[incublissRN]

When I switched jobs at the beginning of November I also switched from days to nights. I have adjusted well and like it for the most part. Unfortunately, my mother has still not figured it out yet. I've tried several times to explain it to her that I go to bed at about 10 am after I get home from work, yet she still calls at 3-4 pm on days after I've worked expecting me to be up. She tells me I "need to get up and move around." This comment infuriates me!! I need at least 8 hours of sleep to be able to do that! Granted, I was depressed after I graduated and I know she was worried about me but it has gradually gotten better after I started my new job.

I would turn my phone off but I live by myself and I'm worried that there will be an emergency and no one would be able to get a hold of me. I've thought about calling her at 4 am but for some reason I feel bad. Maybe I just need to suck it up and do it so that she gets the point. She's a teacher's aide...it's too bad it's Christmas break. I think I'd like it better if I called on a day that she worked

[Quickbeam]

Get voice mail. Turn your phone off. There are some people who will continue to not understand your needs so you must take care of yourself.

I worked straight nights for 10 years.

[GardenDove]

You can't expect everyone in the world to know that you work nights, even if your mother wasn't bugging you. I never sleep by the phone, how can I expect people to know I'm sleeping. It's hard enough to sleep during the day.

[samaletta]

LMAO
This sounds Like MY MOM!!! I am in the last semester of school, and I have had the same schedule since I started!! Mon, tues, wed. I get up at 5 am each day, so I go to bed at 8 or 830. She still calls me at 9 or 930 every now and then!!! Also on breaks from school I work midnight shift at the hospital, and she'll call me around 3 or 4 the next day BUT SHE KNEW I JUST WORKED THE NIGHT BEFORE!!!!!! I get so mad at her sometimes!!

Like the other people said, I keep my phone on "silent".

Sometimes when my mom calls (at times that are appropriate), she starts off by saying "how was your day?" or "hey I was thinking about you". It just reminds me of how much I love her. she makes me so mad sometimes, but I love her with all my heart!! So....I'll let her go when she calls and wakes me up, after all, she just wanted to see how her little girl was doing.

[TazziRN]

Screw feeling bad, call her at 0400!!!! Do that a few times and I guarantee she will get it.

[santhony44]

Do you have a friend or neighbor you can trust who understands "night shift?"

If so, give that person's number out as your emergency contact number. If something happens and waking you up is necessary, that person can come and wake you up. (You could also give a spare key to your emergency contact).

Then turn your phone off!! If you don't have voice mail that will pick up even with your phone off, get it.

You cannot continue to work nights if you can't get reasonable sleep, and you will never be able to make some people understand what "night shift" means.

When I worked nights, for quite a while, I turned the phone off and put a sign on the door: "Night worker, do not knock!" I had couple of relatives get offended but tough! (One was my SIL who said "I work nights too!" because she did the dishes and mopped the floor after dinner. Her usual bedtime was 9 PM!)

Since I'm married my husband was my emergency contact. In several years' time he never had to wake me up.

Of course calling the repeat offender at 2 or 3 AM might work well too!! Be sure to tell her that she needs to "get up and move around!"

Good luck!

[Tweety]

When I worked nights I turned the phone off. I figured if there was a family emergency in the long run it would help for me to be rested. My family was 1000 miles away and what could I do.

I understand your frustration all too well. People don't get it.

[clemmm78]

My kids and good friends have my cell phone number. I turn off my home phone and bring the cell into my room with me. If there is an emergency, they can call my cell. Since I started doing that, I started sleeping much better, not worrying that someone was trying to get hold of me.

[incublissRN]

Originally Posted by GardenDove

You can't expect everyone in the world to know that you work nights, even if your mother wasn't bugging you. I never sleep by the phone, how can I expect people to know I'm sleeping. It's hard enough to sleep during the day.

The great thing is no one else ever calls me regularly during the day except her so I don't have to expect everyone to know.

[RN-Cardiac]

I'm with all of the above!!! TURN OFF THE PHONE!! I've worked 12 hr nights for almost 10 years now,.some people still don't get it,..I have kids in school and it took me awhile to feel comfortable turning off my phone (one of those "kids" is now driving aarrrggghh) but,..the school has an emergency number for someone who can wake me if they need to, all my neighbors know I work nights, all my family etc,..there is a note on my front door,... you have to sleep,..turn the phone off!