I hate night shift

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I have been working night shift for about 9 months now. I thought it would get easier, but it just gets harder. I feel so bad all the time. My days off are spent sleeping. And if I do have to get up early for something, I feel just horrible. I don't get to spend any time with my family. The only reason I stay at my job is because I really like it. But I am willing to do just about anything else as long as it is day shift. I don't know how people work nights for years and years. I thought I would like not having to get up early, but I would do just about anything to get off nights. Unfortunately it's not easy to go to days at my current job. There is a waiting list, and it's very long. It would be 2-3 years before I even got a chance to go to days. :( Just wondering how everyone deals with this awful shift for long?

Thanks for all the support. I have no problem sleeping during the day. When I get off work, sometimes it's all I can do to get home. I don't have any kids, so that makes it easier I guess. Since I am still considered a new grad because I don't have a year of experience yet, it's been very hard finding another job. So I will just have to keep doing it for the time being. But I will jump at the chance when something on days opens up.

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I hate day shift A LOT so I work nights, that is what gets me through nights! But it does take a huge toll on your life. I don't have any family and can't see how I would and work nights and keep my schedule, unless my kids were all teens. My coworkers that have kids, seem to sleep about 4 hours a day even between shifts. Sometimes I try to go on a day schedule and that takes at least a week to adapt, and I never have a week between shifts. for 2-4 days it is NOT worth it to me. Some days off I don't even get up until after 5pm , oh well. Even if I try to get up at 2pm etc, it is useless I can barely keep my eyes open let alone drive to the mall etc. Not everyone can hack it on nights. It is a bizarre experience to find yourself bored at 3am and realize you can not even text/call anyone you know because they are all asleep and have this experience play out over and over again.

The hard part about nights for some is that they can not stop sleeping on days off, lights on or off, sun or no sun. and you do miss out on social events, or show up VERY tired. But for me it is worth it because I realllllllllllllllllly do not like day shift.

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I work 12 hour shifts, so I work 3-4 nights a week. I don't think I would want to do 8 hour night shifts. I think that would be worse. My family is pretty understanding of my need to sleep during the day. My sister will sometimes text me in the middle of the day, but I am usually so out of it that I don't even hear the phone. I keep my room as dark as possible, I wear a sleep mask and ear plugs. And I keep a fan going. So I sleep really good most of the time.

Yes, the hardest part is working nights messes up my days off. I still have to stay on that schedule. I had to get up today at 10 am, and I thought I was just going to fall over. I don't remember the last time I was awake at 10 am. It felt like the middle of the night. And now, I am off tonight, but I can't go to sleep early. My husband works day shift, so I am left up alone a lot. It really gets old. :(

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I'm a natural born night-owl, but I had trouble adjusting to nights at first, too. Blondy2061h and Aliakey had excellent points/tips to try. I have tin foil over the mini-blinds in my bedroom (over the blinds so my house doesn't look like a crack house from the street), I sleep with a fan and I don't hesitate to turn off my phone. The best tip, IMHO, is the one about staying with some type of routine, like taking an afternoon nap, or sleeping 2a-10a on your days off. That works the best for me!

Good luck! It sucks that you love your job, but hate the schedule! Don't forget about talking to your supervisor. They may be able to help, and they may not, but it won't hurt to ask!

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Specializes in Emergency Room.

I'm sorry you have such difficulty working nights! I am a per-diem ER tech and we work 12 hour shifts in our department.Most of the time I end up working nights. I started in January 2010 and the first night shift I ever worked I remember sleeping all the way until 5pm and I felt like a train hit me but from then on I was able to get used to it. I actually prefer nights because I feel closer to my night shift coworkers since I got to know them well when I was a volunteer, administrators are not usually around, and the additional pay. I put my sunglasses on for the drive home, keep my bedroom dark (I don't have blackout curtains but I put a dark flannel sheet over my blinds one day and haven't bothered to change it since because it works well) and try not to drink anything a few hours before the shift ends (unless of course you need to wake up earlier) because around 12 or 1pm you will wake up needing to go to the bathroom. Also, one of the doctors I met on an international medical trip recommended to me sleeping in increments of 90 minutes (i.e 3 hours, 4.5, 6 etc.) because you will feel well rested and I find that I can usually function pretty well off of 4.5 or 6 hours of sleep even though my shifts are double that. I hope you can either adjust or find something that works better for you, good luck!

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Specializes in Forensic Psych.

Don't know if you have a smart phone, but there's an app I love that helps with the 90 theory called Sleep Cycle. It doesn't time you by 90 minutes, but I does track your cycles by your movements and wakes you up when you're in your lightest phase of sleep so you feel rested. It actually works better for me than strictly 90 min intervals. Just in case you'd never heard of it!

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Specializes in CDI Supervisor; Formerly NICU.
No advice, just.....I feel ya.
What? The Philosoraptor doesn't have any advice? Inconceivable.

On topic: I'm starting to dislike night shift, too. My wife is M-F 9-5, so my typical night shift nursing schedule is hell on our time together. I hate getting up early, though, and don't know if I can deal with a lot of the staff on days...but I'm almost to the point where I'm going to have to try.

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I feel the same way. I don't like going to bed early or getting up early, but I would much more prefer it over this.

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, PACU.

I think shift work is why I have been married for over 20 years lol

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Specializes in Surgery Trauma.

I love nights. Sure it takes some getting used to, but days are absolutely way too stressful for me.

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I'm going to go ahead and get my name on the list for day shift. I know it's a long shot, but I guess I never know until I try.

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I couldn't see myself doing any shift other than nights. I enjoy the night atmosphere better than the day one. I am able to see my family more with me working the night shift. Not to mention the differential is worth doing nights all in itself! Sleep can be challenging, but it's a work in progress.

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