Adjusting to the "Night" Shift?

Try a slow transition. Start driving in the afternoon, about 5-6pm while the sun is out. Run 8 hours, and catch a quick nap around 2am. I'm a vampire driver...I can drive forever, but I start to fade as soon as I start seeing the first rays of sunlight. So it's easier to learn while the sun is up and shut down while it's pitch black.

Maximum mileage? Start at 8-9 PM and run like a demon. Done by 0700. Like I said, it's extremely hard for me when I see sun. I had to pull over and hide in the sleeper and let the sun come up. You condition yourself to run all night. I struggle do wth the sun at first, now it's not that incredible strain that it was when I first started.

 

Hopefully in time your dispatcher can work with a schedule you're most productive at.Unless you'll be hauling reefer then plan on a lot of night driving.My dispatchers tried to find me loads like after 2 am.My best time I like driving is after 2 am and before 6 am.I always liked to be done in the afternoon and go to bed around 7 pm.

 

my buddy KAK drives nights he says you just learn to drive tired
i run 2300 mile runs each way so i adjust like patty
and drive 2 am until 2 pm
i'm boring like her too asleep at 7

 

you talking about hauling gas locally right?
You'll have no time to be tired.
Sleeping when the suns up sucks

 

If you're doing local night work, then make sure you have darkness and quiet at home during the day. It will be rough the first few days, you may need to shut down for a nap or two the first couple of days in order to make it through your shift. After that, if you are diligent about getting your sleep during daytime, you'll find that you can pull full and productive shifts easily.

Making the adjustment is similar to jet lag. I did a lot of international travel on business, leaving the west coast in the early afternoon and arriving at 5:00 pm local time in Asia after a 10-13 hour flight. THEN go to sleep and wake up having to piss at 3:00 am, and getting to that first morning meeting everything was full speed ahead until early afternoon and WHAM! Light's out. I'm there, but not comprehending anything... and that's usually the time they want to negotiate then hit the karaoke bar! After a few days you adjust to the new time zone, then after a week or two in the Orient... WHAM! You make that flight back home and have to adjust all over again.

It's the adjustment period that's difficult. SLEEP WHEN YOU CAN, WHERE YOU CAN. Lay off alcohol. Get exercise during your awake hours. Take your shoes off and walk around if you can. When you sleep, do nothing else but sleep, in darkness and quiet. No TV. No computer. No books. That sleeper berth is sleep time.

Last but not least lay off the caffeine about 3-6 hours before you need to sleep. Don't be drinking coffee or energy drinks just before you hit the rack.

 

What lepton says, stay off ANY amount of caffeine long before your bedtime. Try and make your bedroom as dark as possible, maybe use ear plugs as well. Before bedtime however, wind down a bit, by maybe watching some tv, with the volume low, and If you fall asleep say in your tv room recliner, then stay there. If you have a tv in your bedroom, again, keep the volume low, as watching the tv makes me zonk out in no time.

It can be difficult, but tell you what too, it has been said, and I do agree, that even on your days off? stay on your sleep schedule. Otherwise that first night back on the job, you'll be all mucked up.

I do not however follow that advice, as I have way too many things to do at my house, and I simply cannot be running power tools after midnight! And I pay for it, come what did I say? My first night back after the weekend!

 

What pattyj said is good. I can set out at 02:00 or 06:00, but after a couple night, I'm the walking dead. Driving.One thing about setting out in the early AM - choice of parking spots in the afternoon. Major impact. Lepton made a great post. O

 

If I'm running solo my preferred time to start is at 02:00. I'm taking my 30 minute break right around the time the "solar powered drivers" are vacating their parking spots and by the time I'm finished at around 14:00 to 16:00 there are plenty of parking spots to choose from. Especially running through urban areas I can get through at the speed limit before rush hour starts. By the time the sun is coming up I try to have my day planned to be well clear of urban areas and have the cruise control set on open highways. Last night was typical, starting at 02:00 to drive through Dallas. The sun came up just short of Houston and I had to deal with light rush hour on a Saturday morning to make a delivery, grab another load, then be back almost to Dallas to find a parking spot in the early afternoon. Tomorrow at 02:00 I'll start again to run through Dallas on my way to OKC. Sell your 70 to get the most miles out of it.

 

I run about 540 miles daily in a daycab starting around 2100 and finishing around 0730. Days before I started this job I would try to stay up late by playing video games or watching movies. Nuts, gum, and coffee (coffee only at the start of shift) helps keep me awake when driving.

You can be struggling behind the wheel but once home you'll be wide awake, unwind and take a hot shower, also chamomile tea helps one relax and ease any anxiety that you get when you try to force yourself to sleep. Buy some sleeping pills and ONLY take them if you cannot sleep at all, do not take them often, your body will become dependant on them to sleep, I say this from experience that's why I started drinking that tea. Also buy some black out curtains.

Just remember that when the body is sleep deprived there is nothing better than... Sleep! A 15 minute power nap is better than an energy drink. The night shift is not easy, on your days off your social life will take a hit since you'll be sleeping half the day, make adjustments and you'll be ok.