Back in the stone age when I was an 19 year old rookie military policeman, working the midnight shift was no big deal. It was 1981 and I was stationed with the 2nd MP Company, 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea. For that entire year I worked from 1900 hours (7:00 PM for you civilians) to 0700 (7:00 AM) for four nights straight had a 24-hour break, worked 0700 - 1900 for four days straight, and then then had three days off before starting the whole thing over again. The adjustment from one shift to the other and back again was no big deal.
Fast forward 35 years to today. I got up at 0600 last Friday and went to work from 0730 - 1530 (that's (3:30 PM, in case you're keeping track). Then, at about 2230/10:30 that night, I went to bed. Knowing that I was going to be starting the midnight shift on Saturday night, I tried to stay up later so that I could sleep later Saturday morning, but my mind and body reused to cooperate and at 0600 hours Saturday morning my eyes opened. I was awake for the day.
My shift started at 2330/11:30 Saturday night, just as my mind and body started to protest the fact that I hadn't yet gone to bed. I worked until 0730 Sunday morning and didn't get home to bed until 0800. Needless to say, I fell asleep very quickly...and slept until 1730/5:30. Now here I am sitting at my computer at 2345/11:45 Sunday night -- no work tonight because Monday is the Columbus Day federal holiday -- having only been up for a little over six hours, feeling tired and wanting to go to bed because it's the middle of the night and my body knows that it's supposed to sleep at night, but knowing that I'll only lie there awake, tossing and turning, until my body thinks it's time to get up, which is when I'll start getting tired.
So what's the point to this post? I don't know. I can't think straight right now.
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