"Night shift" doesn't have one fixed set of hours - it depends on the employer, the industry, and how many shifts a workplace runs per day. This guide breaks down the standard 1st/2nd/3rd shift system and what each typically covers.
The Standard Three-Shift System
Most workplaces that run 24 hours a day divide the day into three shifts:
| Shift | Common name | Typical hours |
|---|---|---|
| 1st shift | Day shift | 7am-3pm or 8am-4pm |
| 2nd shift | Swing shift / evening shift | 3pm-11pm |
| 3rd shift | Night shift / graveyard shift | 11pm-7am |
These are the most common defaults, but plenty of workplaces shift them by an hour or two in either direction - a hospital might run 7am-7pm and 7pm-7am (two 12-hour shifts instead of three 8-hour ones), while a factory might use 6am-2pm, 2pm-10pm, 10pm-6am.
If your shift starts very early, around 4-6am, see our early morning shift sleep schedule.
What Time Is Night Shift, Specifically?
If your workplace uses the standard three-shift system, night shift (3rd shift) is 11pm-7am. But the honest answer is: it depends on your employer, and you should check your specific schedule rather than assume. Common variations include:
- 11pm-7am - the most common default
- 10pm-6am - common in retail and some manufacturing
- 12am-8am - common where 2nd shift runs later
- 7pm-7am - common for 12-hour shifts in healthcare and emergency services
Other Shift Names You'll See
The 1st/2nd/3rd system is mostly a North American way of talking about shifts. Elsewhere, and in some industries, you'll run into other terms:
- Graveyard shift: Another name for 3rd shift or the overnight shift, common in the US.
- Swing shift: The evening shift (2nd shift). In some workplaces it also means a rota that "swings" between days and nights.
- Earlies, lates, and nights: Common in the UK and Ireland, especially in healthcare and warehouses. Earlies might run 6am-2pm, lates 2pm-10pm, and nights 10pm-6am.
- Rotating shifts: You move between day, evening, and night shifts on a schedule, rather than working one fixed shift.
- Unsocial (or unsociable) hours: A UK term for work outside a normal daytime week, usually evenings, nights, and weekends. It has no single legal definition and often comes up in pay agreements, where some employers pay a premium for these hours.
What Counts as Night Work Legally?
In most places, your employer decides your shift times. But several countries do legally define "night time," and that definition can decide whether you get extra pay or protections:
| Where | Legal night period | Who counts as a night worker |
|---|---|---|
| UK | 11pm-6am by default, or an agreed 7+ hour period that includes midnight-5am | Regularly works at least 3 hours in that period |
| EU | Set by each country: at least 7 hours, always including midnight-5am | Normally works at least 3 hours of the working day in that period |
| Philippines | 10pm-6am | Anyone working in that window earns at least a 10% night differential per hour |
| US | No federal definition | Set by employer or union contract |
In the UK and EU, being classed as a night worker comes with extra rules. For example, UK night workers are generally limited to an average of 8 hours in each 24-hour period and must be offered a free health assessment (Acas, night workers; EU Working Time Directive). In the Philippines, the 10% night differential is a legal minimum rather than an employer perk (Labor Code Article 86).
For the details, see our guides to night work rules in the UK and EU and how to compute night differential in the Philippines. This is general information, not legal advice. Rules have exceptions (for certain jobs, sectors, and management roles), so check with your HR team, union, or local labor authority for how they apply to you.
2nd Shift vs. 3rd Shift
The practical difference matters more than the exact hours. 2nd shift workers are awake for a fairly normal-feeling evening (they're just starting work when others are getting home) and asleep at a reasonably normal night. 3rd shift workers are awake through the entire night and asleep during the day - a much bigger disruption to sleep and social life, which is why night shift specifically (not 2nd shift) is what most circadian rhythm and sleep research focuses on.
If you're transitioning into 3rd shift for the first time, see our 30-day night shift survival guide for what to expect and how to prepare. If you're trying to build a sleep schedule around your specific hours, our night shift sleep schedule guide covers example schedules for both 8-hour and 12-hour patterns.
Does "Night Shift" Hours Affect Differential Pay?
Often, yes - many employers only pay shift differential for hours within a specific window (commonly 6pm-6am or 7pm-7am), so working technically-3rd-shift hours that fall slightly outside that window can mean missing out on differential pay you'd expect. Always check your specific employer's differential policy rather than assuming standard hours apply. See our shift differential negotiation guide for how differential pay typically works, or plug your own numbers into the shift differential calculator to see what it adds up to per paycheck and per year.
Night Shift Hours and Your Sleep
Knowing your exact hours matters for more than pay. A 10pm-6am shift and a 12am-8am shift need different sleep windows, and a 7pm-7am 12-hour shift leaves much less room for sleep than either.
Once you know your hours, the night shift sleep schedule calculator builds a sleep window around them, including your commute. If you work 12-hour nights, our 12-hour night shift sleep schedule examples cover the most common rotations.