Night Shift Woes...When Do You Sleep On Your Days Off????

[BibleBarb56]

Hiya all :) I have been reading your posts for quite awhile as the topics pop up on my facebook. Just signed up today and I've been sitting and reading lots of topics and really enjoying them. I have been a nurse for over 20 yrs and a nurse aide prior to that. Everyone here seems to have good advice for people with questions or issues needing to be resolved. So here I am LOL with my tale of woe. I hope to get some good advice :)

I have been working nightshift for the past 3 years. I don't really care for it, but I have medical issues which cause chronic pain and I just can't keep up on any other shift. I work in a Basic Care Facility in which our Residents need care, but not to the extent of a SNF. So it is not as busy as most LTC facilities. I seem to be able to keep up with the pace on nights.

My issue is my days off, I tend to keep with my working schedule. I work 11pm- 8am, I come home and putz around doing what I have to do then I watch TV or read until I get tired. So I sleep from about 12-1pm til about 8-9pm. This works for me as my kids are grown and off on their own and my 2 furbabies ( dogs ) are used to my schedule now. But on my days off I tend to follow the same schedule as if I was working. That would be fine if it didn't interfere in other aspects of my life, but it does. My family, most of which are also in healthcare careers work day shifts. So I miss out on family activities because I just can't sleep normal hours. I have been told by others who work nights that it is good to keep the same schedule 7 days a week. This would be great if I could sleep from 9am-5pm and have the evening for activities, but unfortunately my habits take up the afternoon and most of the evening. I have tried going to sleep by 9am, but I just can't.

So I was just wondering what schedules other nightshift nurses have and how they deal with it? How do you keep your schedules when you are off work? It is 4am here CST and of course I'm wide awake. I would so love to go to the pool or the lake with the grandkids, but I would just be too tired. I'm not able to retire and I don't want to go through the aggravation of applying for disability even though I would be eligible I've heard horror stories from others. I'm looking forward to seeing how others deal with this :)

[FLAlleycat]

I always worked three nights in a row. On those days, I'd usually sleep from 10AM-6PM. On my days off, I'd stay up until 3-4AM then sleep till 11-noon. This worked for me as it gave me time for doctor appointments, some interaction with day-shift friends, etc.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I work three to four 12-hour night shifts per week from 6:00pm to 6:30am. On my days off I'll usually nap during the day, awaken in the early afternoon, be up all evening, and take another nap late at night.

[adnrnstudent, ASN, RN]

I work 12's and as the Slaughter song goes, "Up all night, sleep all day!"

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

I used to work permanent nights and I maintained a similar sleep schedule on my days off. Meaning I was up at night and slept during the day. On average, I went to bed around 0700am and woke up at 1500.

This worked well for me because I don't have children and I could still do things in the late afternoon. Nights work best if you are able to maintain a similar schedule.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

I work permanent nights. Get home, take an Ambien and have breakfast with DH. Go to bed by 9 AM, up at 4 PM. On my nights off, I'm usually sleepy by 4 AM, so go to bed then and get up when I wake up -- sometime between 10 and 2. That leaves afternoons and evenings for a social life. There are times I have to stay up later for a doctor's appointment or get up early for some reason, but it works for me with the help of drugs. Better living through chemistry!

[calivianya, BSN, RN]

It's really the sleeping until 2100 that's killing you, IMO. It's awfully difficult to go to sleep 12 hours after you woke up - or at least it is for me. One thing you could do is start setting an alarm for 1700, even on days that you work, and just do whatever it is you do in the morning after 1700 instead. I guarantee you'll get tired earlier if you start waking up earlier.

Also - I agree with the better living through chemistry. :) That's a beautiful phrase. If I feel particularly wired and like I'm not going to sleep, I either pop an Ambien or a diphenhydramine and that helps a lot. I still have my 30-count bottle of Ambien I got refilled in November, if that gives you an idea of how often I take it, but it's getting a little low. If you take an Ambien at 0900 and set your alarm for 1700 that day, I almost guarantee you'll start getting tired by 0900 the next day.

[ldaa]

I work friday ,saturday and sunday from 6pm to 7am.I won't sleep monday after night shift stay engaged with kids activities and stuff.Will go to bed around 7.30 or 8.So I will be back to regular sleeping schedule.If you can't stay awake whole day you can sleep for few hours and wake up before noon and get engaged with some activities. .By evening you will get tired and sleepy.

[dnnc52]

That was the hardest thing in my career. was getting sleep while working and then re-regulating sleep on days off. I was so adamant about not sleeping my entire day off that I would come home have my wife wake me up in 4hrs. Drink a big Sundrop or Jolt Cola. Then drag but all day, and have her to all the driving. I lived like a zombie. This went on for 15years. Until I had a 3p-3A ER job and that was the best hours. Require no turn around. Got up between 10-11 everyday. In fact now that I am retired I still mostly live on this time schedule. If you get the opportunity to land a 3A-3P time goes fast, cause you are busy as can be in an ER at these times. But it worked great for me. In fact later in my career I went into a executive position on the road and I missed the old 3-3 shift...

[NurseyPam]

I flip between 12 hr days/nights. When I'm getting ready for a night shift, I stay up as late as possible. After working a night shift, the way I get myself to flip back to a day shift is to not go to bed until around 10 or 11, then get myself back up at 2pm. Granted, I am nothing but a bump on a log when I get back up, but I'm awake!

[Surg-OncRN]

For myself, I work 12 hour nights during the week. I have worked night shifts for four years in my career. I think the first thing to do is get other areas of health dialed in like eating right and exercising consistently (PM me if you want more info on this). I feel doing this allows me to be more resilient to the stresses night shift places on my circadian rhythms. I plan on going back to days as soon as this new job at the VA will let me.

As soon as I come home I am tired and will go straight to bed around 9 to 930am. I typically sleep until 3 or 330pm. I am typically able to go to sleep around 1030 or 11 pm the night after my last night shift even though I slept during the day. Things that help me get the best sleep possible are keeping my room at 72 degrees or lower, wear an eye mask and make sure your room is dark, do not drink too much liquid or coffee after 5am, have a quiet environment to sleep in with no pets in the bed with you. Also, keep the phone out of your bedroom and do not watch any tv before going to bed. Let your family know you are sleeping and not to disturb you unless it is necessary. Good quality sleep is critical for you felling your best. Oh, do not exercise before you go to bed because it raise your body temperature and makes it hard for your body to settle down for rest. Exercise when you wake up and go for a walk in the sun at that time as well. Also, I would try to stay off any sleep aid medications and suggest rubbing lavender oil on the bottom of your feet as a natural sleep aid before you go to bed.

Hope this helps!

[becka9058]

I do days but I normally do nights as a three in a row kind of pattern. 7PM-8AM. I normally sleep 9AM-3PM when I'm on nights. Not very much considering I would normally sleep 10PM until 6AM for a day shift... I also find it soooo hard to switch back into 'day mode' after I've done my night shifts... I sort of turn into an owl; wide awake in the night and then sleeping through the day.