I just realised that after last week (my week of midnight shifts) my sleep schedule has been way off. Basically this is how my weekend went. Friday off work at 8 in the morning...slept till 6 at night. Played xbox with my bro till 3 am in the morning, went to sleep at 3:30am. Woke up at 8:00 in the morning to my mom yelling at me about my cat who had just ate a spool of thread....I couldn't get back to sleep. Saturday night asleep by 10:00PM Sunday morning awake at 6:00AM feeling awake. Napped from 1:00-6:00 pm....Didn't get to sleep till 1 am. Monday morning, up at 8 in the morning and feeling fully awake. Had a really bad headache but couldn't get myself to nap. My sleep schedule is seriously effed right now. And hopefully by going to sleep soon I can wake up at a decent time tommorow and get back on track. What I'm wondering is, is can you permanetly ruin your sleep schedule. As you can tell my weekend was pretty bad for getting sleep....and tonights shifts was absolutely dreadfull because I was so tired (Headache, heavy eyes...not fun). And what is the best method to getting back on track with a sleep schedule. My friend said stay up 24 hours and reset it that way...but I'm really bad for being unwillful to when I need sleep. Should I try medication like Lunesta? Would that be dangerous? I'll see how I sleep tonight, but If I am up at 8:00 in the morning fully awake again I am going to loose it!
Lunesta is available by prescription only. If the medicine was not prescribed to you, it is not appropriate to take it. Only your doctor would be able to tell you how, when, and if you should take Lunesta. Taking prescription medication without proper medical guidance could cause serious risks, including death, because of possible contradictions, etc. Even though switching to a different shift can be difficult, I know I have worked all three shifts before, the key is to maintain a schedule. I found it easier, to me, to sleep shortly after getting home from work while working on third shift. I would sleep until mid after noon/early evening. It takes a personal commitment and an understanding from those around you that you need to get the same recommended time of sleep as normal, even though it may not be the normal habits. Finally, even though you'll have days off (well hopefully) you should maintain your sleep schedule even on those days. That way you are tired at the same time consistently.
Shift work is the pits for sure. Maintaining a schedule will help, but for any employers out there here is a bit of information for you to digest: People working nights and swing shifts are not as productive and if kept on such a schedule suffer ill health in the long run. Shifting your sleep schedule can be done with a few hours here and there and the only medication that might prove to be helpful is melatonin, a hormone produced with sleeping. Here for more info: http://www.melatonin.com/ Meanwhile, try to find a place to work without shift work or night shifts. Man is really not a nocturnal animal.
I used to work third shift, and I find what time you sleep is totally dependant on whether you're the kind to wake up and go right to work, or come home from work and go to sleep. Personally speeking, I'd pass out as soon as I got in the door, heh! Then wake up in the afternoon, goof off or get things done until 8 PM, then start getting ready for work. This shift is crazy, though. It seems like it's going to be great, at first, but trust me, it gets to you. There's really no other way to put it. For me, I transitioned between sleep scheduels through sleeping pills. Make sure to only take them for a couple of nights in a row, though, as they are addictive. But that worked very well for me.
THANK YOU! Lol. Hmm...All great answers and are sure to help me. As for what happened today I was up at 7:00 but once my parents got out the door for work I got back to sleep round 8:00 and woke up round 11:00. And I feel alot better! So maybe I'll only have to suffer the mondays where I go from Midnights to Days. And I guess I should describe to you guys my work schedule. So every week we do a rotation of shifts that are 8 hours. This week is days next week is mornings The week after is midnights. And I get weekends off So I'm not working the midnight shifts as my only shift....I only work them for a week...but still...a week is enough for me to hate my job. So what I really need is kinda a short term easy schedule switch from Sunday (after the midnight shifts) to monday (Days shifts). I'm kinda scared to use medication however, because I find the idea of using them a bit dangerous (I don't know why, I just don't like the idea of "Knocking myself out.") but perhaps it is the best option. When my brother worked midnights he told me to just, "Suffer the mondays" but I don't really like that idea...but the only other option is "Suffer the Sunday" and that is the "Day of rest" Ugh! I can't wait till I'm outta that place!
