Staying up at night, sleeping during the day?

[plwk]

I have no choice but to work night shifts. I've been doing night shifts since November and will continue until September. The result? Constant searing headaches. Chronic fatigue. Unpredictable bowel function. Weight gain. Cracked dry skin. Heightened irritability. Strained relationship with my wife. The list goes on.

Ah those were the days I used to do the graveyard shift...and with an ex Maggie Thatcher styled boss, she wouldn't let me go off at 7am but kept me til like its 11am or 12 noon, not paying attention when I was doing handovers, called me when I was sleeping (until my mom plugged out the phone lines)...I recall how my eyes felt like burning when I came into sunlight exposure, blurry vision, slept in the light rail transit train..even when I was standing lol...headaches, bad temper, diet upsets, weight gain, occasional eczema and once a cat saw me walking back home, stared with gaping mouth and enlarged eyes and ran off as if I was a Count Dracula getting off the nite shift....lol

Those were the days (nites)...no more I said....no more...

[BubbaBuddhist]

I usually sleep from midnight to 7-8AM, then I take an afternoon nap when I can. When I was younger, I liked to stay up all night and sleep late in the day, until noon or so, but as I aged it doesn't work. I became more in tune with day/ night cycles and when the sun comes up I'm pretty much awake, even if I pull a late-nighter. So sometimes that nap is important.

My wife works 7 PM to 7 AM at the hospital, three nights a week, and on days she works she sleeps maybe four hours a day. On her days off she'll crash for 12 hours. Frankly, I think this lack of regular circadian sleep pattern wrecks her health, She has constant migraines, poor overall metabolic reactions, nervousness, sensitivity to noise and light, digestive problems, muscle aches, and she's only 35. I'm fifty and at my last checkup doc said I have the cardiovascular age of 36-37. (I attribute this to vegetarian diet, calm demeanor and plenty of rest ) and I truly believe if the two of us keep up our respective lifestyles, I will outlive her.

When I was in college I worked a midnight shift and I was tired all the time. Sleeping during the day was difficult. I couldn't seem to ever enter deep sleep. There may be people who are naturally "wired" for day sleep but I think the existence of Vampires is still debated among academic circles.

J

[Mukunda]

I've always preferred working nights. That way my days were open for things I wanted to do like gardening, going to the beach or other outdoor activities. My experience is that it isn't the schedule that gets to people, it's lack of sleep.

[oceanmen]

not sure the night and day were created for that...

Huh? Created by whom?

the question is asked by who?