Have to ask, is night shift just as crazy in other professions as it is in nursing? I joke night shift, better stories, fewer administrators. Joking aside, it really is a different culture between nights and days. Night seems to be more of a team and a whole lot more inappropriate than day shift.

So what say other night shifters?

absolutely.
late/night shifts are way more informal.

I do IT support for a living.
I've worked normal day shift (hate it), afternoon/evening shift (my current), and the overnight.

It's a much more relaxed atmosphere when there's little to no worry about upper management suddenly showing up

Midnight shift does seem to be a special breed.

There's those that suffer through, because of low seniority, it works for the family...

Then there's those that can actually "work" those hours.
Yeah, they just seem to be a little more "off" than others.

It's now known that due to sleep disruption, it's not healthy (if you have the choice).

Dr. Matthew Walker on Sleep for Enhancing Learning, Creativity, Immunity, and Glymphatic System 9-28-19

01:50:47 Night shift workers experience a degradation in the overall quality of their sleep, experiencing deficiencies in REM and deep NREM sleep, which suggests that, even for the same total time in bed, proper timing matters.

I have worked night shift off and on periodically during my time in LE.

I just spent the last two years working night shift for the M.E. office.

I love the fact that the calls are more intense, more independence and there are no supervisors there.

The only problem I had was, that it was killing my health because I could not sleep. The last two years we worked 50 to 60 hours a week on the most gawd awful rotations and hours i have ever seen due to the fact that the supervisors were to lazy to change the schedule since it did not affect them.

Now the Officers/Deputies I worked with when I was in LE were different in the fact that they were more independent, different sense of humor and how they patrolled and their mind set regarding it.

The culture is different on midnight shifts. I always much preferred it to any other shift. When I was young in the prison system, I loved the evening shift cause it was pretty much rock and roll, but after I got kids it was much better to come home and make them breakfast, then go to bed. Never had trouble sleeping.

I'm a retired pharmacist who spent almost all of my career doing nightshifts (7 12hr shifts on and then 7 days off) in a ~400 bed hospital.

It is a very different culture.

There's a lot fewer administrative assholes around for one thing.

The bureaucrats are asleep

quote:

Originally posted by mrapteam666:
The only problem I had was, that it was killing my health because I could not sleep.

Same.

My body is not cut out for night shift. I'm much happier in my current boring but daytime position, where I can actually sleep well.

I'm past the young, gung-ho, "fuck sleep, I want action" phase, and have moved into the Murtaugh phase of my career.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: RogueJSK,

The worst is the lovely 12 hour rotating shifts from 7 to 7. You get 8 weeks on nights and then 8 weeks on days.

Did that for 8 years. Then my final 3 years was night only, anywhere from 9 hour to 12 hour shifts.

You're constantly messed up.

Well it does seem better suited to the non conformists in society. I’m good with decision making and have little problem with assuming responsibility for my decisions. Day shift workers tend to be given less freedom.

Yes there are a bunch of peculiar people out here after hours. Been doing it for over 20 years and couldn’t begin to relate all the crazy I’ve seen.

Yes, very different.

When I worked the 3PM to 11PM "2nd shift" I simply could not go home and go to sleep. It seems odd because I usually didn't go to bed anyway until 11 or 12 at night when I worked days.

But the 3rd shift 11PM to 7AM or nights 7PM to 7AM shift neither one were a problem. I got home at ~8 and would go straight to sleep. Windows blacked out and a noise machine helped that.

I came in to work at 11PM one night and a late working process engineer said "Hi" as we passed... I replied "Good morning!" He said "You night shift people ain't right, you are the third person tonight at almost midnight, to tell me Good morning."

Can't beat walking in to work as the "bosses" are all walking out.
Even though I'm retired now I still stay up all night and sleep till around 2pm.so does my wife.

I did nights for a while, no bosses, geniuses, or idiots around. We got a lot done and had fun doing it.

Of.course now I am the boss...

Night shift is the best.
As others have stated the bureaucrats are sleeping and work is accomplished without the undo stress.

I have worked 3rd going on 10 years now in an automotive stamping plant. I don't mind it at all. I've never had a problem sleeping, usually 8:30 am until 4 pm or so. Some benefits are; not taking off work for an appointment, going to grocery at 7am(you have the place to yourself),no rush hour traffic. The only thing that's odd for me is that I feel strange buying a 6 pack after work. You are standing there with beer while everyone in line is getting their coffee and heading off to work. I've gotten some strange looks.

I am not a morning person, so I hate day shift. When we were on 8 hour shifts, afternoons was the best, slept like a teenager. I do well on nights too, somehow I get a deeper sleep during the day than I do on day shift.

There are things that happen on night shifts that seem to come straight out of a Twilight Zone or X Files episode.

This is what most administrators think of the night crew:

Loved the 2nd shift. Slept in, like I did on weekends, started work at 2pm, worked til 10:30pm, went home or out to bars on Friday night, little adult supervision, it was populated by those with little time with the company or other night owls. No traffic on the way in or out.

But yeah, slightly different people.

Now rotating shifts will mess with your health and decision making. A human factors engineer showed me the studies that proved it. Avoid that shit like the plague.

It's definitely a lot more relaxed but I am not cut out for it. I need the night time sleep.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by mrapteam666:
The only problem I had was, that it was killing my health because I could not sleep.

Same.

My body is not cut out for night shift. I'm much happier in my current boring but daytime position, where I can actually sleep well.

I'm past the young, gung-ho, "fuck sleep, I want action" phase, and have moved into the Murtaugh phase of my career.

Agreed. I’ve always said if I lost my sweet gig on dayshift (Personnel/Recruiting/Backgrounds) I’d bounce back to night shift in a heartbeat. Trouble is, as much fun as it is, I can’t keep up with the 24 year old rookies who are out going balls to the wall for 12 straight hours.