Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Tastes richer, less filling.

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Nightshift Towers

The place to be if you're up all night!
  (+81, -4)(+81, -4)(+81, -4)
(+81, -4)
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There have been many studies that show that nightshift work is hard on the body and soul, causing depression exhaustion and even high blood pressure. Nightshift house aims to change all that by creating a community of nightworkers in a building with technical innovations to make night work more pleasant.

The tower's amenities include:

- bars, dance clubs, and movies offered at after work hours (ie. 6-10 am) - night swimming and exercising in gym with simulated daylight - windows equipped to block all sunlight during the day or simulate sunlight at night. (you can set the rooms in your window to "rise" and "set" as needed) - simulated skylights (lit only at night) to give building cheerful daytime feel at night. - sound insulation to block out daytime noises at night - televisions with delayed programming so morning shows come on when you're waking up!

In addition to this you'll be living in a a place filled with others like you, so each morning(night) there will be the happy bustle of people going off to work in the lobby, you'll make more friends and have a greater sense of community.

In the evenings come and sit in the bar and enjoy a drink as the "sunlight" dwindles then watch the 11:oo news and go to bed, in your perfectly dark room.

Nightshift Towers "seize the night!"

futurebird, Jul 13 2001

Orwell's Nightshift Tower? http://www.spy.org.uk/1984.htm
[BartJan, Jul 13 2001, last modified Oct 17 2004]

Jet lag remedy 1 http://www.sciencem...t/full/279/5349/333
This article from Science Magazine discusses the science behind the jet lag remedy using a flashlight on the back of the knee. It requires a free registration for access. [beauxeault, Jul 13 2001, last modified Oct 17 2004]

Jet lag remedy 2 http://www.sciencem...t/full/279/5349/396
This Science Magazine article describes the actual experiments done with flashlights on the back of the knee. It also requires registration, but it contains information you'll need if you want to try this yourself. [beauxeault, Jul 13 2001, last modified Oct 17 2004]

(?) Jet lag remedy 3 http://www.al.com/n...000/2-xjetlag0.html
This article requires no registration and at least shows that I'm not the only idiot to get results with this method. [beauxeault, Jul 13 2001, last modified Oct 17 2004]

city that never sleeps http://www.halfbake...at_20never_20sleeps
[LoriZ, Jul 13 2001, last modified Oct 17 2004]

[link]






       Wouldn't these "towers" be better placed undergound?
Aristotle, Jul 13 2001
  

       I worked night shift over summers in college. I would have killed for such a place. Croissant for you.
Uncle Nutsy, Jul 13 2001
  

       It could be a pain when you leave though...
RobertKidney, Jul 13 2001
  

       UnaBubba: Would make a hell of a commute from halfway around the world.   

       I'd have loved a place like this...Would be nice to have a building set aside in an apartment complex for people who work nights, so you don't get idiots with loud radios or loud children when you're trying to sleep...
StarChaser, Jul 13 2001
  

       I always have been and likely always will be a night owl. I go to bed when the sun rises, sleep 5 hours and back to it. Beyond that, my ears are quite sensitive in the morning to noises which - in my case, cause tinnitus. When out and about in the evening I have the good fortune of music in my head pop in and then mentally create some hard bopping jazz, which I would love to play on arrival home. However, I've got neighbors - so that just kills it. Have another croissant. As for time zone I should be in... looking forward to retiring in New Zealand so I can see the days unfold and the sunsets over the majestic beauty of the South Island.
thumbwax, Jul 14 2001
  

       I've never seen an attempt to do this; so, I'm all in favor. Croissant and sound of coffee brewing for you!
reensure, Jul 14 2001
  

       why are there still jobs to do at night?
BALIKEKMEK, Jul 16 2001
  

       policeman, night watchmen, steel workers (it would be too expensive to heat up the crucible every day), any 24 hour store needs night shifters ... am I missing the point of your question?
futurebird, Jul 16 2001
  

       futurebird, you forgot doctors, nurses, detox workers, trash collectors, street cleaners, office cleaners, electrical utilities workers, firefighters, customs agents, airport workers, etc. it's amazing how many people take for granted the people who work hard to give them their easy, comfortable, problem-free lives.
mihali, Jul 16 2001
  

       Isn't this how the division between the Eloi and the Morlocks started?
francois, Jul 17 2001
  

       Lots of rich upper class people do night work too. I bet my brother (consultant) would live here. He makes like 150k too... but he has to work all night for weeks on end to meet the random whims of his clients. People with erratic schedule could use the night features when they're working late and turn to the "day light word" on other days.   

