I work nights. For me they work. Less traffic getting to and from work. Dunno. Depending on the job, less "big wigs" are at work at night. Try and stick it out maybe? Not sure what you do for work....look for something else in the meantime?

I disagree that nights and bipolar don't mix. Working nights runs counter to our cultural conditioning of sleeping nights and working days, but it remains very doable. When I worked nights, tweaking my sleep schedule wasn't any tougher than the rest of the sacrifices working stiffs have to make in the name of paying rent.

If the rest of the job is okay enough that you feel inclined to stick it out, I definitely encourage you to stick it out and put the focus on that shift in your sleep schedule.

I found working nights to have allot of neat perks. Fewer politics since the big wigs are all sleeping. Far less traffic gridlock. Once I got my sleep schedule turned around, it was the most mellow shift on the time clock.

I agree with arfie. Working nights for me is doable. For me, I find that I need more time to sleep though so that I am rested for nights. I often nap a lot during the day. When not doing anything I often just goto bed.

A pdoc I had before said he'd never support me working nights due to sleeping being such a huge problem for people with bipolar

But if it works for you great.... I have a terrible time with sleep and it really turns me about.... I'm always wiped out working nights..... No energy

I would assess how you're feeling..... Working is a big part of your life... If it doesn't work I would consider other options

Big hug......xo

Work is so so. No big pay differential for working nights. And it's boring watching patients sleep. Mornings during the week can be fun. I have to get the kids up for school. I work as a mental health tech at a center for kids. My bunch are the boys from 12 to 17 years of age. The rewards are less tangible. I like working with these troubled kids. Otherwise I would find something else.

During all my working years i only worked two years nine to five and it was mind numbingly awful. I used to walk to work and found it so depressing watching all the drones on buses or in cars morning and evening trudging to and from work. getting loans to take their two weeks holidays in the sun abroad every year and working the rest of the year paying off the loans waiting for the next year. I couldn't do it. a lot of the time I worked several hours overtime so that i could take time off in lieu when the sun was shining. that was the only way i could cope. I gave up after two years and started my own business (random fact, I was the first person to bring singing telegrams to ireland!) I have often worked three/five jobs at a time to support my three kids but always late into the night or while they were at school so that I was always there when they were home/awake. I was lucky that it worked out for me as a writer/chef/whatever that I could do a lot of my work from home. Not everyone could do that. I know that 'they' say that people with bipolar need their sleep and that is true but it doesn't always have to be at particular times. I am and always have been a night owl and when I am able to live my life without the constraints of 'normality' i tend to be much more healthy. we have to remember that we all have our individual traits so we have to work with what works for us and go with that. you do whatever makes your life work well for you and whatever schedule works for you and ensures you feel the best for you. hugs. there are no hard and fast rules and we cannot live by generalisations.

Irishwriter thank you. Yes typically I stay up late. But actually working 40 hours from 11 to 7:30 do take their toll. And I'm no stranger to challenging work schedules. Before retiring from my power plant operator job. I worked rotating twelve hour shifts. I literally worked days one week and nights the next. The constantly rotating schedule worked on a five week rotation. And at the end of the five weeks I had a minimum of five to as many as eight days off. Still the toll on my mental state and body was substantial.

when i was younger and without kids and passionate about the job i could maybe have worked those hours but i doubt it. a regular schedule was always impossible for me. omg a rotating schedule sounds like torture. i take my hat off to you for doing that. at the moment are you doing nights only on a week on week off basis? that's easier to get used to. If the job is still taking its toll on you mentally and physically, I would start looking around for something else. it is always easier to get a job from a job. or is it possible to consider disability and maybe work part time? a lot to think about and consider. good thoughts and energy to you while you consider your options.