Nightshifters: What wakes you up while you are trying to sleep in this 9 to 5 world?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

  1. If you work night shift, how much sleep can you usually get during the day?

    • 9
      0 to 4 hours
    • 66
      4 to 6 hours
    • 43
      6 to 8 hours
    • 3
      more than 8 hours

121 members have participated

I have worked both shifts over the years. While I prefer the atmosphere on nights (NO SUITS!!!!!), I often find it difficult to get a good amount of sleep. Here's why:

1. No matter what time I cut off fluids, I always have to pee by noon.

2. Lawn services and their eardrum breaking machines! Do they really have to be THAT loud?

3. I live one short block away from an air raid type fire whistle! Some moron put it in a playground-now that's using your head!

4. The dog.

5. The doorbell.

What about the rest of you out there, what's keeping you awake?;)

What wakes me up...Until I learned to shut off the phone..telemarketers!

Lawn Mowers!

Airplanes ( I live near an airport!) Used to it now, incidently!

My children ( I have five.)

Light ( Thank God for room darkening shades!)

My capricious, not too spacious, bladder!

My black lab for his calls of nature!

Thank heavens I don't need too much sleep, or else, I would be in trouble.

I love working nocs though!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I did not know that you were a night nurse LilgirlRN. Thats cool. More power to you folks. I have a confession to make though. Where I currently work we have people living right behind us. And one I was driving around the back of the facility helping customers and I woke a day-sleeper. My truck is not the quietest vehicle on the road (1991 Chevy Silverado with a 350v8 and dual exhaust, manual transmission with a ton of power). I feel bad that I woke him up. He called my job reporting a red truck driving loudly in the back of the facility. This was my truck. I told him that it was a client, and I would see to it that they would never do it again. Since his call, I have made it a point keep the truck in 2nd gear while on the facility and not go above 1000 rpms lol.

Nick

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in FNP, Peds, Epilepsy, Mgt., Occ. Ed.

I worked nights for years and loved it. I needed a cool dark room, no coffee after 4AM, telephone ringer OFF (had voice mail), a tape player that played continuously with an ocean wave tape, and foam earplugs in. I'd turn the tape up loud enough I heard it through the plugs and no noise would wake me!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

This is such a good thread! I'm glad I found it because after 15 years of being a nurse, I've gotten a job that has day-night rotation. I've only worked 1 or two nights in my whole career and I'm not too sure I'm looking forward to them. All the positive comments here have helped tremendously. There have been times leaving the unit at 2000 and hearing the night shifters ordering pizza that I thought it sounded like a pretty good party! Guess I'll find out for myself now, won't I?:D

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

Some of the absolutely *clueless* dayshift workers who call to say: "THE STAFF MEETING FOR 4 has BEEN CANCELLED" ...they call at 1... then after hearing my groggy voice, they ask:

************"oooops were you asleep?"*************

duh????? UM, how would THEY LIKE A STAFF MEETING AT oh, say, 4 A.M....hmmmm? Actually had a unit coordinator say "Get used to it, it's a dayshift world"; when I protested the weird times they chose to have staff meetings and call us on the phone. So I just did not go to her stupid staff meetings. UGH!!!!! The inconsideration is unreal, like we don't need sleep too?????? Oh I forgot, the GENEROUS differential MAKES UP FOR ALL THAT right? lol

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hello everyone! I start my first job as an RN next month on the night shift. I like the night better and really hope that it works out. Thank you for all of the wonderful tips. However, I am sure there are those of you with families. How do you manage on your days off switching to the daytime to be with your family? Any tips? Thanks alot.

Renee in AZ

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I have worked nights since I graduated. Was on days when I was in school as I was an Lpn furthering my education. Nights works for me. I got woke up even when I was on days, for a while. When on days the noices in the street could bother me at times. Neighbors coming home late after a night out , playing music, talking loud etc. When your real exausted, which the majority of us our after working all night, usually short staffed, you just crash ! Plain and simple. Try earplugs if you have a real problem. What bothers me most trying to sleep during the day, those phone calls from telemarketers. I turn off the ringer and let my machine get any messages now.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

1. The telephone ringing.

2. People slamming car doors in the street.

3. Someone knocking on the door.

4. Needing to go to the bathroom.

5. Others moving around the house.

Solutions:

1. Drift off to sleep with a cd playing a bit of background noise. That way, even though there is noise, at least it is consistent and tends to cover the 'sudden' noises.

2. Either a warm mug of milk or a beer (if i feel like it) in summer.

3. Making sure the room is not too warm or cool.

4. Not oversleeping the day before.

5. I walk the dog after nightduty, before I even try to go to sleep. This gives me time to unwind emotionally and tires me out even further, so that when I lay down on my bed, 90% of the time I drift into oblivion.

Greetings from down under, Adelaide, South Australia.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

For some reason, no one will pester me during the day when I'm on afternoon shift or on a day off. As soon as I'm on nights, for some reason, at least one person has to bug me. And once I wake up, unless I've only been asleep an hour or so, I can't go back to sleep.

I usually pull the phones out of the wall, except the one that I can turn the ringers off and set to go straight to the machine. Create a little background noise with a CD, empty my bladder and make sure I have something to eat to stop that 12noon "I'm hungry" feeling that will wake me up otherwise. I turn the air con on to an arctic chill in summer, even if I have to snuggle under three or four blankets, just so the heat of the day doesn't wake me up. Even in winter, I have the fan on low just in case it gets hot in the middle of the day. I tell everyone I know when I'm on nights, unplug the doorbell and shut all the windows. But someone always has to bug me by banging on the front door or pelting something up onto my balcony that makes an astonishing loud thud, which for some reason always makes me feel like my home is about to be invaded.:( :( :( :(

So now, I have a big sign on my door when I'm working nights which says the following.

"I am on night duty and I will be asleep 8-5PM. Please don't wake me up. I don't need another phone company, credit card, vacuum cleaner, set of encyclopaedias, makeover, cable TV connection, spiritual redemption, cookies, cakes, biscuits, raffle tickets or anything else. Just leave me the &^(% alone. Thankyou for your consideration."

Amazingly, there's always one idiot who thinks it's a joke and raps on the door so I've had to alter my plan slightly. I keep a baseball bat by the door and if some whackjob bugs me, I open up the door and start smacking it against my hand and ask them what has happened that's so lifeshattering that they must wake me up to tell me about it. They usually run away. :chuckle :devil:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Phone calls, dog barking, people going up and down the stairs just outside of my bedroom door, TV too loud in the next room, too much light in the room.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I am sitll considering getting some silent mufflers for my truck since I moved into a nice quiet neighborhood. I really hate to wake anyone up. This truck is an old truck with dual exhaust and no catylitic converters. So 1,500 rpm is very very loud. I do my best to idle thru the neighborhood, but still it quite audible.

Nick

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment