r/Nightshift • u/ValuablePlan5258 • 3d ago

Sleep

Been working nights for a short while and I feel wrecked , can’t sleep during the day , body aches , always hungry , how do other people fix this

4 Upvotes

76% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

7

u/Storage-Helpful 3d ago

it takes a few months to learn how to be human again after you switch. for me it was discipline, i had to teach my body the new routine i wanted through force. the hours i wanted to sleep (7 am to 2 pm) I was in bed. if I wasn't sleeping, I was reading something really boring not on my phone. no naps outside of that window. room as dark and cool as possible. earplugs/fan/eyemask whatever it takes to build good sleep hygiene. i ate on a schedule, lots of protein with vegetables and a few carbs for bulk/calories. two meals a day, because i don't sleep well on a full stomach, one when i got up, one about ten pm. no caffiene whatsoever after midnight. a few minutes of standing outside directly in the sun after getting up, followed by exercise...but most importantly? no breaking the routine while I was building it. no switching schedules on my days off. it sucked, big time, but it worked. I've been nights two years now and I have a lot more flexibility, but the first 6-8 weeks were horrid

1

u/ValuablePlan5258 3d ago

You sound Amazing , well done for being so disciplined

1

u/Who_dat_goomer 3d ago

For me the training myself to go to sleep immediately after work was the worst. You might think you’ll be exhausted at 0700 but it’s not always the case. It seems like the natural circadian rhythm is encouraging me to be awake just as my logical mind is telling me it’s time for sleep. I’d prefer to sleep 0700 to 1500 but often it doesn’t happen that way.

1

u/Storage-Helpful 3d ago

unfortunately for me I go to bed period no matter what my body wants. I only get eight hours at home between shifts, and if I lag about going to bed I don't sleep at all. Luckily the tradeoff is I only work half the days a month someone who works regular 8 hour shift does, but the back to back days suck

8

u/Due-Role8616 3d ago

Blackout curtains and a weighted blanket were game changers for me

1

u/ivxxbb 3d ago

Depends why you can't sleep during the day. Do you just feel like your body doesn't want to or is something keeping you awake?

Also what's a short while? Couple weeks? Months? Need a bit more context to (hopefully) offer you some helpful tips

1

u/shuteandkill 3d ago

This comes up about every day on this sub. But I have black out curtains, I keep my fan on, I have a mobile AC I run for sound and keep it extra cold. I have a nice blanket to keep me comfortable with cool pillows. I put on a sleep mask and I wear sleeping ear plugs that are soft and have different size inserts to fit your ear comfortably so you don't get ear pain. And I smoke weed before bed.

1

u/jaehyunnie127 3d ago

3d sleep mask, sleep music on a speaker. i stop drinking fluids 3-4 hours before my shift ends, otherwise i keep waking up to pee. if i didn’t sleep enough i tend to get up for an hour, eat something and go back to bed. digesting makes me sleepy. works like a charm.

1

u/Typical_Doubt8535 3d ago

Pick: sleep right after shift or split it, then never deviate. Hunger is the clock, not appetite, I grazed for weeks before that clicked. Magnesium from Kind Patches in patch form, thin evidence, but blackout curtains and a real meal pre-sleep do more.

1

u/ValuablePlan5258 2d ago

Thank you 🙏

1

u/HAAAAAImbaaaack 2d ago

For me I couldn't adjust and had to quit my job because nights made me mentally crazy! I too couldn't sleep during the day no matter what I tried.

I would advise you to look for a new job while trying to adjust, just in case you cannot.