what's the easiest way to switch shifts?

The brain can adjust to sleeping different hours of the day if it is done on a sustained basis. The circadian rhythm will be changed over a period of six months to a year. Most people who work rotating shifts never get used to it. They experience temporary loss of memory and coordination. Their life expectancy is reduced. When they change to a more normal schedule, it can take three or four years to get back on a regular sleep pattern.

This info comes from an article by John Schieszer in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The following tips are offered for coping with shift work.

Start your new shift later in the day. It is easier to change from an eight-hour shift starting at 7 a.m. to one starting at 3 p.m., rather than the reverse.

If you are moving to a night shift, understand that you will not immediately get a full six to eight hours of sleep. Take a three-hour nap before starting work, then sleep again after you finish.

Darken your bedroom as much as possible or use a sleep mask. Ear plugs or white noise can help as well.

Maintain the same bedtime rituals, such as brushing your teeth or relaxing with a book or television.

Avoid heavy exercise just before bed. But try to exercise moderately at some point every day.

 

Thats Trucking!

 

I worked 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. for six years. The thing to do is not even try to go to sleep as soon as you stop driving at 7 a.m. You body will still be "driving" and you most likely will toss and turn if you jump right in the bed. Stay awake as long as possible past 7 a.m. as you can, I used to stay awake until 11 a.m. or so before I was really, really tired.
So, as a driver, get all your non-driving stuff (shower, etc.) out of the way after you shut down at 7 a.m. You may have to get used to showering before sleep if you aren't already. As long as you are asleep by 11 a.m. or noon, you can get plenty of sleep and still have time to do things prior to getting behind the wheel again at 11 p.m.
Of course this assumes you are always going to start and stop driving at the same approximate time every night.

 

There really is no easy way to make this shift. I try to avoid it if at all possible, but sometimes it's unavoidable. In those times, I try to get a nap in before I'll have to drive later. This is normally easy for me to do since I'm normally operating on a sleep debt. I generally never sleep more than 5 or 6 hours normally during the week. So if I have to change shifts (like I did just before coming home for Christmas), all I gotta do is crawl in the bunk, draw the curtains, and start sawing some logs.

 

That is why I allways tried to keep the same shift I did not like working for 14 hours then sleep 10. I would try and fuel and then drive the whole day with little amount of stops.
Then I would be able to mess arround for those extra hours be it on the net or in the truckstops maybey if something was close I would go to a shopping area.

That is why if I was close to the layton terminal I would stop there even if I still had a hour or two to drive I would still stop there as my car was there and I could go to walmart and go get a decent meal at a local restaraunt.
It is n ice to get completely away from the truck for a while after you been driving for a few days of 14 working 10 off