I started last week with st Charles sheriffs office and this is my first shift change. just wondering what everyone does to adjust to shift change? just stay up all night the day before? just trying to find out what does to make the adjustment easier
rotating shifts for leo
- Thread starter kae6511
- Start date
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If you get a full nights sleep and a nap or two before your first night you'll be fine. I like to go STRAIGHT to sleep between nights though because you never know what will come up. I have 4 children and I am able to it. Do yall work 12hr shifts or 8? Im NOT a leo but have been working shift for the last 9yrs.
Last edited:
Boothkicker
Pirate
When I was on shift I worked straight nights (12 hr shifts). I would usually stay up later the night before I went back so I could sleep into the day at least a little. Luckily I'm a very flexible sleeper and could also go with little sleep for a few days.
sksshooter
Well-Known Member
Worked shift for over 10 years. Rotating 12's swapping from days to nights. If your tired sleep. If your not dont. Not a whole lot else you can do. I always slept better during the day while the wife and kids were gone so I didn't have an issue. The hard part for me was going to bed at night.
TomTerrific
Well-Known Member
If you worry about the amount of sleep you are getting, you ain't gonna sleep.
I worked straight night shifts for five years or so and got by on about six hours of sleep work days.
As someone pointed out, go to bed soon after you get home from a night shift as you never know what is going to happen. White noise generators are wonderful.
I worked straight night shifts for five years or so and got by on about six hours of sleep work days.
As someone pointed out, go to bed soon after you get home from a night shift as you never know what is going to happen. White noise generators are wonderful.
+1 on if you worry, you won't sleep.
Usually the first day is a little rough for a guy just starting out. You'll get used to it, especially when you start working details and you don't have a sleep pattern. You sleep when you can! I also found that going to sleep as soon as you get off of nights helps and being in a dark room. As for the weekends if you have kids and a wife, dont count on getting much sleep during the day unless they leave the house. My 2y/o is like a bull in a china shop and wants to see what daddy is doing every 30min. Good luck, caffine and water are your second best friends!!! Stay away from the excess sugar though, COKE is the devil!!!
I always preferred to work the same shift all the time because it took me several days/nights to get adjusted to the new work/sleep cycle. It varies from one person to another and some handle it very well.
It is still hard to perform your best if you are always changing shifts and night shifts are harder on you than day shifts. I am no longer in the work force but I spent the majority of my time working nights.
Been working shift for 25 years and i get up at a normal time on the first night shift, do your chores or running around and then lay down for a nap in the early afternoon and sleep for a couple hours. If you cant nap then stay up and dont do anything that will make you tired later on. Watch tv or piddle.
Stay up as late as you possibly can the night before your first night shift and sleep as long as possible that day. That'll prep you to stay up on your shift. After that first night shift you'll be tired enough to sleep all day before the next and so on.
when I have to switch from nights to days takes a day or two of prep, after last night shift I force myself to get up after only about 4 hours, that way I'm tired that night and can go to sleep at a "normal" time, and get up early.
Once your body accepts that it has no discernible sleep pattern, you'll be nice and flexible like the rest of us.
when I have to switch from nights to days takes a day or two of prep, after last night shift I force myself to get up after only about 4 hours, that way I'm tired that night and can go to sleep at a "normal" time, and get up early.
Once your body accepts that it has no discernible sleep pattern, you'll be nice and flexible like the rest of us.
B shift eh?
Preface - IANAD
OP - as far as getting to sleep when your body doesn't want to (and restricting to over the counter medicines), I've personally had success with melatonin, and there's some research supporting its efficacy as well. Just follow the directions on the back - allot 8 hours of sleep, take 30 minutes before you want to BE asleep, then lay down and start trying to sleep. It has variable effects on people, but it may work for you. I would try it on a night preceding an off day before using it prior to work for that reason (it isn't supposed to disrupt your sleep cycles, but some people feel funky the next day).
I would recommend trying generic benadryl (diphenhydramine) - it's the ingredient in tylenol PM that makes you drowsy, and it is WAY cheaper as generic benadryl.
OP - as far as getting to sleep when your body doesn't want to (and restricting to over the counter medicines), I've personally had success with melatonin, and there's some research supporting its efficacy as well. Just follow the directions on the back - allot 8 hours of sleep, take 30 minutes before you want to BE asleep, then lay down and start trying to sleep. It has variable effects on people, but it may work for you. I would try it on a night preceding an off day before using it prior to work for that reason (it isn't supposed to disrupt your sleep cycles, but some people feel funky the next day).
I would recommend trying generic benadryl (diphenhydramine) - it's the ingredient in tylenol PM that makes you drowsy, and it is WAY cheaper as generic benadryl.
