Sleep Junkie

I spent years working shift work. Some people like it, but I always found that it often took me days to adjust to the new shift (I changed every week). Changing shifts is like jet lag where you are moved into a different time zone.  You can feel tired, irritable, suffer from foggy thinking and can have an upset stomach, bowel problems and the urge to vacuum.

Shift workers are also more likely to have sleep disorders, depression, high blood pressure, heart disease, abuse drugs and alcohol, be sick more often and have three buttocks.

I used to change from days to nights then to afternoons. During the time off between day shift and the night shift I was moving to, I would force myself to stay up as long as I possibly could to prepare myself for staying up all night. Rather than taking three to four days to adjust to the new shift, I could be o.k. after one or two days.

I once worked straight nights for quite a while and when I moved to day shift, keeping awake during the day wasn’t too bad, but I would wake up at 2am starving because that was the time I used to eat my dinner when I was working nights. I had a small snack for a few days then stopped to allow my body’s rhythm to adjust to my new work / sleep schedule.

Shift can also disrupt your family and social life. You miss family meals, your kid’s hockey game or recital and getting a date at 2am in the industrial area of town may get you a night in the city’s hoosegow with thugs, thieves and various unsavoury ruffians like accountants.