       So I don't envision this being a socioeconomic divide thing... ther'd be apartments of all sizes with varying rents so as to attract a nice politically correct collection of people from all classes.   

       Also I think insomniacs (like my self, I get 5 hours on a good night) might come here. I feel much better in the summer when days are longer but I'd really like it if sunset could be at 1:30a. With my sunset ajusto-window I could have that .... oh how I love vitamin D!
futurebird, Jul 17 2001
  

       well, I see two ideas here:   

       1. A community with time-shifted activities (clubs, bars, etc. at different hours)   

       2. A community with no noisy hours (so you can sleep whenever you want).   

       #2 would be useful for people who keep irregular schedules or need to work late occasionally. #1 is, I think, the more original and interesting idea, and would only be useful for people who are always on the night schedule.
wiml, Jul 17 2001
  

       I do like the idea very much, but like RobertKidney mentioned earlier, there will allways be a problem either entering the Nightshift Towers or leaving them. At that point you enter a world that has is own opposite rythm, and it will take you some time to adapt, if you will adapt at all (depending on the time you stay there). So how to deal with that?
BartJan, Jul 19 2001
  

       The adaptation to which you refer is the same thing as jet lag. I've had good results in the past with a diet that for me, at least, eliminates jet lag. But the diet lasts four days prior to the trip and is a real pain. More recently, I've had surprisingly good success with a technique that involves shining a flashlight on the back of your knee while you sleep the night before you travel (at least for west-east travel; for east-west, the timing is different). I know this sounds preposterous, but I'll post links to the scientific studies that form the basis for it if I can find them.
beauxeault, Jul 19 2001
  

       Let me see if I have this straight: we take the guys who used to work nights and put them in an environment where they work "days", then take the guys who used to work days and put them in an environment where they work "nights". What have we gained here?
chipm, Jul 19 2001
  

       waugs, I wonder that about a lot of things (licking hallucinogenic toads, for instance). Actually, one of the articles does imply the reasoning: Early tests with light exposure used lights in the eyes, and concluded that the important reaction was not in the optical receptors but in the blood. Since it is important to get exposure near your point of deepest sleep, a light in your eyes or face is not convenient. But major arteries (or veins?) run close to the skin at the back of the knee, where exposure can occur without preventing sleep.
beauxeault, Jul 19 2001
  

       I think this is a great idea. Most people who work night a swap shift do so because if they work nights they can't go out... it there were alternate facilities people working nights would probably not mind working nights all the time. Well done, bread thingy on it's way.
CasaLoco, Jul 20 2001
  

       chipm: I think the idea is that the people who work day shifts now stay in the normal-phase parts of the city. That way, everyone is working "day" shifts, even those people who are awake when the sun is down.
wiml, Jul 21 2001
  

       Interesting idea. The main problems I see with this are: 1) the cost of technology (at least at the moment) for decent "indoor sunlight" and darkness in daytime would be prohibitively expensive for shift-workers who usually don't work nights because they have heaps of spare money and it's a good job (sorry futurebird); and 2) the unfortunate side-effect of insulating the nightshift tower people from the rest of human existence by deliberately and fully reversing day/night. We could start getting a Wells-Time-Machine-esque societal division (thanks francois). On the other hand, for Morl... night-workers themselves, it could be a very good thing...
jabbers, Aug 15 2001
  

       Full-spectrum fluorescents are more expensive than normal ones, but only once; and 'full darkness' is simple to do, just tinfoil on the windows if you don't want to paint them black. Many of us who (in my case, used to) live in the dark do that.
StarChaser, Aug 17 2001
  

       Croissant, by virtue of the fact it's 2am and I'm in a computer room lit by (non-full-spectrum) flourescent lights with a can machine being the sole amenity. The realisation that things could be so much *better*.
-alx, Aug 17 2001
  

       i've done the midnight and evening shifts before and . . . this is brilliant! very nice!
efarns, Jul 03 2002
  

