# How many hours straight have you worked?



## RandomDude (Dec 18, 2010)

How many hours straight have you worked?

Two 8 hour shifts don't count  , unless they are back to back (i.e. 16 hours)

Also, I always hear that it's unhealthy and causes dementia and whatever, what health risks do we truly take when working crazy hours?

Edit: Errr... I screwed up the poll... if 16 hours, choose the 16-24 hour option.


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## Andy1001 (Jun 29, 2016)

RandomDude said:


> How many hours straight have you worked?
> 
> Two 8 hour shifts don't count  , unless they are back to back (i.e. 16 hours)
> 
> ...


Seventy two hours.Then I went for a walk.


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## Diana7 (Apr 19, 2016)

20 years straight, as a mum of three children, 6 of them as a single mum.:laugh:


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## BioFury (Jul 9, 2015)

8 AM till 5 AM here.

On that particular job, I was working with a guy who had already been on the job for 24 hours when I got there. I went back to work the next day, at noon, and he was still working.


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## Herschel (Mar 27, 2016)

Most of them, but I had a phase in college...


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## Personal (Jan 16, 2014)

Over 72 hours sans any sleep when I used to be in the Army on a number of occasions, all while operating dangerous equipment. Plus again with the Army while having around 3-4 a hours sleep a day, I have worked for a few weeks straight all while operating dangerous equipment while out bush.

Today I will infrequently work 20 hours straight if I have a deadline that I won't meet otherwise.


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## RandomDude (Dec 18, 2010)

72 hours!!! I'll never think I have a hard life again O.O

They always say it's unhealthy, but is it really that bad? Like as in, shorten your lifespan or something?


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## BioFury (Jul 9, 2015)

RandomDude said:


> 72 hours!!! I'll never think I have a hard life again O.O
> 
> They always say it's unhealthy, but is it really that bad? Like as in, shorten your lifespan or something?


What on earth were you doing?


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## Andy1001 (Jun 29, 2016)

BioFury said:


> What on earth were you doing?


If I told you what I was doing you would probably be able to find out who I was.
If I told you how much I was paid you wouldn't believe me.


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## BioFury (Jul 9, 2015)

Andy1001 said:


> If I told you what I was doing you would probably be able to find out who I was.
> If I told you how much I was paid you wouldn't believe me.


Well, I'm always open to career suggestions if you have any tips.


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## Andy1001 (Jun 29, 2016)

BioFury said:


> Well, I'm always open to career suggestions if you have any tips.


I'm not sure if you're serious or not and obviously I don't know what your background or age is but I would advise any young person to get involved in the natural energy business.Wind power,solar,hydro energy,this is where the big investment will be in the future.In most European countries it is the law that any electricity produced by natural methods has to be bought by the country's electricity suppliers.
Something else that's going to be big business in the future is robotics.


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## RandomDude (Dec 18, 2010)

But the hours! OMG! 72? lol

How much did you sleep once you finished?


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## aine (Feb 15, 2014)

Does studying for professional exams count? Burning the midnight oil and all that?


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## Andy1001 (Jun 29, 2016)

RandomDude said:


> But the hours! OMG! 72? lol
> 
> How much did you sleep once you finished?


About ninety minutes. I don't sleep much.


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## RandomDude (Dec 18, 2010)

Andy1001 / Personal =












aine said:


> Does studying for professional exams count? Burning the midnight oil and all that?


I say that counts


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## arbitrator (Feb 13, 2012)

Andy1001 said:


> I'm not sure if you're serious or not and obviously I don't know what your background or age is but I would advise any young person to get involved in the natural energy business.Wind power,solar,hydro energy,this is where the big investment will be in the future.In most European countries it is the law that any electricity produced by natural methods has to be bought by the country's electricity suppliers.
> Something else that's going to be big business in the future is robotics.





RandomDude said:


> Andy1001 / Personal =
> 
> 
> 
> ...


*That meme does resemble a rather demented Donald Trump!

FWIW, 27 hours here working, while in my younger days back in the oilfield!

But if memory serves me correctly, I spent even longer stints studying for finals and doing last minute research papers while as a college undergrad!*


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## Haiku (Apr 9, 2014)

I don't know. While in the service we did many missions that exceed 24 hours straight. Rarely could we ever nap on them. 

