The night shift schedule I was told would ruin my health actually fixed it

Everyone warned me that working nights would wreck my sleep and kill my social life. After three years of bouncing between day and night shifts, my blood pressure was high and I felt awful. Six months ago I switched to strict 7pm-7am nights with blackout curtains and a set sleep time. My last checkup showed my BP dropped 15 points and I actually have more energy now. Has anyone else found a schedule everyone told you was bad that worked better than the 'normal' one?

2 comments

2 Comments

stella_baker15d ago

My uncle ran a trucking company for 25 years and his best drivers were always the night shift guys who stuck with it long term, but he noticed something weird... they all lived in houses with no windows in their bedrooms or slept in basements. @carr.brooke mentioned how those studies are worrying but I wonder if the real problem isn't the night shift itself, it's that most people try to live like they're on day shift when they're on nights. My cousin does 6pm to 6am hospital security and she says the key is never seeing sunlight between shifts, like a vampire.

carr.brooke15d ago

Woah there, let's slow down a bit. I mean, sure, it's great your BP went down, but 15 points in six months could be from a lot of things - like maybe you finally stopped eating fast food at 3am or started walking more. Night shifts are objectively bad for you, there's like a dozen studies showing they mess with your heart and cancer risks and stuff. I've known two people who swore by their night schedule and both ended up with serious sleep disorders after a couple years. Just feels like the honeymoon phase, you know?