or 2 then turn on the most boring thing I can find on Tv next thing I know its 8 hours later and Im waking up.

boatnam2
12-05-2007, 12:00 AM
Pot works real good but i wouldnt have to worry about shift work if i smoked it.Lorezapam is what i use now works ok.

boatnam2
12-05-2007, 12:02 AM
[QUOTE=Excessive Force;2927292]as gay as it may sound...milk is supposed to contain tryptophan which makes you sleepy....so i tried it and NOTHING![/QUOTE I have tryed milk but have narly dreams whenever i drink milk before bed.

boatnam2
12-05-2007, 12:08 AM
One peice of advice i can give to all shift workers never buy anything or make any life altering decision of a night shift especially after the second or third night shift.Its kinda like being drunk or high sounds good at the time but when you sober up or get some sleep you will ask yourself why in the fuccck did i do that.I have bought a few trucks and other things and had to ask myself what was i thinking.

riverbound
12-05-2007, 01:32 AM
One peice of advice i can give to all shift workers never buy anything or make any life altering decision of a night shift especially after the second or third night shift.Its kinda like being drunk or high sounds good at the time but when you sober up or get some sleep you will ask yourself why in the fuccck did i do that.I have bought a few trucks and other things and had to ask myself what was i thinking.
Are you on your second or third night shift????
Team riverbound is looking for some sponsors....or should I hit you up tomorrow??....LOL

boatnam2
12-05-2007, 02:32 AM
third so i may even be up for full sponsorship and crew chief!

riverbound
12-05-2007, 02:33 AM
third so i may even be up for full sponsorship and crew chief!
Nice! :D :D :D

charlyox
12-05-2007, 02:56 AM
Oh, that's why I got a new truck I really don't dig. Damn shift work.

thatguy
12-05-2007, 03:06 AM
I try for 6 hrs., settle for 5 usually.
Well, it's 3:55 AM now, got up 15 min. ago.
work from 5am - 6 PM, 28 straight days. Then 14 days off.
Some times my night hand (relief) or the Company Man (Boss) calls in the night and I have to go and try to fix whatever problem they are having, then I just stay up. Or, SOMETIMES I have no relief and just grab an hour or two when I can. 3-4 straight days. Now that sucks. End up not even knowing what day it is. When that happens, trust me, when I get the chance sleep comes VERY easy.
The main thing for me is to NOT WORRY about sleep, then I sleep better.
It is important that you wind down, as another stated above. Watch a little TV or read for an hour instead of tossing and turning.
3 more days and I go home for 2 weeks.... YEA!!!!!
Tommy

boatnam2
12-05-2007, 03:09 AM
Oh, that's why I got a new truck I really don't dig. Damn shift work.
only one?

boatnam2
12-05-2007, 03:11 AM
On the bright side of things you are the last to post and the first to post running the 12's!

Rvr Swpr
12-05-2007, 08:35 AM
For your system to create melotonin you need to sleep in a dark room,if your eyes sense light the melotonin shuts down. recently read this and it helps.

charlyox
12-05-2007, 08:54 AM
I've tried melotonin. It's like an acid trip. I have the wierdest dreams. When I take one I tell the wifey "I"m going trippin". MY Dr. doesn't recommend it.

Trailer Park Casanova
12-05-2007, 09:03 AM
I work 12 hour shifts...7p-7a...basically 3 nites per week. On my off days i sleep my full 8 hours. its during that 3 day stretch that i cannot sleep more than 4 hours......I get off a 7a...get home at 8a....in bed by 8:30 or 9am.....then im awake by 12-12:30.......:mad: :mad:
Wife works from 7pm to 7am.
Three nites in a row, then usually a couple of OT nites.
She has no trouble sleeping.
I worked graves for a long while too.
I slept in split shifts.
A few hours when I got home, then a few more before work.
If you can't sleep, then get up & move to another spot to sleep.
I usually go out to the RV, or the living room if I can't nod off in bed.
You'll never adjust to the hours.
Adivan is a help as is Effexor.

Rvr Swpr
12-05-2007, 09:04 AM
I've tried melotonin. It's like an acid trip. I have the wierdest dreams. When I take one I tell the wifey "I"m going trippin". MY Dr. doesn't recommend it.
Right,but your body is supposed to produce melotonin naturally.:sleeping:

Cole Sanger
12-09-2007, 10:01 PM
For your system to create melotonin you need to sleep in a dark room,if your eyes sense light the melotonin shuts down. recently read this and it helps.
Good stuff. I work 6p-6a. This stuff really works when I can't get to sleep.