Working World

It’s been a rough year and you are very, very tired of looking for work and hearing about how rough it is out there. You figure you’ll do just about anything to be employed again and start paying some bills. Then just after you hang up on your last credit collector, you finally get terrific news – you’re hired! But the catch is, it’s the night shift. Ugh. So now what? 

Having just started my first graveyard shift, I can attest that it's not easy to transition into the night world. The rest of the world lives in the daytime when you’re counting sheep behind blackout drapes. Here are a few ideas to help you adjust to your lifestyle.
 
Sleep. For one thing, make sure you have quiet uninterrupted sleep in a dark room. Invest in heavier curtains, earplugs, a white noise machine or a eye mask. Turn off the cell phone. Your roommates will understand your request for peace and quiet if you promise in turn not to make any noise coming home in the wee hours of the morning.     

Food. To keep up your energy and avoid that jet-lag feeling from the odd hours, try to eat extra-healthy. Vitamins and antioxidants are always a great idea and especially helpful during tough shifts.         

Make sure you eat on a consistent schedule, the way you would during the day so that you aren’t eating right before you go to sleep. You also want to avoid munching on junk food to keep yourself awake. Have a high-protein meal before your shift starts, with a snack during break and then stop. Caffeine is fine towards the earlier part of your night, but cut back halfway through so it won’t keep you up when it’s time to sleep.

Decompress. Work in a little aerobics (or whatever turns you on) soon after waking. It will make all the difference in the world. If you’re worried, talk to your doctor or personal trainer (since you’re making more money now) about what best suits your physical needs with your new schedule.

It’s also important to get some decompression time when you come home, just like on a normal shift. Your mind and body both have to wind down from job stress so allow yourself to do this for at least an hour before trying to sleep. Watch some funny TV or read a graphic novel (that’s a comic book, for all you non-geeks out there).
 
Life. As for a social life or family time? Sorry to tell you, but, it is now severely limited. In real time, that is. Thank God for Facebook and Twitter. We all have more FB friends than we will ever really see anyway.

At any rate, you’ll have to have a frank discussion with your family and friends. You’ll adjust and get on a schedule where you can see them during the daytime. (They’ll be so glad to see you that they won’t mind you falling asleep in the middle of Harry Potter.)

Save the hardcore errands for your days off, at least for now until you get used to the new schedule. For now all your energy should be going towards letting your biorythm adjust.

But cheer up, it’s not all bad! There are perks to this new job, too. The commute will be much easier and who doesn’t want that, as a traffic-harried Angeleno? Plus, you will undoubtedly encounter many new types of humans in your hours of surreality. All of this will add to your worldly experience and you’ll have some fun stories to tell at Hollywood parties.

Speaking of crazy, please drive safely at night. And you know you need to park in well-lit places with security, and to keep your car regularly maintained, right?

So stock up on coffee and meditation tapes, but just don’t use them at the same time. Remember, changing your life around every once in a while is good for you. It wakes up not only your mind, but your spirit.

Review (what you need to do):
• Get quality sleep
• Maintain quality lifestyle
• Exercise and eat right
• See trainer or doctor
• Regular car maintenance
• Enjoy the nightlife!      

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With a B.A. in Theater Arts and a minor in English, Kate West feels qualified to be an editor and night owl. Lots of caffeine doesn’t hurt either

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NAP BEFORE YOU WORK

Daytime workers get up and go to work, then go home and spend another several hours up and about before heading to bed. But night-shift workers may head to bed immediately after getting home from work in the early morning.

Then, because it's tough to sleep through the day, they'll get up and be awake for several hours before heading back to work — and so they may be driving home from work in the early morning, after they've been up for a very long time and when the circadian clock is giving its strongest signal for sleep.

To ameliorate this, splitting sleep can help. If you sleep five or more hours after getting home in the morning and then again for a few more hours before going back to work, you've gotten in something closer to eight hours and at least are less likely to be dangerously exhausted when you're driving home from work.                     — Adapted from USNews.com/health