AIBU to ask for your night shift positives?

[singme]

Back on nights again tomorrow and although they are never as bad as I build them up to be, I'm looking for some upsides!

I'll start....

• going to bed on a wintery day when the rest of the world is just heading to work
• Monday morning lie in
• work is quieter, just essential work to be done, less people about
• finishing a shift and dozing off to Netflix with a big cup of tea
• post last night shift breakfast with other night shift mates if shift patterns line up!

Obviously a lot of people have DCs to wake them up so I do realise I am quite lucky in some respects as I can just worship sleep when I'm at home. Gets lonely though.

The cold journey home, and then snuggling up in bed and getting warm and cozy under the blankets

A lot more peaceful working during the night, for me there's a lot less annoying phone calls!

Watching everyone going to work as you’re on your way home.

Getting in to bed. It’s the best feeling.

I just couldn’t sleep well during the day. Money wise and work life balance wise it’d be great but I live in a new vuildvestate and the noise during the day can be quite high.

I only do one a fortnight now.

The only thing I like about them is going to bed when everyone else is going to work and the extra money.

The rest is shit, the tiredness, the two days it takes me to recover because I don't sleep deeply during the day... I'm glad I only do one night shift a fortnight.

Mind you, I sometimes get a McDonald's breakfast too, which is very nice when you feel shit faced.

The way you seem to bond more deeply with your coworkers when you’re on nights together (if you have a job and coworkers that allow that). Not having to drag yourself out of bed for work because you’ve already been up all day. Having a glass of wine at 7am. Double time/time and a half.

Mcdonald’s breakfast on the way home

No managers a bonus surely

No phone calls, residents go to bed so half the shift can be pretty quiet, going home to a warm bed, all my hours done in 3 nights...

I'm not a morning person so it suits me :)

No positives in my line of work 10p extra an hour and a load of drunks to deal with. Refuse to do night shifts as it's not worth my time or the amount of extra stress

McD's breakfast after the last of a set of nights.
Feeling more team solidarity with the rest of the on-call team than you get on a normal shift.
Erm, that's about it.

As others have mentioned the feeling of being snuggled up in bed when the rest of the world is off to sleep.
The peace and quiet on nights compared to days and the lack of managers.
The rapport you build with a fellow night shifter is like no other!
The weird and wonderful things on TV or radio if you can watch/listen. Honestly the useless but interesting crap I've learned is unbelievable!
Not so much at this time of year, but the 4am sunrises when you feel you have the world to yourself just then.

I may miss nights actually......!

As others have mentioned the feeling of being snuggled up in bed when the rest of the world is off to sleep.

Sleep is supposed to read work!

Most people are nicer on nights.
Bending rules about drinks and food in public places.
The food which is usually floating around sometimes hidden, sometimes not hidden.
Finding that moment at 2 am when your really tired and things are a little ridiculous and so you just have to laugh with someone.

As a support worker I work nights from Friday to Tuesday morning..the things I hate about night shift is trying to fight your bodies urge to sleep, the lawnmower squad that come out as you’re trying to sleep, the fireworks going off that sound like explosions when you’re trying to sleep and looking at your wage slip with glee only to realise the taxman is going to take a lot of it back. But in my line of work my clients also have a higher level of anxiety at night time so like tonight and last night I can be called to reposition,offer reassurance or administer meds’ during the night....then in the morning when you feel so tired it’s full steam ahead doing meds supporting in washing,dressing,toileting and moving and handling a client who doesn’t understand why you can’t do all of the above at 90 mph. Also having to work every weekend.
The upside catching up on Mumsnet if client has WiFi in between calls.
Less traffic and a little more money

Ps I work alone but Day staff are lovely.

To echo PPs. Feeling that bone-tired coldness that you only get if up all night and then snuggling into a warm bed. Lovely.

No crappy admin on nights! Everything you do is direct patient care.

Plus it’s a lot quieter...

People are more sympathetic to you if you're working a night shift Colleagues picking up each other tea and coffee, fewer bitchy managers around, less of 'ooh, can you just do...', easy to get a maccies breakfast after...

What's good about night shift? Hmm... Makes death seem less scary? In fact it becomes pretty appealing.

I've just got home and into my nice warm bed. Love finishing on a Monday morning. All my friends and family who've enjoyed their weekend while I've had to work are all headed off now.

Piewraith

I second the sunrises, I used to work in London and would pop outside on my break and watch the sun come up over the Houses of Parliament and the Thames.

Less so where I work now.

At least the late winter sunrises stop that "its nearly over" feeling when you have 4 hours to go!

Used to love nights; would do about 12-15 a month.

As everyone else said the joy of sloping home while everyone else is going to work.

The 'thrill' of eating curry and having a beer at 8am while speeding through ads watching rubbish TV.

The ridiculous conversations you have with co-workers at 4am, if you were a cloud what type of cloud would you be?

Occasionally having the time to actually sit and talk to patients.

Singme. Yes, the sunrises over the city of London. I remember working nights in the 70s and watching the NatWest tower being built.

Nothing positive about nights except getting in to bed after the last of a set of nights, knowing you don't have to go back!

I did 13 years of permanent nights and gave up last year. I now have to do a set every 4 or 5 weeks and even that feels too much. I hate them with a passion. My brain just doesn't work as well, it messes with my digestion and generally makes me feel shit. I get a feeling of anxiety and impending doom before nights that I just don't get before day shifts. It's horrible and hard to shake even though I know I can and do cope with whatever work throws at me.

There are less staff around so less support when things go to shit which they often do and you are much more likely to be working with agency staff (NHS)

I work a mixture of evenings and nights. 1700-0000 and 1800-0600. Every fortnight, like tonight, I do a 0000-0700.

Weirdly, they're much easier when I'm there longer - I really hate getting ready for work at 11 o'clock at night, and rarely manage to sleep before I go.

I absolutely detest them all, tbh. I've never felt so unhealthy in my life, and in the new year, I'm going to start seriously looking elsewhere.

Someone told me once that night shift workers statistically die younger. I think that's very possible, because I know how they make me feel physically.