While with the city I worked twenty hour days 2-3 times a week. I worked graves (6:30 pm to 6:30 am) then sit in court until I was released around 3 pm - 4 pm. However most of that time was just waiting outside the courtroom to be called or recalled to testify. Then drive home to grab the required four hours downtime and return to work. That was a very typical schedule for weekday shifts.


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## Satya (Jun 22, 2012)

Sleep is so important - important for weight loss, important for sanity and overall health.
I used to deprive myself of sleep and I am (still) a workaholic, however one thing I will not sacrifice is a good 8 hours of sleep if I can at all manage.
I know that not not everyone needs so much rest... Odo for instance can live very well on 5 hours a night, but I know enough about my body to know that in my current phase of life, I need 8. 9 is preferable.

I've determined that nothing is more important and I'm so much more alert and productive because I make it a priority.


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## rockon (May 18, 2016)

Personal said:


> Over 72 hours sans any sleep when I used to be in the Army on a number of occasions, all while operating dangerous equipment. Plus again with the Army while having around 3-4 a hours sleep a day, I have worked for a few weeks straight all while operating dangerous equipment while out bush.
> 
> Today I will infrequently work 20 hours straight if I have a deadline that I won't meet otherwise.


Infantry? Been there, done that.


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## Personal (Jan 16, 2014)

rockon said:


> Infantry? Been there, done that.


Yep, Light and Mechanised.


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## Personal (Jan 16, 2014)

Haiku said:


> I don't know. While in the service we did many missions that exceed 24 hours straight. Rarely could we ever nap on them.
> 
> While with the city I worked twenty hour days 2-3 times a week. I worked graves (6:30 pm to 6:30 am) then sit in court until I was released around 3 pm - 4 pm. However most of that time was just waiting outside the courtroom to be called or recalled to testify. Then drive home to grab the required four hours downtime and return to work. That was a very typical schedule for weekday shifts.


It's one thing doing the odd long stretch, it's another doing the constant grind of shift work on unfriendly hours or rotating shifts.


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## Andy1001 (Jun 29, 2016)

Satya said:


> Sleep is so important - important for weight loss, important for sanity and overall health.
> I used to deprive myself of sleep and I am (still) a workaholic, however one thing I will not sacrifice is a good 8 hours of sleep if I can at all manage.
> I know that not not everyone needs so much rest... Odo for instance can live very well on 5 hours a night, but I know enough about my body to know that in my current phase of life, I need 8. 9 is preferable.
> 
> I've determined that nothing is more important and I'm so much more alert and productive because I make it a priority.


I have never had eight hours sleep in one night in my life.I have been gifted (or cursed) with the ability to survive on less than two hours sleep a night.When I was a kid I took part in a sleep deprivation study and I stayed awake for five days straight and I didn't fall asleep then either,the study was over.The doctors who organised the study wanted my mom to try me on some new drug therapy but she wouldn't and she refused to let them use my name in the resulting papers either.My parents are dead but my brother told me he can't actually remember me sleeping when I was a baby,he said it used to freak him out.
I don't have insomnia,I just don't need as much sleep as most other people.Before anyone suggest's exercising,I walk,swim and kickbox every day.


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## GTdad (Aug 15, 2011)

Outside of the military, there was one occasion I worked 24 hours helping to prep a chemical plant for an incoming hurricane, and that was 24 hours of hustling my ass off. I was a young man and that nearly killed me.

72 hours? Couldn't do it. My body would just flat out shut down before that. I guess I'm just a pillow baby.


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## Andy1001 (Jun 29, 2016)

arbitrator said:


> *That meme does resemble a rather demented Donald Trump!
> 
> FWIW, 27 hours here working, while in my younger days back in the oilfield!
> 
> But if memory serves me correctly, I spent even longer stints studying for finals and doing last minute research papers while as a college undergrad!*


I never went to college but I was head hunted as an apprentice by a huge German manufacturer and took part in their digital design course.It was six months of hundred hour weeks not counting study.Exams every four days and if you failed two you were asked to leave.Ten people started the course but only one finished.
Guess who.


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## Thor (Oct 31, 2011)

Back in my charter flying days we always worked at least 16 hours. More usual was 20+. It was legal on paper anyhow.

