Exhausted

[Will2BLean]

Oh my!

 

[buffalogal]

I have just started working 2nd shift this week, and it's really wearing me out. I know that I'm getting enough sleep because I can't roll myself out of bed until I've had 8 or 8.5 hours sleep. I haven't been training hard this week either, so that isn't it... I'm convinced that it's the change in my shift. Whenever I worked my 8-4:30, I had no problem going to bed at 11:00 and waking up at 6am to run a couple miles and lift. Is there anything I can do to make it easier? It's so frustrating!

I think you hit the nail on the head. I rotate shifts once a week and it is very similar to what you experience with jet lag. A very lethargic feeling like you're not all there and that you're moving in slow motion. I've found that on shifts that you have a hard time with, in your case 2nd shift, in my case 8am-4pm (wierd, I know!) you may have to up your sleep by another hour or so.

When I work mids and evenings I can survive on 5-6 hours. Day shifts, I have to consistently get 9-9.5 hours or I cannot function. The more you work it, the better it will get. I also notice that if I'm consistent with my workouts I can handle the shiftwork easier - at least that is somewhat of a routine.

Don't worry sweetie - your body will adapt. Especially since you have three months to get used to it. Wait until you switch again. I guarantee you'll go through the whole re-adjustment phase again.

And Jens quote she found is exactly right on. The mental and psychological toll of shift-work is something that is hard to explain except to another shift-worker. But it's there!

Just for kicks, check out this website: http://www.bio-chart.com/

Some of the people I work with have found it pretty reliable as far as predicting how we'll feel from shift to shift. I'm not sure how accurate it will always be, but I think there is something to it.

Feel free to pm me if you have any questions or need any moral support. I've done this for 4 years and counting so I know exactly what you're going through. Only 26 years to go for me...

 

[Will2BLean]

Buffalogal, 26 more years of shift changes?!?! I would go insane!

I stuck my birthday in that biorythms chart and my intellectual level is at critical. Hmm.. Anyways, I woke up at 9:40 today. That's the latest I've woke up all week. I haven't been setting my alarm clock, though. I have just been giving myself as much rest as I can get. Since I woke up so late, I thought I would skip today's workout, BUT since you said that being consistent with your workouts help you, I'll do mine too! It's an easy workout anyways.

I seriously don't know if I could function if I had to change shifts constantly.

 

[musclemom]

Will2, my son is in the service and is on mids. One of the first things he learned is that you can't get right home from work and go right to sleep, you have to have decompression time.

What you have to do (which is what his entire class was instructed) is essentially rotate your entire schedule but keep it the same ... does that make sense?

The other thing, it really takes close to a week to get into the swing of things.

Buffalogal ... OMG how can you do it??? Shift changes EVERY week, what kind of job IS THAT???

 

[Will2BLean]

musclemom, I have been trying to go to sleep as soon as I get home. All I do is toss and turn for a while.

As for rotating my whole schedule... that does make sense, but that would really throw off my weekends. Saturday and Sunday are the only times I get to see my husband at all (well, other than seeing him asleep when I get home ), and if I slept during the day I wouldn't get to see him at all. I'm really kicking myself in the butt for changing jobs right now... I just did it because it was a closer drive.

 

[musclemom]

As for rotating my whole schedule... that does make sense, but that would really throw off my weekends. Saturday and Sunday are the only times I get to see my husband at all (well, other than seeing him asleep when I get home ), and if I slept during the day I wouldn't get to see him at all. I'm really kicking myself in the butt for changing jobs right now... I just did it because it was a closer drive.

My son keeps his schedule when he's visiting with us; we get up around 7:30 in the morning and go to bed around midnight. He gets up around 1:00 p.m. and corks off sometime in the late morning hours (5:00 a.m. ish???) ... it's just too hard on him to try to keep up with us, and we can't function much after midnight. Think of it this way, you're putting your body through jet lag every time you change your schedule.

I can understand the marriage thing ... I'm not even going to try to be a smartass and give you a glib answer on that one. It's something you have to work out with your husband. Sit down, talk with him, see where his head is at.

I can tell you after 21 years total marriage (to two different men) a sound marriage is built on the quality of the time you spend together as a couple, not the quantity.

 

[Will2BLean]

My son keeps his schedule when he's visiting with us; we get up around 7:30 in the morning and go to bed around midnight. He gets up around 1:00 p.m. and corks off sometime in the late morning hours (5:00 a.m. ish???) ... it's just too hard on him to try to keep up with us, and we can't function much after midnight. Think of it this way, you're putting your body through jet lag every time you change your schedule.

I can understand the marriage thing ... I'm not even going to try to be a smartass and give you a glib answer on that one. It's something you have to work out with your husband. Sit down, talk with him, see where his head is at.

I can tell you after 21 years total marriage (to two different men) a sound marriage is built on the quality of the time you spend together as a couple, not the quantity.

I can understand that. I just feel like I would be cheating both of us out of quality time if I followed a completely different sleep schedule than he does. Our weekends are always so jammed packed with things we love to do, and I don't want to lose any of that time. We've talked about it, and he's going to try to take naps when he gets home from work/gym in the evening, that way when I get home he can stay up for an hour before we go to sleep. He never has problems falling asleep, so I don't think it will affect him much. I, on the other hand, am a horrible sleeper. Hopefully that will take away some of the stress on the situation. For now, I'm thinking about buying a small pack (like a week supply) of thermos from Wal-Mart and taking them at around 7:00 or 8:00 in the morning. That way, when I do get up, I'll have energy to get my day going... at least until I get used to my new schedule.

 

[buffalogal]

Will2, my son is in the service and is on mids. One of the first things he learned is that you can't get right home from work and go right to sleep, you have to have decompression time.

What you have to do (which is what his entire class was instructed) is essentially rotate your entire schedule but keep it the same ... does that make sense?

The other thing, it really takes close to a week to get into the swing of things.

Buffalogal ... OMG how can you do it??? Shift changes EVERY week, what kind of job IS THAT???[/QUOTE]

I know it's hard for some people to believe, but my body (so far) has functioned well with rotating. I'm a meteorologist, and since the weather never stops, neither do we. It pays to LOVE your job - if I didn't, I couldn't do it!

I do the same thing as your son. I do rotate my schedule around the shift I'm working. On midnight, I eat breakfast in the afternoon, lunch before going to work, supper at 3 in the morning, etc etc. Sounds a little absurd but it works for me.

The main thing is finding what works best for you. That may take several weeks but, I promise Will2BLean, you'll get the hang of it.

 

[Sassy69]

Oh I'm sure the change in scheduled did you real good. Particularly if you have a schedule already in place. My little brother worked for at least 2 yrs as night shift as a systems administrator-- messed w/ his ability to sleep and general quality of life for quite awhile. Here's some stuff on shift work & your circadian clock:

http://www.stanford.edu/~dement/circadian.html

 

[buffalogal]

Just curious, Will2BLean, if you're body has adjusted to the shift change? I hope it has for your sake, or it'll be a long couple of months. Good luck!