Does anyone here work rotating 12-hour shifts? I have just accepted a job with incredible pay and career opportunities in the nuclear industry and this is a requirement of the position. I’ve never had to do this before as my whole life I’ve worked jobs that are only 8-hour shifts. Even though I’ve done days, afternoons, and nights for extended periods of time at a previous job, I’ve never had to rotate where nights and days are in the same week.
If you look up rotating shifts online there is nothing but negative comments and always references to studies about how bad it is for your health. I don’t doubt that it’s not ideal in comparison to a straight 9-5 type job, but I question possible variables involved. One being that some industries that typically use the rotating schedule often employ people that have bad health habits before they even take on such a job. For example, I’ve worked in logistics/manufacturing before and my co-workers were overweight, fast-food eating, chain-smoking people. If a study was pulled from that group, it would obviously say "rotating shifts cause health problems" when the facts are skewed.
So, if anyone here does it, how do you manage? Most importantly with respect to getting sleep, staying asleep, and also staying awake and productive at work while also fitting in time to train and make progress in the gym. It’s going to be a big adjustment for me as I’m very regimented and like things set in stone, but I have to be realistic and prioritize surviving in an ever-inflating economy. I am not a professional bodybuilder and this hobby should be secondary. The schedule has me working 2 or 3 days in a row, followed by 2 or 3 days off. My lower/upper split can still be maintained at a decent frequency if I train on the days off. I just want to make sure I have the energy to do it.
I am respectfully requesting that comments only come from people who have actually done it or are still doing it. While I don't doubt that there are knowledgeable people on here that can give general sleep advice that would help everyone, this is one of those things where you have to have lived it. Also, with regard to sleep, I’m looking for non-chemically assisted ways and not the usual stuff like melatonin, valerian root, etc. Many people do it in many industries, so it can be done. I just want to optimize and hopefully avoid the difficulties associated with it.