I think it takes a certain type of person to work that shift. I hated it myself. I never got the 3 days off, maybe 2 at the most. Nobody else is off when you are, so there's nobody to do things with, unless it's other people who work the night shift. I had to put aluminum foil over the windows, and use ear plugs, so I could sleep in the daytime hours. Then the dumb phone would ring. UGHH. You get up and cook dinner for the family, and it's your breakfast. It was hard to go to the girls school functions, because I had to get a nap in before work. Sometimes I'd take the week or 2 off rather than work that shift.
Leslie

I worked midnights for about 6 years and loved it. My DH works swing shift and does well on nights too.

The biggest thing is if you can sleep well during the day. I mean not waking up every 2 hours and not getting good sleep. I slept like a rock during the day, having to set an alarm to wake up on time.

I did it twice, at different times in my life. I worked the nightshift when I was just out of high school, drove an hour to work and back. It wasn't too bad back then but I was young and a night owl anyway.

The second time was after nursing school, was on nights for about two years and it was miserable. Mostly because I had to sleep while the kids up awake (very hard to do) and the neighbors would blast their car stereo under my bedroom window. Even after I moved, it was hard. I was always tired. I felt so much better after going to dayshift.

I just started a day shift after several years of working graveyard.

I agree with good36 - sleeping well was the key to good job performance. What worked best for me was to stay awake after my shift. I avoided caffeine and spent the morning running errands, doing housework and making dinner for DH. Then I'd sleep like a rock from 2pm to 10pm. I usually kept the same sleep schedule on my 2 days off. DH HATED it. It definitely had a negative impact on our relationship.

I didn't spend much time with my girlfriends either. When I first started working nights, I would skip sleep to do something with the girls or DH. It would take me several days to recover and get back into my routine. As the years went by, I found myself choosing sleep over human contact more and more often.

I liked working nights and thought I was fine. But, now that I have worked days for several months, I realize that I was really quite irritable and hermit-like during the overnight years.

I did it when the kids were still in school and I worked for Con Agra. We always did breakfast together, I'd take them to school; go to bed and Sleep until 2 or 3. Then at "night when they went to bed I'd sleep for a couple hours.
It was OK, and I got to see the kids more than if I had worked days. The only time serious housework got done was my days off though I also was much much younger. I sure couldn't do it now! Kathy

I have one friend that works all the different shifts. It's rotated every few days. Days for a few days, nights for a few days and afternoons for a few days. He's done it for 30 years and has no problems.

I worked night shifts and enjoyed it, but I'm more of a "night person" anyway. And studies have shown there are differences in people. Some adapt easier than others.

I worked nights about 20 years ago and at the time, my biggest complaint was when I'd get off work and want to stop at a restaurant and eat at 7am nobody would serve a steak and mashed potatoes or something like that, only breakfasts. Now it's different though but it was very frustrating.

And yes, you can't be a person who must have people around since not a lot of people work the night shift. It's different and works well for some but definitely not all.

I worked 11pm to 7am for over 22 years. I felt like a worn out, sleep deprived zombie for the whole 22 plus years. There were 2 other women I worked with who worked it longer than I and they loved it. They stayed on midnight shift over 35 years.
Neither of them had a problem sleeping during the day.

LInda

Thank you everyone. I'll pass your comments along to my friend.

I did it for 9 months one year when my kids were young,and everyday i threatned to quit.Thank God they opened swing shift back up,and i worked it for about 20 years.

I couldn't sleep in the daytime,and my neighbors and i were always getting into it,because he had a Mariachi band that practiced at night in his backyard,from 6pm til 10 pm when i was trying to sleep.I had to call the cops on him several times.
Kathi

I just started working 10 PM until 6 AM and it is getting to me. I sleep all day until DH gets home areound 5:30 PM, fix
dinner then back to bed until 8:30 PM. Get a shower and off to work I go! I do not mind the shift but I feel as thou all I do is
sleep and work. I miss seeing/having Makayla and Kaden becasue I also work weekends.
This is my opinion and a reason why I am looking for something else.
Deb

When I was younger the night shift didn't bother me, but it was annoying on the night's off because everyone else was sleeping and I found it easier to keep the same hours rather than try to sleep nights on my days off and then go back to sleeping days.
My job before this one had the occasional night shift - one week every two months or so - I found the first couple of nights weren't too bad but as the week drew on it was pretty exhausting.
I find now a days I really need my sleep. If I have to get up in the night to deal with an incident, I feel like a zombie the next day.
It would have to be pretty dire circumstances these days before I would accept a job with night shifts.
Suzan J