Working weird shifts

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squash500

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Nov 8, 2005
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This is another one of my stupid threads. Lately Z103.5 has taken over as being my favorite radio station.

Every morning I listen to the Z103.5 morning show from 5AM--9AM. I usually start listening to the show around 7 every morning.

My question is how do radio DJ's and other workers who work weird shifts cope with the sleep deprivation that they must experience? Let's think about this for a moment. These radio DJ's probably wake up at 4 in the morning to get to their 5AM shift.

Therefore they probably have to be in bed by 9PM every weeknight. This inconvenience must play havoc on their family life? It must be a weird feeling to always be sleeping when most of society is awake?

I guess these radio DJ's must get paid good money to put up with working these weird shifts? I realize that TV personalities who are on early morning tv shows such as Breakfast television have exactly the same problems?

I must be really bored to be posting this thread at all:D .
 
When i first started working at my new job for the first 5 years shift work is a way of life. Most of the shift work was rotating which means a week of days a week of afternoons then a week of midnights until it starts all over again. When you take the job you are basically a zombie for this whole time till you have enough senority to get a straight shift job such as afternoons or midnights straight. Then once you have enough senority to be able to bid on a job with straight day and weekends off, life can again begin.
 
squash500 said:
This is another one of my stupid threads. Lately Z103.5 has taken over as being my favorite radio station.

Every morning I listen to the Z103.5 morning show from 5AM--9AM. I usually start listening to the show around 7 every morning.

My question is how do radio DJ's and other workers who work weird shifts cope with the sleep deprivation that they must experience? Let's think about this for a moment. These radio DJ's probably wake up at 4 in the morning to get to their 5AM shift.

Therefore they probably have to be in bed by 9PM every weeknight. This inconvenience must play havoc on their family life? It must be a weird feeling to always be sleeping when most of society is awake?

I guess these radio DJ's must get paid good money to put up with working these weird shifts? I realize that TV personalities who are on early morning tv shows such as Breakfast television have exactly the same problems?

I must be really bored to be posting this thread at all:D .
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I'm sure they can take a nice nap from like 10 AM to 1 or 2 PM and then go to bed at like midnight, and they'll be good to go for 4 AM.
 
In Hamilton we have a couple of guys who do double duty One is a morning man 5-9 on a well known AM Station and is also on City Council!!

The other is also a morning man 5-9 on a well known FM Station but also does a TV show in the morning AND weather on the 1200 and 600 news!!!!!! Guess ya gotta do what ya gotta do these days!!!!!!!!!

I think the broadcast industry is highly competitive .If Station 1 starts at 500 am the others will move to 500 am to compete for the viewers. I think BT was the first EARLY News show in Ontario the rest just followed suit. Its a dog eat dog world out there folks!!!
 
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spankingman said:
IN Hamilton we have a couple of guys who do double duty One is a morning man 5-9 on a well know AM Station and is also on City Council!!

The other is also a morning man 5-9 on a well known FM Station but also does a TV show in the morning AND weather on the 1200 and 600 news!!!!!! Guess ya gotta do what ya goota do these days!!!!!!!!!
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Good post:) . I know that one of the hosts of the Z103.5 morning show does some double duty as well.

Every Friday night he hosts a live to air party from a dance club. He is on air from 10PM--1AM every Friday night. This is after he had just worked the Friday morning 5-9AM shift.

He also talks about how he plays a lot of golf in the summer and has a wife and 2 kids. I guess he's just an energetic guy with a lot of stamina or something.

What impresses me about this radio DJ is that he has to be at the top of his game all the time. He always sounds very awake and with it on the air. He never seems to have a bad day on the air!
 
squash500 said:
My question is how do radio DJ's and other workers who work weird shifts cope with the sleep deprivation that they must experience? Let's think about this for a moment. These radio DJ's probably wake up at 4 in the morning to get to their 5AM shift.

Therefore they probably have to be in bed by 9PM every weeknight. This inconvenience must play havoc on their family life? It must be a weird feeling to always be sleeping when most of society is awake?
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Different people cope differently.

As a generalization folks that have to stay up late or wake up early, as in your example, fair better - no matter their "type" than those that work third shift (Graveyard shift).

Anyone who has ever had to word the overnight Civilian or Military knows that emotional balance is harder to maintain, cognative function is impaired, and unsuprisingly it lowers your life expectancy.

