Asklemmy

Night shift is the fucking best if you have ADHD. You have no traffic at all on your commute to and from work, you just show up and do your job (no useless phone calls or emails to distract you), you eat lunch at like fuckin 1am so there's no crowd, you get done with your work and just clock out (no stupid-ass meetings), and when you get home you just crash and sleep for as long as you want. Wake up at like noon, and you've got the whole afternoon to run errands or fuck off, and then casually go back to work that night.

I've been working a night shift for a few years now. Last 2 of which have been from at home. The social isolation is real. The only people you'll ever really get to hang out with outside of work, are the people you work with, since most of your normal-sleep-schedule-having friends aren't gonna be available when you are. There also won't be anywhere good to hang out at because everything's closed by the time you're off work.

Most of the world isn't designed for people with our schedule, unfortunately. Need to go to the post office for something? You're gonna have to either get up early or stay up late to do it. Need to do something that can really take up some time, like go to the DMV? You might need to schedule some time off, because that'll ruin your sleep schedule for a few days.

Being able to retain your sanity on this schedule really does require a bit of self-sufficience. You'll need to rely less on services that aren't available at night. You'll need to get comfortable with losing sleep to get important stuff done. It's tough, and while a lot of companies pay a differential to hourly employees on the night shift, it's rarely enough to justify the toll it takes on you if you don't have the right mindset for it.

I worked midnight to 8am as a security supervisor at a hospital. It was nice in some ways and awful in other ways. Honestly, all the ways it was awful occurred outside of the actual shift itself. It was harder to hang out with friends, I was always tired, I had to try to get tired and sleep while it was sunny out (blackout curtains and sunglasses on the drive home ftw), and the world was waking up while I was going to bed. It was hard on my relationship with my wife.

The shift itself was pretty great actually. The hospital was quieter at night. As a supervisor, I did have some issues with my guards falling asleep at desks or trying to hide and take naps. Two people got fired over it. But most of them were pretty good. One guy fell asleep while driving the patrol vehicle and crashed it into a gate. That was embarrassing for everyone and he ultimately lost his job (he didn't admit to falling asleep, but we all suspected it - he was working two jobs and was perpetually tired). The best thing about the job was sneaking up onto the roof early in the morning on my patrols and watching the sun rise.

Definitely not for everyone. I did it for a little over a year. I could never get adjusted to it. Makes me appreciate my day job more.

Blackout curtains, melatonin, whatever you can to control your sleep and block out noise and light are a must. The ice cream man can be your enemy. Stock up on emergency 5 hour energies, I like to have soylent in reserve too because sometimes food and shit won't be available.

I won't lie, night shift strained many of my relationships. It took quite a bit from me. But it can give back too. Things like audiobooks and videogames replaced drinking at bars with friends. Have solo hobbies prepared.

There's a temptation to become diurnal on weekends that will work against you.

Also, you have to be firm about your schedule with people. They don't consider night shifts in their plans, so you want to make sure you let people know often what can or can't work with your sleep cycle.

It's been over 10 years at this point but I to do the closing shift in fast food. 6-4am ish. Some nights it was 2am or midnight depending on time of year and what I was doing. My dad also worked a night shift till he retired.

It's a different kind of beast. One of the things I will say is being young helped. I didnt really have any other obligations, or kids, and I still lived at home. If my dad was home since he was a night owl he'd be awake when I got there and I would see my mom and brothers during my "morning" which depending on when I got to be anywhere from 10am-1pm. The thing is the evening into latenight shift means that, unless all your friends are also creatures of the night, you will often missout on dinners and get togethers if it's not happening on your days off. Jobs that offer irregular hours also tend have irregular days so you may also be on the clock during the weekend.

It's not all bad. Being out of sync with the rest of the world can be kind of awesome. You avoid rush hour, you can set up doctors/dentist appointments, the dmv, and etc more easily since you can just go before work. Depending on your shift and days off you can still make time to spend with your friends and loved ones, but you will be limited and your mileage may vary.

Also if you live anywhere with grass lawns you will learn to HATE the lawn care companies that mow all day long.

I did 4 years of nights. The real trick is being able to sleep during the day. So whatever ear plugs, face mask, blackout curtains you need, make sure they work for you. I generally would work up to it staying up until 2 AM, then 5 AM, then going to work. I believe that most people found that they had more time with their family because instead of being at work 8-12 hours during the day, they were only sleeping 6-7, and were home when their kids were getting up, going to school, coming home, etc.

For some people it's not too bad, and during the summer it's not that bad.

During the winter though it's hell. The days are short that you basically never see the sun.

During the whole affair though you'll have to supplement your Vitamin D, especially during the winter.

Look up "night shift belly." I did night audit at a hotel for a year and a half. By the end, I could only really stomach eating the kale salad from Whole Foods and not much else.

It also wrecked my social life and when I got sick, I got really sick, so I think my immune system was out of whack in general.

Like others have said, the commute is a dream. The shift itself is quiet with plenty of time to have deep conversations with any coworkers you may have, read, listen to podcasts, etc. It's like living in a different world.

I say give it a try, but listen to your body and find something else soon if your health is affected.

Well, objectively it's bad for your health.

I remember nauseousness induced by sleep deprivation in the first nights. I left after a year, that was late 2000s.

Are you already a night owl? If so, it’s fine. Just working, very few distractions, no meetings.

If you’re a Sun child, it’s going to be horrible. I can’t give specifics because I’m a night owl, but from what others have told me, it’s awful.

The night shift for me was the purest form of hell. My favorite shift was the 2-10, 3-11.

What’s it like working night shift?

• constant fatigue
• constantly explaining to the same people over and over that you are not available in the daytime because that's when you sleep

source: worked night shift for many years

Your concerns are valid, you absolutely will see your family less. If you're not okay with that, that's okay! Also keep in mind that the world is not on a night shift. It's significantly harder to sleep normal hours when everything is going on the regular day schedule. That might not matter where you are but where I live that means more noise, more sirens, more people coming and going and keeping me awake. I'm a naturally light sleeper so when I had to work nights I had to go an extra mile or two. Blackout curtains are essential, and you may want to shove a towel under the door if the sun angle is unfavorable and shines it there. I also needed a facemask and ear plugs until I discovered I preferred a nice white noise maker. I still sleep with a white noise machine to this day, love it.

There are good things to night shift too. Less bullshit all around generally. Depending on what you're doing that can be good or bad. It can be mind numbingly boring if you don't have a set amount of work to do.

I personally love working nights. I'm not a morning person by any stretch of the imagination. In fact I am actively worse at things the earlier I wake up. Conversely my brain feels clearer and more active after 10pm.

That being said, my social life is almost entirely online. I rarely go out IRL. I sleep like a rock and only need about 6 hours anyway.

If you are someone who needs to talk to people, has trouble sleeping during the day, or requires a lot of sleep, the night shift is likely not for you.

Some people are built for it, some aren't.

I worked nights for fifteen straight years and honestly, it isn't all bad.... Provided you get the sleep sorted. The amount of people who rolled up thinking they could survive on 4 hours of sleep a day was pretty disturbing.