so, I was laid of.. must be going around 8 months ago at this point..

since I have no job to go to in the morning, and can't seem to find another one (this province is severely over-saturated with IT workers), I have unfortunately fallen into a bad, semi-dangerous habit..


I have become Borderline Nocturnal.. fall asleep around 5AM, and don't wake up till about 4PM..

In Laymans terms, my internal clock is completely screwed up...



has anyone else experienced such an issue in their life? and if so, any advice on how to "re-calibrate" my internal clock so to speak?

What province are you in?

Here in Alberta they are looking for workers EVERYWHERE (not just in the oil sands) and the wages are pretty decent too, you can start at 15 bucks an hour (no experience) washing dishes at a Keg or something (or if you want to, go to the oil rigs and get paid 25-35 bucks an hour to start depending on your experience and physique working 12-14 hour days for two weeks straight then get two weeks off). There is work aplenty in Alberta right now (though housing in Calgary svcks balls right now due to still recovering from last year's floods), so if you're finding that you're having a lot of problems getting a job, you can always come out here (I see A LOT of newfies, nova scotians and even ontarians out here. In fact, finding a born and raised Calgarian is VERY rare these days, as most people here are from elsewhere).

Anyway, that aside, I have experienced the same as you by switching from night shift work to standard day shift work in my years of changing jobs. All I can really say is to set an alarm and wake up as early as you can, you'll be bagged but stick with it for a couple days and in less than a week you should be fully back on track and it'll come naturally to you again.

New Brunswick.. seems as if my entire generation decided to go into the IT field.. while my Qualifications are good, there are just so many people applying for any IT job that it is extremely difficult to get a job.. used to work for the provincial Government, but they closed down our department (as to why goes heavily into Politics so I will not mention why) and thats why I was laid off..

I have been through this before twice and had two different outcomes. The first time i fixed it by staying up a full 24 hours and then going to bed at an appropriate time. This corrected the bad habit after a few days and all was normal. The second time wasn't so easy... problem was that my "internal clock" ended up disagreeing with the change and i found myself only falling asleep for about 4 hours at best. This lasted a good two weeks and it svcked but i eventually overcame it with persistence and lots of gaming/exercise when i could to keep my attention sharp. You might want to try gradually scaling your bed time back and hour a night until you reach a suitable time. If that doesn't work then try staying up a full 24 hours. I would advise avoiding naps as you could end up falling into a deep sleep and splitting your sleep schedule into two halves which you really don't want. Feeling rested and then having a crash a few hours later is hell.

The most important thing is to always go up at the same time so you get used to it, and for this an alarm clock is a must. So set it to 7am or whatever, and force yourself to stay awake until the evening, no napping during the day, so you will sleep well until 7am. And repeat until you're used to it. And when you are used to it, continue to use the alarm clock anyway so you don't become a nightowl again (unless you want to be one ).

Yes started when i was working and studying, up at 7.00 am start at 8.00 am, finished at 4.00 pm run like hell, start work at 4.00 pm, could finish work at 4.00 am, working and doing homework at the same time, go home quickly stuff food in my face because shops in the city start closing at 5,15 pm getting food was a pain, then i would fit some sleep in, and start again. After that my internal clock never reset so im pretty much awake all night and sleep during the day, ive done everything that medical people have told me and nothings worked, every time i try and change the time i sleep it just goes back,

In your case it probably more that now you have no need to wake early your just getting used to staying up till late, and thus end up sleeping during the day, but since youve already been in a pattern of having to wake at a set time for work, when you start work again you will just fall back in the same routine.

If you desperately dont want to sleep during the day you can skip some sleep and make yourself tired, or just do some hard physical exercise and start setting a time at night to sleep , that is pretty much what doctors tell you, or you can wait till you get another job feel crappy for awhile as you sleep patterns reset. But as a recommendation from someone who's seen this happen to alot of people, most of them just fall back into a normal routine, a few dont and end up struggling with sleep problems.

I've been on that kind of sleeping schedule since I was 18(I'm 33 now). A few times I've had to adjust for certain events, and the best way for me was to just stay up a day and a third(get up at 4pm, go to sleep at 11pm the following day). It's never worked well in the long-run for me, but that's because my biological clock appears to be absolutely hardwired towards being awake at night. Doesn't matter how tired I am, once it hits about 1-2a.m. I fully wake up and stay awake till about 8a.m. I can lay in bed with my eyes shut and my mind blanked for 3 hours and I still won't fall asleep.

Ah, fellow night-owls, I'm that way as well (since I was 18(I'm 40 now). I have recently I have made a effort to go to bed earlier So I'm at 5:30-6 in the morning (from 9-10) I don't want to go much earlier due to 12 at night - 5 in morning (0:00-5:00) is unmetered internet time so those are the times I do my downloading & youtube viewing.

