In June of this year I was fortunate enough to finish Grad school, move out of my parents house and into my own apartment, and begin my first full-time-decent-pay-with-health-benefits REAL job. The catch: in order to have the full time and health benefits, I had to take the Nocturnal shift (in a position that is a stagnant career move....oh, I digress...). This is a true nocturnal shift, starting at 11pm and ending at 7:30 am.
In this entry I would like to detail the effects six months of Noc shift has had on my life, and weigh the pros and cons (you know, in the event that any of my two readers are contemplating giving up sunshine)
The biggest changes I have noticed are the following:
a) My immune system is significantly less functional than it has ever been. During my first three months on the shift, I was sick at least one week of every month. A cold....then strep throat....then the worst ear infection of my life. And now...chronic, low grade "I-feel-like-crap-itis". Symptoms of the previously mentioned condition include hypersomnia, over eating (on junk food), chronic physical and mental fatigue.
b) Depression! (as hinted at above). I'm not talking your run-of-the-mill, low grade "I'm sad today" depression. What I experienced, and perhaps present tense experience is more accurate, is the type of depression where you gain 15 pounds (and don't care), forget to tend to hygiene and do nothing but sleep and ignore calls and invites from friends and family.
c) Loss of social skills/social connections. I essentially have ZERO friends. Perhaps this is attributable to things more central to my personality than my work shift. Nonetheless, my social life has evaporated since starting this shift. One cannot attend happy hour (and drink) with work starting at 11pm. Cannot go to lunch with girlfriends during the week, due to sleeping the day away. Cannot socialize at night due to being at work. I'm not sure why I also have no social life on the weekends, but again...maybe that is a whole other topic for a different entry.
d) Poor sleep. This is due to multiple things. First, no one seems to understand that I still aim for 6-8 hours of sleep. My primary rest time is during the DAY. This sleep is NOT a nap. It never fails that I receive phone calls and texts daily during the time I sleep (8am-4pm, roughly). Its perplexing, as I don't text or call my friends at 3am...just because I'm awake and on my lunch break. Poor sleep also stems from the world functioning during the day. I can hardly complain of a noise violation at noon when my neighbor blasts music; I can't fault small children for laughing and yelling as they walk home from school; I can't ask the gardeners for my apartment complex to come back at a more "reasonable" hour when they are cutting the grass for 3 hours in the middle of the day. And lastly, your body does not want to sleep during the day. It wants to sleep at night. I still prefer to sleep at night. So, I rely on OTC sleep aids, and I get less restful, shorter sleep and feel that drug induced hang over the next day.
So, why do I work this shift? I'm glad you asked!
a) Bill Pay. It is a wonderful feeling to finally be able to pay your bills and support yourself after years of schooling and dependency on one's parents. I have reduced my credit card debt and I have been able to acquire some "things" that add to my stunted quality of life.
b) Health Care. As a self diagnosed hypochondriac, I have hugely enjoyed having medical, dental and vision. I have a regular primary care physician (that I like), I have had all my mercury fillings replaced with white composite fillings, and my insurance paid for a 6 month supply of contact lenses.
I tried for a "c", but I think "a" and "b" covered it. Oh wait...
c) There are No Other Jobs Available. I look. Monthly. Weekly. Daily. Diligently. Turns out, I need a PhD or fluency in Spanish or both. Or, 2+ years of experience in some position with other requirements that I do not meet.
I am very thankful for the people I work with on the Noc shift. They understand the complaints and symptoms associated with it, and they tolerate my vocalization of complaints. They also ask me daily if I am "ok", as apparently I am pale from lack of sun, and sick looking. "You look sooo tired Tracie".
Hip Hip Hooray for employment!
