Years ago, it never crossed my mind that I would be working in shifts. While it is still five days a week, nine hours a day sitting in front of a computer just like normal people, the days and the working hours really differ. Unlike those who work from Monday to Sunday, my working days can either start on Tuesday, Wednesday, or even Friday. You name it. I'm okay with that, I'm okay not having my weekend on the actual weekend. But the most painful part would be the working hours itself. My work can start late at 9 pm, or even 11 pm. I never thought being awake all night long would affect not only my physical health, but also my mental health.
When I was going through the transition period, my body was having a hard time adjusting. There was a time when I would work from 12 pm to 9 pm and the next day, I was suddenly told to start working from 11 pm to 8 am. It was something new to adjust to and I remember crying because I was so tired. I wanted to sleep, but work wouldn't let me. The night wind hits really differently, and the silence of the night creeps in total darkness.
I tried my best to adjust my "life" to my working hours. When people I live with would be asleep, I would be awake doing laundry or washing dishes. Going out with friends starts after 3pm, or on the days I'm working I would take a "nap" from 5 pm to 7 pm. Then I noticed that changes started to happen. I sleep more and eat less. I'm constantly tired since my body never adjusted to sleeping at 7 am everyday. When I'm awake on my off days, I feel like my day is being robbed since I spend most of the time sleeping. Even months after my night shift starts, My body still feels tired at 2 am in the morning. While my mind is awake, my body is telling me to rest. It's sad at times to think that I'm okay for today, but nobody knows what will happen tomorrow. Evidently, working night shifts increases the health risk such as obesity, diabetes, heart attack or even breast cancer.
Working the night shift also means that I have to either sacrifice sleep or go out with friends. It's easy to wake up at 12 pm and have lunch with them, but staying awake through the day is nearly impossible. Then again, these sacrifices are made to at least keep me sane to have the work-life balance that I need, and finding time to hang out even for only a few hours before my shift starts. During my off days, I try to arrange meetups or even talk to my friends on the phone on normal hours, while still manage to do house chores in crazy hours. I also keep my friends aware of my constantly changing schedule so it's easier to rendezvous, instead of explaining why I can't have a sudden girls' day out on particular days.
The most important part is trying to maintain the quality of sleep during this crazy time. I try my best to go to sleep right away after my shift ends, although my body is awake by 2 pm. I also try to cut down on consuming caffeine in my waking hour. And I also tell my peers that my working schedule not only lets me have an arranged meetup when we all are free, but also lets me sleep in peace. No sudden phone calls just to ask random questions when it's my sleeping time. It turns out my bad habit of eating during daytime is not so bad overall, since research stated that it can cut risk of getting diabetes. Consuming vitamins and working out a little also works for me to at least keep up with this crazy schedule.
In the end, working night shifts also has its positive effects on some people. Things such as allowance, less disruption on the phone since everyone is asleep, less traffic, and also for some people it really fits their night owl personality. Personally, I would still choose daytime shifts all over again. Sleeping in the dark is something I never thought I'd treasure.
