Oh yes, late night shifts used to fcuk me up royally.
The only thing worse is rotating 8 hour shifts. Which is what we had when I first started. Many of the shifts they would tack on O.T. I think the rotations occurred every three months.
Fortunately after about a year we changed to 8 hour fixed shifts (by senority sign up). Most of the haters took the midnight shift and the oldtimers took day shift. I was able to get 3-11 pm shift which was ideal (still had time to go out drinking after work and sleep it off).
Then we changed to 10 hour shifts by senority sign up. This was good because it gave you more days-off in a row. But made very some hellishly long days when you were assigned O.T. I eventually ended up locked on day shift where my social life went to hell, but I was able to work out and sleep good.
Then I got promoted and had to start all over again as low man on the totam poll.
By the time I retired (at 51) I had amassed a giant sum in my pension fund which I enjoy today (3% increases every years, guarenteed). But, I have to say.... I earned it.
That job drained the piss out of me. My last day I dumped my uniforms and equipment into a plastic bin, trashed all of my training materials, etc., walked out the door and never returned.