What's it like working night shift?

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.

Mixed bag in my opinion.

The good: No traffic, get to know yourself better since you have a lot of time for reflection, discover way more media (podcasts, books, games, movies) because you're always doing the night owl thing, always have an excuse to get out of social events during the day time, easy to go to doctor appointments during the day before work, feels like you have a ton of free time, usually meet interesting people on the night shift (see bad part of this below), get to dress down, don't have to see a high level boss usually, things feel more profound late at night - you'll have a much deeper appreciation for all that media I described (try some music or an audiobook at night - better yet, try writing. I always feel things deeper at night), get to see the moon all the time which I absolutely love more than anything, etc.

The bad: sleep schedule will be like being a teenager again, there will be days where the sun is shining and you can hear lawnmowers which will make you sleep like garbage, you'll probably eat like shit, seeing friends and family is hard, friends and family will not understand that you need to sleep during the day - trust me, you'll meet the outcasts of society on night shift along with all those interesting people I mentioned and some of them will be weird or off-putting, you'll feel super lonely at times but it'll be kind of nice somehow (???), you'll have too much time alone with your thoughts, you'll be doing shit during the day but have work hanging over your head for hours whereas normal people work and have free time after work to look forward to, driving home tired in the early morning is like having a hangover somehow, etc.

Personally, I'm glad I'm not doing it these days. After COVID, stores aren't open 24/7 anymore. Night shopping on days off was the best and not being able to get stuff at night now sucks.

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.

Overnight wasn’t bad because I could sleep while the kiddo was at school. 2nd is pretty rough though if you have a family.

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

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.

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.

I did two, two week stents while living out of a hotel....I will never do it again if I have to do it out of a hotel. But 6pm to 2 am etc out of my own place I'd consider.

It's just hard at first forcing yourself to sleep. Blackout curtains help. Or a sleep mask.

It is nearly impossible when you are not living on your own and able to keep circadian rhythm. It also just sucks IMO. I wouldn't do it again unless I was paid 3+ times as much as a day shift.

My current schedule is two swings, two days, and then either a third day or a graveyard. Weekly overtime can be any of those three shifts, and not necessarily the same per week. I’ve been doing it for sixteen years. Arguably, you get used to it, but consistency is key. Having a kid wasn’t too bad at first, but now that they’re school age, it makes it pretty difficult to be as present as I’d like to be. So, I get by with a lot of coffee. I had a respectable drinking habit for a long time, which I thought helped somewhat, but it really didn’t. Regular exercise helps a ton if you can swing it. Blackout curtains and ear plugs or a noise machine are huge. I also use an eye mask too. Best of luck, nights aren’t for everyone.

So wondering if you mean 2nd or 3rd shift. And for those wondering 1st shift is the "day" shift. Where your start time is 8 AM and then you end 3 PM. Then 2nd shift is where you start at 3 PM and end at 11 PM. And then finally 3rd shift is where you start at 11 PM and end at 8 AM.

As you can see there is a BIG difference between 2nd and 3rd shift and what someone might call a "night" shift.

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.

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.

I fucking love night shifts. For the last two years I’ve worked exclusively night shifts (23:00-7:00 or 19:00-7:00).

Super unhealthy though - I often sleep only two or three hours before my shift, and I do stuff all day.

This works for me since I never really slept much (I would often stay awake till 3-4 in the morning after work).

With night shifts I just do the same but I get to work when there isn’t much work to do and do stuff I want to do during daytime.

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.

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.

I did it for seven years. I recommend earplugs and a white noise machine when you sleep. Stick to a strict sleep schedule. Take lots of Vitamin D when you wake up. I was taking 5000 IUs a day when I was on overnights, it helped immensely.

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.

Worked them for some years and they literally caused me to start having panic attacks. Hate them.

Well, objectively it's bad for your health.

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.

If it’s straight nights it might not be too bad. I worked 2 days/2 nights/4 off for about 13 years and I would not go back now that I’m in a 9-5.

Unless you’re getting decent compensation for it, I would try and find something else. Humans just aren’t nocturnal.

Some people got it some people don't. I cant function on nights. I did graveyard shift as hospital security supervisor (like another poster stated), also did 6 weeks rotation from days to nights as a deputy in county jail (living hell!) for a year.

Basically as others said. Black out curtains, melotin or sleep aid, sound machine, blue light filtering sunglasses, and consistent schedule is key. Also be careful of health because you will want to eat and drink coffee out of boredom or fighting sleep off.

good luck op hope it works for you.

I grew up with a dad that regularly worked nights, and I worked nights for a few years when I first moved out. It will definitely mess with family plans, especially if you have young kids. Holidays and get togethers often mean getting less sleep so you can get up and travel or cook on a day shift schedule. Invest in a white noise machine or app if you aren’t a deep sleeper, and get a sleeping mask or blackout curtains.

Depending on what time you get off anything before early afternoon is now in the middle of the night for you. All your errands have to be run within the first hour or two after waking up, unless you want to try doing it at ass o’clock in the morning after working all night.

Despite the problems I honestly did enjoy working night shift, I’m a night owl anyway and night shifts are usually quieter. It also helps if you live in a large city with more 24 hour stores.

It's good and bad.

I worked on rotating shifts on a helpdesk. 2 weeks out of 8 was 7pm - 7am shift.

The good was that the office which normally had about 100 agents during the day was reduced to 3 or less. Way quieter and you could do/wear/say anything without issue. During day shift I'd be answering around 10 calls per hour but at night if be lucky to answer 1 per hour.

This is also one of the negatives. Not having much work to do or other people to distract you would make the 12 hours slow to a crawl. Missing out on daylight sucked. I was always tired because 2 weeks is not long enough for the body to adjust.

For the right job and the right pay I would consider night shift again but overall I'd preferably avoid it.

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.

I worked graveyard shifts at a gas station for a year or two. My general experience beyond what other people have said--good commute, fucking with your social life, taking its toll on your body, all that--is that working graveyard shifts is lonely. I cannot understate how lonely it got; there were stretches of multiple hours where there were no customers at all, and it was just me and the long list of nightly chores I had to do (mopping floors, prepping food for breakfast rush, restocking shelves, etc., etc.). Not having any human contact at all fucks with your head something fierce, especially when you mix in sleep deprivation and your body rebelling against the normal sleep rhythm into the mix.

My advise is that if you're going to be working night shift all alone, get into podcasts. Having a radio that I could use to listen to NPR was the main thing that kept me sane, because I could at least have a human voice to listen to and keep my mind somewhat engaged.

I loved being able to sleep in, do what I felt like doing during the day, and then going to work. I also enjoyed being alone at night.

It was hard on my body, though. I don't think my brain ever fully adjusted, because on the weekends it was like my body tried to switch me back to a normal schedule (because I was hanging out with family and friends), and I had to re-adjust on Monday. It also doesn't really work with dating. And I wanted to kill the landscaping people who would trim the hedges at my apartment complex at 10am.

Thirty-nine years ago I worked night shift during college. I'm still trying to straighten out my circadian rhythms.

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.

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.

Mostly dark. But also quiet.

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