Why do you feel it necessary to re-calibrate your clock? If that's the hours you are keeping, then maybe that's just the way your body clock works. I'm nocturnal by nature as well. I generally feel the urge to get to bed around 2 or 3 AM, and wake up between 8 and 9. That's just the way my rhythm works, and always has. There was a time that I never needed an alarm clock, I would always wake up a 8 AM sharp even if I had stayed up until 4 or 5. Now that I'm a little older, I tend to sleep a little longer. Everybody has a different sleep pattern, maybe you should just give in and explore what yours really is instead of fretting about it.


That could easily change with the drop in oil prices. I wouldn't be too quick to advise someone to disrupt their life and head out there, they might end up regretting it.

because (and I don't mean to sound rude here), its kinda hard to get a job at a respectable office/Company/Government Department as their "computer Guy in the Basemant" when you are sleeping right through office hours..

When that situation arises, you'll adjust. I went through a long stint of unemployment awhile back myself, much longer than yours. And while I was up until the wee hours when I wasn't working, I had no problems adjusting when I finally had to adhere to a working schedule again. The first couple of weeks svcked, but that was mainly because my body was no longer used to much physical ability, not because of sleep deprivation. But after those first couple of weeks I was fine. Now I'm unemployed again, and my body has naturally re-adjusted to it's normal nocturnal rhythm. But I'm not concerned one bit about the consequences when I do get back to work, I know it will work out just fine. Take the time to explore your body clock for the time being, it's a good thing to know about.

Are you positive otherwise im going to have to make some calls and wake some people up.

well you know, your boss usually doesn't like it when your head is flat on the desk with your office door locked all day.. and when the Support Tickets begin piling up, a Machine on the Third floor has become infected because someone tried to plug in the Flash Drive with a few MP3s on it, and while the head honchos printer isn't working all while your visiting Dreamland, you won't be there very long..

Again, don't worry about it too much. When you finally get a job again, you'll adjust. Especially if you're young, which I'm guessing you are. I was 56 after my last bout of unemployment, and if I was able get back into the swing of things without too much trouble, I'm sure you'll be able to as well.

Hmm, out of curiosity, have you tried searching for that kind of job as a nightshift worker? I know nightshift office jobs exist, I worked as one for a few weeks at First Data(I signed up for it when it was offered, it paid $2 more an hour but was only for a month), and I made a few friends that worked a permanent nightshift there. I'm sure there has to be a couple of places like that around you. Unless of course you just absolutely don't like the idea of being a night type person. It isn't for everyone, I've seen the sun three times in the last month, once when I had to take both daughters to the DR.s for pink eye, once for my wife with strep throat, and my own DR appt. But, I like it that way.

only such offices around here would be Data Entry for places like UPS.. I have spent far to much Money at both Universitys and College's to get my qualifications at this point to go for Data Entry (no offense intended to you if that was your thing).. After all the trouble I had gone through in University and College, I would literally kill myself to not be using all the crap i learnt

Hmm, while it's good that you want to use what you've learned, there does come a point in time where you have to swallow your pride, and start out at an entry level job. I mean, would you rather be making $0 a year for X amount of years, or $20-30k a year for a few years, then more and more as you work your way upward?

I have been struggling with this for many years now. Like you (at this point in your life), I have very little reason to keep a schedule. I do not work. I do not live with anyone else. I sleep when I am tired, eat when I am hungry, and basically just find ways to waste my time while awake. (I'm retired.)

I gravitate towards nocturnal behavior because I enjoy the quietness of the nighttime. The world seems empty and more secluded to me. Everyone else is asleep so the traffic, noise, lights are less intrusive for me.

I wish I had some advice for you other than "sleeping pills", but I hope when you find employment again you will be able to adjust back to "the normal" hours of living

I can't believe how many night people are here, birds of a feather I guess. I went outside at 4 PM to return a book yesterday. I could not believe how bright the sun is, it gave me a headache.

I've worked nights most of my life. Even when I was in school I was more awake the later hours. Some people just function better during the wee hours. Maybe you are one of them. You could see about getting a factory job 2nd/3rd shift since you're up anyways. It's not your line of work but money is money and it will give you a schedule. You could also use off days looking around other provinces notices for your field of work or look locally.

Apply blue light filters to everything. That is the light the stimulates you into staying awake. Excercise during the day could help too.

One thing that can help a lot is to stay away from all electronic screens like computers, tvs, tablets and such when you are trying to get to sleep.

I agree wholeheartedly with Starwulf. I have two MAs, in history and in teaching, and now I work customer service for a health insurance company. Any job is better than being unemployed.

Stay away from coffee and other stimulus. Stay away from anything that'll get you wired up at least an hour before your planned bedtime. Try exercise and meditation, that might help as well.

It's OK to stay up a little later than usual, I know folks who stay up until 1-2 in the morning and still get a full night's rest.

Wish I had more to offer. :<

Not to mention that most employers take it seriously when they see large gaps in a person's resume. Your odds of creating a good impression improve greatly if you can show that you've been working steadily, regardless of what type of work it is. In fact, taking a job that's "beneath" your qualifications will show that you're willing to put in a good effort with a company, and not just expecting to rest on your laurels.