night shift question

Nurses General Nursing

Published

So i've been working as a nurse since 2010, little over a year. i was originally hired for 8 hour day/pm rotation, but after i got offered the position they changed me to 12 hour day. Well now, the night shifters were complaining of never being given the opportunity to do days. which changed up EVERYONE schedule. Not that i really care all that much, some are making a big stink about it and 5 actually left. yikes!

So i don't mind working nights, i do all right. But i feel like CRAP when i am at work. I don't really feel "tired", but i feel nauseated, lightheaded, just down right blah!!! I don't eat when i work nights because i feel so nauseated that i just can't get myself to do it. I sleep well during the day, i have NOOOOOO issues with sleeping. i could sleep all day if i let myself, and i wake up whenever i need to with no problem.

Is this a normal feeling with night shift people or am i the only one that ever feels this way? my coworkers will complain of just being tired and excited to go to bed, but i just feel like Crud, only word i can use to describe it!

any suggestions on making me not feel so cruddy?? Anything that has worked for anyone else. (I don't drink coffee).

Specializes in OB.

What I find works best as a sleep schedule for nights off is to only "halfway" turn around. When off I go to bed about 4 a.m. and get up at 11 am to 12 noon. This accomodates getting things done that are only available during "normal business hours" and getting together with daytime people while not messing up my body clock.

I also tend to do most of my shopping at 2 am - the only time Walmart is even close to tolerable!

Specializes in Home Health, Long-Term Care.

Are all hospitals 12-hour shifts? I know a few folks in the ER and maybe ICU that work 11am-11pm, that could work for me, since I'm a night owl but not so much that I could work with 7p-7a without some ill effects.

I disagree with this. If you're going to eat poorly, you'll do it, whatever time of day. Yes, meal times may be odd compared to day shifters, but to me there's nothing strange about eating lunch at midnight. That's my mid day. The only thing that's really changed is that I eat my two bigger meals earlier and just have a bowl of cereal for dinner before I go to bed in the morning. I've actually managed to lose a few pounds this way.

Taking too much meat in night really affects..You can't eat that...Even eating alot in night is not good for health as you are going to sleep but in this case you have to woke full night for the duty and so it is needed to take some meals eventhough you don't want to..

Specializes in Med Surg.
Taking too much meat in night really affects..You can't eat that...Even eating alot in night is not good for health as you are going to sleep but in this case you have to woke full night for the duty and so it is needed to take some meals eventhough you don't want to..

I think we're talking about two entirely different things here. I don't eat a lot at night because I'm about to go to sleep. I eat a larger meal because I have another 6-7 hours worth of work ahead of me and need the energy. I want to do it. My stomach starts hollering at me about 2300. I'm not really sure where eating meat entered the discussion. I actually eat very little meat in my diet. :confused:

Oh..I am sorry..May be I don;t understand exactly what you are saying,But what I said is just a fact and which one have to keep in mind..And if as you say that you actually eat very little meat in your diet than it is good for you really...

Specializes in geriatrics.

What some don't understand is that if you are working mainly nights, your schedule can be the same as a dayshifter. It's just flipped around. The key is to eat properly and sleep during the day. I also take B12 and D3 vitamins when I get up.

The not eating at night rule doesn't apply. If I'm awake, I need to eat and snack. I also avoid caffeine and I drink lots of water. Working swing shift is what hurts. It's either all nights or all days for me for my nursing career. Not both. If I ever work days, I would look for a job in the OR or a clinic, such as 8 to 5. Starting at 0700 is out of the question.

I did nights for about 9 months. It was terrible. I was sick all the time and I started having blood sugar issues where even though I was eating every 2 hours my sugar would drop to 50s and 60s. Then my period was 3 months late and I wasn't pregnant (even though we were trying). My dr diagnosed me with shift work disorder. I ended up changing jobs so I could go to days 2 months ago and its been great. I actually sleep more than 2 hours at a time and have so much more energy. The things that helped were eating healthy snacks during the night and I would try to sleep from about 9-4. Even if I couldn't sleep I would stay in bed and try to relax. To sleep I started using an app on my phone that was sleep music.

+ Add a Comment