Life Turned Upside Down!

[wildhawk]

Hey everyone - I haven’t been posting much so here’s an update on me. I mentioned a few weeks ago how my company had a layoff and 79 of my coworkers were let go. One of my good friends is still hunting for a new job. Anyway, I have worked for 19 years at my company on nightshift - and management announced a couple of weeks ago that they were cutting out the 10% nightshift differential and that they were moving all the nightshift employees to dayshift, myself included. ARGH. I was used to taking my daily bike rides to my local park, but now I will be fighting sundown to try and log in as many miles. I took last Thursday and Friday off to try and switch my internal clock to days, but it is hard. I guess it will take me a few more weeks to truly get switched over. Any advice on what will make the transition easier? I am a mess right now - wide awake 3 hours before I go to work and it is going to be a loooooong day. Wish me luck! BTW, DH and I are going on a moonlight bike ride next Sunday at one of our favorite wildlife parks - it starts at sundown and winds through the main scenic drives of the park. I am looking forward to seeing deer and hearing owls - should be fun! The last night ride we took was Christmas eve.

[crazycanuck]

Wildhawk, i'm unable to provide an answer regarding moving from night to day shift but i'm sure someone on TE has and can help.

Good to hear you're now on day shift & haven't lost your job!

I'm sure you'll find time to ride

[Aggie_Ama]

No help on switching but good to hear from you! Just think, only a month and time changes and days get longer. You can sneak a ride in after work.

[derailed]

If you are having trouble getting to sleep at the correct new time, have you considered a supplement such as melatonin to help you adjust?
Hope it's a smooth transition.

[jesvetmed]

Wildhawk: Sorry for the topsy turvy events in your life. It really sucks to have your schedule messed up when you are so used to life in the current manner.

I work nights, but nothing consistent... I seem to go easily back to days after my two or three nights in a row. Which is sometimes unfortunate when I have to get right back onto nights again a couple days later.

I think you will likely find it easy to adjust your sleep patterns. Within a few days of working all day, you will easily be sleeping at night again. Trying some melatonin before bedtime may be an option? I have not used it because of my "back-and-forth" structure, but it is supposed to be wonderful to adjust your body's internal clock.

Good luck with everything! I hope the adjustment goes well.
That night ride sounds like so much fun! Enjoy!
Jes

[wackyjacky1]

Melatonin helps me get to sleep when I'm feeling restless. Try taking one about 20 minutes before you need to go to bed. Benadryl works, too. Since it's cedar season down here, lately I've been taking a Benadryl at bedtime. It does double-duty for me: helps me get to sleep and helps to reduce my allergy symptoms (cedar is a b#$%# ).

[Biciclista]

the way i get my clock set when i travel internationally is that i get outside
in the daylight first thing i can; drink coffee/tea first thing in the morning and at bedtime take a nice hot bath.

the sun really helps set your clock. In two weeks, though, like you suggested, you will be fine.

[sfa]

My husband works nights four days a week and generally has to be awake days on the other three days, so he switches back and forth all the time. He finds that melatonin helps when he has to trigger his body to know when to sleep (especially when he's sleeping nights) and he got a prescription for provigil that he takes occasionally when he needs to be awake/alert when his body is telling him to sleep.

Since you're making the shift permanent, you might want to try melatonin about a half an hour before bedtime for just a few days. You don't want to use it too often or too much since that might inhibit natural production of it, but it may speed up the process of readjusting your body to sleeping at night.

Sarah

[wildhawk]

Thanks everyone! I will give the melatonin a try too. Yesterday (my first day) it rained all day which did not help. I was so tired when I got home that I fell asleep on the couch and did not wake up until midnight - not good since I have to be up a 5 am. Today went a lot smoother and I am doing better. I am hoping to get at least 7 hours sleep tonight. And both DH and I are looking forward to spring when we can go riding after work. We have the moonlight ride Sunday night so hopefully it will not be too cold - it is supposed to get down into the 30s here tomorrow night - now that’s cold for us Floridians - brrr!