       Hung over for the nightshift!?
CV, Apr 01 2003
  

       I hate to mix things up but life helps. With the control of days and nights couldn't you slow time in a realitive sense by creating longer days/nights than the Earths 24 hrs? Could this help space travel go faster by slowing time? please reply. this is my first halfbaked idea.
I2RI, Apr 02 2003
  

       This place would attract geeks by the truck load. LAN parties, Table top RPGs and LARPs are only a few things that come to mind. +
sartep, Jul 31 2003
  

       apart from being baked, one of the thing about night shift workers is that their cheap labour. building all that crap would cost a fortune.
etherman, Apr 30 2004
  

       //morning shows come on when you're waking up//

So you sleep here? Sounds great! +
ghillie, May 12 2004
  

       Carpe Noctem!
dbmag9, Jan 21 2006
  

       Bun, for the whole idea. But especially the last line.
Germanicus, Jan 22 2006
  

       Darn! dbmag9 beat me to it!
DesertFox, Jan 22 2006
  

       //one of the thing about night shift workers is that their cheap labour//   

       where'd you get that idea from?
daaisy, Jan 22 2006
  

       Sorry, DesertFox.
dbmag9, Jan 22 2006
  

       This sounds like a great idea, you might even be able to have a hotel-like "jetlag reduction" service in which over the period of a couple of days the time cycle ajusts to local time for travelers BUN!
Twist, Jan 25 2006
  

       No no no! Leave the dark/light cycle alone. Sunrise is what makes me sleepy. If you swap them around, I'll only end up waking up at "real" dawn again.   

       Hey....
BunsenHoneydew, Jan 27 2006
  

       If people stayed in their jobs as long as they stayed in their residences this would have been baked already. A valient and bunworthy plan.
wagster, Feb 19 2006
  

       ...such sheltered lives people live, who would say things like   

       /why are there still jobs to do at night?/   

       /one of the thing about night shift workers is that their cheap labour/   

       Jesus, most factories, refineries, mines, shipyards, fabricators, hospitals, Law enforcement units, and many other industries run 24 hour operation. I mean, we pay our guys 25% extra to work nights. Over $100k per year is anything but cheap labour...   

       BTW bun for the idea, I think it's great.
Custardguts, Jan 22 2007
  

       please please please open one in LA.
gomer, Jul 29 2008
  

       Build 50 of 'em and run half an economy at night to lower stress on emergency services, roads, and utilities.
Voice, Jul 29 2008
  

       //The main problems I see with this are: 1) the cost of technology (at least at the moment) for decent "indoor sunlight"//   

       ..and technology provides, a mere 12 years after the original comment and we now have LEDs to provide any amount or flavour of light you could want.
bs0u0155, Jan 05 2013
  

       ^and yet, if you really want sun-like-light you still have to buy tungsten incandescent bulbs. Nothing else will suffice for a light junkie. LEDs aren't really there yet.
DIYMatt, Jan 05 2013
  

       I worked nights for three years straight. I had to maintain my sleep schedule on my days off and even on holidays. So I agree strongly that the towers should have nightclubs. For three years I never once went out for beers after work. People thought me strange for drinking at 9 a.m.! Great Idea!   

       I disagree strongly with DIY Matt about LED technology. I installed them everywhere, even in my silverware drawers.
Brian the Painter, Jan 05 2013
  

       //even in my silverware drawers//   

       Do you jingle when you tinkle ?
FlyingToaster, Jan 05 2013
  

       [eyes to the floor, slightly embarrassed] "yes"
Brian the Painter, Jan 05 2013
  

       [futurebird], hugs. Where is that woman?
blissmiss, Jan 05 2013
  

       ^<pictures a woman off somewhere momentarily puzzled at receiving a mental embrace accompanied by an odor of fresh pastry>   

       Having worked nights, this is one of my favorite ideas: bacon & eggs at 8pm and a beer at 8am.
FlyingToaster, Jan 05 2013
  

       ... and the "tower" could be sunk into the ground for a HVAC expenditure of almost nothing, no matter where on the planet it is.
FlyingToaster, Mar 10 2016
  
      
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