The Military has of course an interest in this and it is not particularly suprising that their research shows that most aircraft losses, ship groundings, power plant casulties etc. . . occur between three o'clock and six o'clock in the morning - your body is telling you go to sleep by the fire in the cave - if you keep walking around in the dark a big cat is going to eat you. You on the other hand are trying to pretend that it is the middle of the day - there is a conflict and it isn't good. :mad:
 
I loved the midnight shift. I saw my kids when they woke up in the morning, slept while the kids were at school, and got to spend time until they went to bed. It was perfect for my family life.
 
I worked a rotating 12 hour shift for 25 years with no problems sleep etc.I felt more rested working 12;s than working 8's although I never had a problem working shift work except it did affect my social life sometimes.

My neighbour works steady nights at Canada Post and even on his days off keeps his schedule going, up all night sleeps during the day.

My uncle also worked at Canada Post for 38 years on nights and it took him 2 years to break the NS schedule when he retired.Never saw him with a tan,always white pasty looking.

Where I work now we have three shifts but they are a "steady" shift no rotating D A N 8 hour shifts.If you are on nights you stay on nights etc.
 
a 1 player said:
I loved the midnight shift. I saw my kids when they woke up in the morning, slept while the kids were at school, and got to spend time until they went to bed. It was perfect for my family life.
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The midnight shift sounds good in that regard. Wife and kids go to work during the day and you can sleep when they are gone. Beautiful. When working overnights for a younger person who likes to party, then it's not such a good thing.
 
lawyerman said:
The midnight shift sounds good in that regard. Wife and kids go to work during the day and you can sleep when they are gone. Beautiful. When working overnights for a younger person who likes to party, then it's not such a good thing.
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How about a 43 yr old single father with 50% custody of his 3 kids (16, 12, 12), works odds shifts at one job, has his own part-time business that he runs on his free time, that likes to go to SC's, tries to go out a couple nights per week (not always successful), blood donor, volunteers as a coach, convener and executive member of his kids softball league putting in 20 hours of volunteer time per week, who does his own laundry, cooking and cleaning.

I'm exhausted...
 
A job is a job.
My shift is 4 to midnight and the days vary. Sometimes I work week-ends sometimes I don't. I also have a high stress job because of the nature of the clients I deal with. THis makes itdifficult for any type of a romantic relationship but other than that it's all about organizing your time and the things you find are necessities.
We are humans. We adapt. The difficulties with sleeping during daylight hours are easily delat with by stuffing a towel under the bedroom door and haivng a good set of window coverings that block out all light.
doing your banking and shopping on your days off during the week or either before or after your shift.
staying in touch with friends is the more difficult side of things especially when your friends are all 9-5 guys. but if you adapt to it you can live with it. Some even thrive on it. I know one family the husband works my shift, the wife works 6am to 2pm. They share one car (money saved) they share the household responsibilities (shared workload) and because one parent is home in the morning with the children and the other is in the afternoons they raise their own children and don't need a babysitter. It works well for them because they have adapted to it.
Make the most of lief and always look on the bright side of things. The Dj's day is over at 10 am. meaning they have the rest fo the day to do their things and to organize their lives. and because they more than likely leave home around 3 they have to account for sleep time. Just smile and do your best to make it work for you.
 
I used to work shifts back when I was single and when I was first married and I actually really liked it. You get your days to yourself, not many people at grocery store, go golfing, skiing, gym, beach without the crowds. Its a little tough to do but you can adapt to the sleep schedule.

I think I could still do it if my wife was around. But with just me and the kids, all the housework, the sports, coaching, volunteering, etc. it wouldn't work.

It all depends on your lifestyle I guess.
 
I know when I do oddball shifts or double duty weeks I feel like a hockey player. I can't survive without a nap. For a while I was starting work at 5:15am (bonus, there's no lineup at Timmies that early in the morning :p ) working the full day and then doing shoots and meeting clients in the evening and getting to sleep about 11:30pm.

I talked about how to manage the odd shifts with my doctor a few years ago and he said as long as you set a pattern and keep with it at least 2 weeks your body eventually learns to manage and cope. When you start being erratic and changing it day to day then your body takes a toll.
 
squash500 said:
Therefore they probably have to be in bed by 9PM every weeknight. This inconvenience must play havoc on their family life? It must be a weird feeling to always be sleeping when most of society is awake?
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Who says that most of society is awake at 9 PM? The vast majority of society is NOT out partying until 2 AM five nights a week. In fact, most of society gets to sleep at a decent hour, and the morning DJs are just a couple hours ahead of the rest of us.

I get up at 5; they get up at 3 or 4. I go to sleep at 10, they go to sleep at 9. Some of them are experts at the short night of sleep (I can only take so many nights of going to sleep at 12 before getting up at 5. I know some folks who can get by on 5 hours sleep day in, day out.)

And they stay up late on their free nights just like the rest of us.
 
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