graveyard shift

[924slover]

anyone else working the graveyard shift ?? i get to sleep at 7am

[djmcmath]

I'm not now, but I've done it before. I was in rotating shift work for 6 months once -- a week each of days, swings, and mids. I'll be honest ... I hated it. Worst thing in the world. I couldn't get used to doing anything with normal people because of my weird schedule.

Dan

[Porsche-O-Phile]

My wife does it regularly (including tonight). I just keep weird hours and I've worked overnight shifts in the past. Never really bothered me (although it does take some time to adapt)

[VINMAN]

I work 11-7 occasionally if I have to cover a job that has to be done on"safe time".
At one point, years ago when I was a regular tech, I worked graveyard for 6 yrs straight. I loved it. Especially in the summer. Soon as i got off work I headed right down to the marina and spent the day on my boat. Or hit the beach to surf. Usually got to sleep in the late afternoon . But the job was also the kind where I could catch a few Z's during work. ( I know, thats terrible).
Only shift I hated was evenings,4-12. Never seen anyone. Day was shot.

[drew1]

4 to 12 is worst one, when you're right in the middle of something it is time to go to work.

[TerryH]

When I was younger I worked it for a couple years. Never really got used to sleeping during the day and was averaging 4-5 hours of shuteye daily during the week. Would go into a coma during the weekend to compensate.

Great part was I was heavily into golf at the time and the courses were wide open weekday mornings. Of course, the retirees I was often paired with looked at me funny as I popped that first cold Bud at 8 am..

[Les Paul]

I've been doing it for over 32 years. You get used to it. We work 12 hr shifts. The old 6-3, 3-10,10-7 has pretty much been replaced.

[old man neri]

I usually work two 7am-6pm shifts followed by two 6pm-7am shifts. Going back and forth is can really mess me up sometimes.

[ZOA NOM]

I've worked rotating shifts since 1984. Love it.

[911boost]

When I first started, I worked the graveyards. I didn't really mind it all. During the winters I would get off work and meet some friends at the outdoor ice rinks in MN and skate for a couple of hours.

One of my favorites was 1pm - 9pm. Got sleep in, and still go out to the bars and meet friends.

Tin foil on the inside of your bedroom window is your firend when you work the graveyards.

Bill

[Hugh R]

Most TV shows budget for 12 hours and go up from there. Because of SAG and other union rules some groups have 10 or 12 hours off guaranteed, otherwise very substantial $$ penalties. As a result, most shows start on Monday at 7 AM, on Tuesdays at 9 AM and so on.

It's not uncommon for them to start on Fridays at 4PM for stage work and work till 6 AM. Also, Friday and Saturday nights are the only time we can close streets and freeways for driving/car crash work. So sometimes I end up working at night.

[dtw]

Used to work day 1 8am-6pm (10 hrs), day 2 8am-8am (24 hrs), then days 3 & 4 off. Repeat.

Loved it, but it was a pain sometimes.

[DavidI]

I used to work graveyard shift a couple of years ago. I did it for 3 years and never got used to it. I am transferring back to it in 2 weeks. That's how it goes......David

[ckissick]

I once worked the night shift (12:00-8:00) on a tunnel project. I was the project geologist. It was very surreal, being lowered, by a crane in, a "man-cage" down a 250-foot vertical shaft, and walking 600 feet to the tunnel face at 3 or 4 in the morning.

We were tunneling under a lake with 20 feet of gravel between us and the bottom of the lake. We injected chemical grout ahead of the tunnel face so the gravel wouldn't cave in. I would use my watch and record the setup time for a grout sample so we would know when its safe to dig, while muckers and jacklegs worked around me in deafening noise and the constant dripping of water on my hardhat. I loved it.

[Tobra]

You will be more prone to illness working off hours. Get plenty of exercise and eat a good diet, maybe take vitamins. When you wake up, shine a bright light on your face or go out in the sun if it is up and it will help to reset your body's clock

[ted]

swing, day, mid with 8 hours off between 8 hour shifts.
26 years as an air traffic controller.
The shift work was more fatiguing than the job.

I have heard of studies on Fed Ex pilots that fly just the red eyes/mid flights actually may have a shorter life expectancy.