Sleep or Quality of Life? Do I have to choose?

I have worked night shift for over a decade!

As a nursing student I would work 11pm-7am at a nursing home five days a week. My mom, who luckily worked at the same nursing home, worked day shift. On coming to work, she would bring my daughter with her in the morning, give her to me, and then I would go home- Lord willing, we would sleep for a couple of hours. On the days that I had class, I wouldn’t sleep at all. My daughter would go to daycare and I would go to school. My mom got off work at 3pm, so I could usually sleep for a couple of hours in the evening before I had to go back to work.

When did I study and do my homework? Oh you know…In between breathing…

There were times I would stop in awe of the endurance that God had given me because when I paused to think about everything that I was doing and all that I had going on, I seriously had no idea how I was accomplishing anything. It was like I was living in slow motion. I didn’t know how things were happening. But they were happening.

Zechariah 4:6 Not by might nor by power, but by MY SPIRIT, says the Lord of Hosts!

Fast Forward 2 years

My first two years as a new grad, I worked the swing shift as required- 6 weeks days then 6 weeks nights. The following 6 years I worked strictly nights. I mean… the pay was nice, but was it worth it? On my days off I was either a zombie or sleeping, so did I really get a day off? There were times I would stay up for over 24hrs straight because life doesn’t stop just because you’re tired.

My wheels started turning

One night a co-worker of mine said that she read an article that said that working night shift over “x”amount of years takes approximately 10 YEARS OFF OF YOUR LIFE!

WHAT?! THAT’S INSANE! Is that true??

Coming up NEXT… Does working night shift alter your circadian rhythm and take actual years off of your life?