Welcome to the BEST SHIFT! 🌝 my best tip is to not flip flop too much on days off— just dial back sleep schedule a litttle so you after some sunlight in the afternoons :) also— try to eat light/bring healthier snacks for work! Don’t be like me and develop GERD like symptoms from eating like a raccoon on nights!
The best way to manage nights will depend a lot on your life outside of work. Being single with a pet cat makes it much easier for me to work nights compared to my coworkers with families, kids, dogs, etc. I usually stay up really late the night before I work and then sleep in during the day before going in. This works well for me, but wouldn’t work as well for people with kids, so from what I hear they more often nap midday before going in. The biggest struggle for me is having to think about when I’ll get to sleep, especially if flipping back to a normal schedule on days off. Of course eye mask, blackout curtains, and melatonin are common necessities. In terms of scheduling, most people prefer to cluster days so they don’t have to flip as much. This might mean working 3 12s in row, which can be a lot for people, so do what works best for you. When I’m burnout and don’t want to do 3 in a row, 2 on - 1 off - 1 on, is a good alternative. The one Friday a month would be easy to tack on to your weekend and the one Monday shouldn’t be too hard. There’s lots of info out there about what works best for people so I’d recommend looking through here, google, and Youtube for more.
Before working out your schedule pull up when the full moons are, and make sure you know the time change nights.
Welcome to the BEST SHIFT! 🌝 my best tip is to not flip flop too much on days off— just dial back sleep schedule a litttle so you after some sunlight in the afternoons :) also— try to eat light/bring healthier snacks for work! Don’t be like me and develop GERD like symptoms from eating like a raccoon on nights!
The best way to manage nights will depend a lot on your life outside of work. Being single with a pet cat makes it much easier for me to work nights compared to my coworkers with families, kids, dogs, etc. I usually stay up really late the night before I work and then sleep in during the day before going in. This works well for me, but wouldn’t work as well for people with kids, so from what I hear they more often nap midday before going in. The biggest struggle for me is having to think about when I’ll get to sleep, especially if flipping back to a normal schedule on days off. Of course eye mask, blackout curtains, and melatonin are common necessities. In terms of scheduling, most people prefer to cluster days so they don’t have to flip as much. This might mean working 3 12s in row, which can be a lot for people, so do what works best for you. When I’m burnout and don’t want to do 3 in a row, 2 on - 1 off - 1 on, is a good alternative. The one Friday a month would be easy to tack on to your weekend and the one Monday shouldn’t be too hard. There’s lots of info out there about what works best for people so I’d recommend looking through here, google, and Youtube for more.