Studies show the error rate for pilots (and I presume for others) doubles every hour after 10 hours working. For some reason there is a macho or pay-your-dues mentality in a lot of professions that pushes people to work long hours. Only recently is there an interest in how fatigue affects performance with doctors, for example. Does it make any sense to have a doc on a 24 hour shift? Who wants to be the patient who comes into the ER at hour 23 of the doc's shift?


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## Fozzy (Jul 20, 2013)

Personal said:


> It's one thing doing the odd long stretch, it's another doing the constant grind of shift work on unfriendly hours or rotating shifts.


This is the thing that sticks out to me about our society today. Like you said, a military mission or a double or triple shift for an ER doc or cop during a riot...something with life or death consequences...I get it. But our society seems to have conditioned us to think this should be normal behavior for office shlubs like myself. To the point where people seem PROUD that they sacrifice their own health and family time for their boss.

To me, it indicates two things: 1) your boss doesn't plan for staffing correctly. 2) you might have trouble prioritizing your life.


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## uhtred (Jun 22, 2016)

I've tried working ~24 hours, but I find that my efficiency is so low after 16 its better to sleep then start again rather than keep going.


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## john117 (May 20, 2013)

There's work and there's work. Back in 2011 we worked 70-80 hour weeks for 9 months. Got paid overtime plus dinners. But we paced ourselves to 8 hours real work (software or design) and 4 hours testing. Basically 6 days 12 hours a day. Company spent a ton in overtime and meals but that product worked perfectly out the door and was a best seller.


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## As'laDain (Nov 27, 2011)

Went about five days without sleep when I was in Iraq a couple times. Didn't eat anything but a few crackers either, but I did drink water. Had several 72 hour missions in Afghanistan, no sleep. Did a four day mission in east Africa, no sleep. 

Outside the military, the longest I worked was 36 hours straight.


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## Rocky Mountain Yeti (Apr 23, 2017)

My record is about 36 hours in a military command post. 

Before then, I worked 10 hour shifts. If there was a no-show, I would gladly work two 10s back to back since the overtime paid at time and a half. 

During the same employment (a mine), we went to 24 hours, so each shift was back to 8 hours. I gladly took the midnight shift because it paid an extra .50/hr over the day shift. Problem was, I could never sleep during the day, no matter how fatigued I was. I often went 72 hrs with no sleep at all, and maybe a total of 4-6 hours sleep over a five day stretch. 

Yes, this did lead to some mental episodes. One morning, when driving home on a winding mountain road, I saw a herd of 30ft tall moose standing in the middle of the road and began slaloming at high speed between their legs. It wasn't until I got home and laid down that I realized something was amiss.

Later that year, I went to a concert 2hrs from home with some friends after my last shift of the week. On the way back, I saw white poodles jumping from the ditch and running across the road and swerved to miss them. My friends were a bit shocked and gave me the WTF? I exclaimed "didn't you see them??!!" They offered to drive but I had just bought the car and wouldn't let anyone drive my new wheels. A few miles later, I saw men in all white winter army fatigues leaping from the ditch and running across the road and again began swerving even harder. My friends were now fearing for their lives and demanded to take the wheel, but I was adamant nobody could drive my new car.. let alone anybody who couldn't even see the people running across the road!!!

To cap it off, after we turned into the mountains and were heading up a rather treacherous, winding road, I then saw gnomes on minibikes riding wheelies backward across the road. Like Russell Crow when he had a breakthrough in "A Beautiful Mind" when he realized his imaginary friends hadn't aged in decades and therefore couldn't be real, I then wised up. Gnomes! That was the last straw. I carefully pulled over and let my best bud drive the rest of the way.


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## As'laDain (Nov 27, 2011)

Rocky Mountain Yeti said:


> My record is about 36 hours in a military command post.
> 
> Before then, I worked 10 hour shifts. If there was a no-show, I would gladly work two 10s back to back since the overtime paid at time and a half.
> 
> ...


Sleep deprivation is the only thing that has ever caused me to hallucinate...


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## _anonymous_ (Apr 18, 2016)

From my defense contracting days of old, I put in some of my longest hours, either in overnight test shifts or preparation for formal test events the next day (witnessed by military personnel). Never went far beyond 24 hours of "work" though in my life. 

