Graveyard (GY) shift means a shift of work running through the early hours of the morning, especially one from midnight until 8 am. There is no certainty as to the origin of this phrase; according to Michael Quinion it is little more than "an evocative term for the night shift ... when ... your skin is clammy, there's sand behind your eyeballs, and the world is creepily silent, like the graveyard." (Wikipedia)
For more than two years in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry, I always request to be in the morning shift. I dreaded the GY shift. Just recently, I can no longer break away from GY. First two to three nights were full of excitement. As the days passed, I became drained physically, psychologically, emotionally. Dealing with different types of people in the wee hours of the night was no easy task.
When you’re working on graveyard shift, you’ll probably become insomniac especially during the transition period. Insomnia is a symptom of a sleeping disorder characterized by persistent difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep despite the opportunity.
Shift work can disturb the circadian rhythm or internal body clock thus causing inability to sleep. The time relative to the rising and setting of the sun no longer coincides with the body's internal concept of it. Changing from morning shift to GY is easier said than done.
One of the causes of insomnia is caffeine. To ward off drowsiness in the middle of a call/chat, coffee is every agent’s best friend to restore alertness. Long-term excessive caffeine intake may result to sleeping disorder.
Another cause of insomnia is stress. Working at night is obviously taxing. Work demands, client pressure, customer’s attitude, plus personal problems among others piled up to make GY life nerve-racking.
To counter insomnia, people tend to use over-the counter or prescription sleep aids that can cause rebound insomnia. Regular use of these drugs can cause a person to become dependent on its effects in order to fall asleep.
In general, the causes of insomnia in relation to the GY shift affect each individual differently depending on their mental health, physical condition, attitude and/or personality.