In general, I find the question ambiguous given how productivity levels vary tremendously over long shifts, reducing them into bursts of work, filled with increasing amounts of time spent non-productively. 

By constraints of the human body, I'd guess that most people can't pull off more than 24 hours of high-productivity labor that constitutes "work". The mind tires, the body tires, and at some point, we're resting more than working even if we're still on the job. 

Of course, this excludes the superhumans among us, like Andy! I couldn't imagine being conscious for 72 hours. Maybe asleep that long, but not conscious...


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## john117 (May 20, 2013)

In highly creative jobs, even 8 hours is stretching it.


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## Fozzy (Jul 20, 2013)

john117 said:


> In highly creative jobs, even 8 hours is stretching it.


I agree. I've found my brain is only really effective 4-5 hours at a stretch. After that I start losing focus. In previous jobs that were more repetitive in nature, I could go much longer without some down-time.


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## As'laDain (Nov 27, 2011)

When I was working as a dairy worker, I often worked 24 hours to 36 hours straight, literally running the entire time. Then I would sleep for about six hours and do it again. I even ate while running. 

I used to do ultramarathons, so sunning incessantly for long periods of time was something I was actually used to. I find that when I need to do creative work, I think best when my body is in motion, whether I am tired or not. So I will often do all of my design and creative work while listening to music and dancing. 

To this end, I am glad I am in a unit that let's me put headphones in while I am trying to come up with a solution to a particularly complex issue. It is not exactly permitted in the army, but my leadership let's me get away with it because I usually come up with a solution pretty quickly. They have actually placed bets on how long it will take me to figure something out... one song solution, two song solution, etc.


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## Andy1001 (Jun 29, 2016)

_anonymous_ said:


> From my defense contracting days of old, I put in some of my longest hours, either in overnight test shifts or preparation for formal test events the next day (witnessed by military personnel). Never went far beyond 24 hours of "work" though in my life.
> 
> In general, I find the question ambiguous given how productivity levels vary tremendously over long shifts, reducing them into bursts of work, filled with increasing amounts of time spent non-productively.
> 
> ...


I did the crazy hours when I was younger but I had a big advantage over most other guys writing here.
There was nobody trying to shoot me!
The end result of my efforts is a ten hour max working week with a lifestyle that would make most people envious.
Still can't sleep though.lol.


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## Andy1001 (Jun 29, 2016)

john117 said:


> There's work and there's work. Back in 2011 we worked 70-80 hour weeks for 9 months. Got paid overtime plus dinners. But we paced ourselves to 8 hours real work (software or design) and 4 hours testing. Basically 6 days 12 hours a day. Company spent a ton in overtime and meals but that product worked perfectly out the door and was a best seller.


When I was employed I resigned my job after I had worked for three years as agreed.My direct supervisor died of a very aggressive form of cancer during my notice period.The company made me an offer I couldn't refuse.I took over his duties as well as my own and they paid me both salaries and an agreed bonus which was paid for every hour I was away from base.(Munich)I worked over four hundred days without a break,lived in hotels all over Europe and Asia and was paid a bonus for one hundred and sixty eight hours a week.At twenty two years old I was been paid enough money to buy four bedroom apt in the village in NY for cash.
When you have them by the balls,never let go.


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## jaquen (Mar 1, 2012)

Good grief, some of these insane hours.

Working for someone else? 14 hours.
Working for myself? Close to 20.


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## Brokenhearted_MD (May 25, 2017)

As an intern after medical school, 32 hours straight (no sleep) during General and Vascular Surgery rotations. Needless to say, I'm not a surgeon.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


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## Betrayedone (Jan 1, 2014)

Do you want your pilot on duty for 16 hours? Running on coffee and autopilot.


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## RandomDude (Dec 18, 2010)

Fozzy said:


> I agree. I've found my brain is only really effective 4-5 hours at a stretch. After that I start losing focus. In previous jobs that were more repetitive in nature, I could go much longer without some down-time.


Yeah I'm getting into the creative industry and I'm already noticing how different it is compared to my usual work. I require inspiration as well, which comes and goes and not always on time for deadlines. The best way I found to work was once the inspiration hits - get all the creative tasks done; planning/concepts, leave the tedious and repetitive tasks later once the inspiration fades and your creative brain no longer functions!


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