alternatives to caffeine for night shift?

[trauma_lama, BSN]

Hey awesome nurses! I'm still a student and this is not an issue for me YET but I'm curious about how people make it through night shift if they can't have caffeine...I have a mitral valve prolapse that goes CRAZY spastic whenever I consume caffeine (and really any kind of stimulant) and the fluttering in my chest and light headedness is just not worth the extra dose of "energy" that caffeine can provide. I know that staying well hydrated helps people stay sharp when they're tired and eating (not junk) every little while can be helpful...My body is SO committed to my circadian rhythm, like at 10pm my eye lids start getting heavy and it's futile to try to hang on and stay awake and then by 7am (sometimes 8 on weekends when I "sleep in" haha) I am WIDE awake. I am so scared that as a new grad the only positions available to me will be nights and I will be so drowsy that I make significant mistakes (or less seriously, that I won't provide the best most sincere pt care that I can). So, any suggestions for alternatives to caffeine? Thanks so much, you guys are awesome.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Exercise on your breaks. If your heart is pumping at 50 to 75 percent of your maximum heart rate, it will be hard for you to fall asleep up to several hours after you last exercised. You can take brisk walks around your facility, walk up the stairwells, do jumping jacks, jog in place, or do burpees. All of these things can be done within the time constraints of a 15-minute break and will awaken you when you are feeling sleepy.

Also, eating a piece of fresh fruit every two to three hours might help maintain wakefulness. I personally would avoid huge meals at night because these tend to induce sleepiness in me. Good luck to you!

[mmm cdiff]

As for food, I bring fresh fruit and trail mix and just graze throughout the night. That's all I'll eat during my shift. Ice water helps too. Stay busy and active - clean IV poles, stock syringes, wipe down the nurse's station. I try to only sit during my breaks.

Some people aren't able to do this, but I sleep for 4-5 hours before my shift begins. Then again, I'm single, no kids, etc.

[ChuckeRN, BSN, RN]

How about Green Tea or Chai?

[casi, ASN, RN]

Keep active. When the sleepiness really hits run the stairs or do something else to keep your body going. Stay well hydrated. I would also suggest having snacks as well. A protien snack around 1 or 2 am really helps.

[tyvin, BSN, RN]

The best thing you or anyone else can do is fine tune your metabolism. Of course we all know how to do it ... it takes real commitment to achieve. Your diet also plays a major role; as talked about previously eat fruit and lite things when at work.

The trick is to make sure you got a sleeping schedule down that works and then schedule your cardio accordingly. As I said it takes commitment but you will either gain a few pounds and be constantly tired or you can be fit and active. One needs to take it very seriously and attack it from that standpoint because it is war; a war of your bodies ability to survive night shift.

[Jenni811, RN]

I've heard apples work, as they have some natural something or other?? I don't know though, never tried it.

[dthfytr, ADN, LPN, RN, EMT-B, EMT-I]

Lots of good suggestions. Not sure about the apple thing, but I've tried it on doctors and it simple doesn't repel them like it's supposed to.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Lots of good suggestions. Not sure about the apple thing, but I've tried it on doctors and it simple doesn't repel them like it's supposed to.

L.O.L.

[assidere]

Sleeping schedule is key. Also, its much easier if you cluster your nights. Staying up past midnight on Monday night, then sleeping as much as you can Tuesday before working Tues-Wed-Thurs nights is a good schedule...

I never have been a fan of coffee, so I occasionally partake in energy drinks (Monster, AMP, NOS, etc). Though those are packed with caffeine, at least they are an alternative to coffee

[rn/writer, RN]

No MVP in my heart, but I am sensitive to caffeine, too. I makes me feel jittery and my hands start shaking.

When I feel droopy, I like 5-hour energy drinks. They contain a very small amount of caffeine, so they may not work for you, but they are also full of b vitamins. They come in 60 cc bottles. I take only 20 ccs at a time. Sometimes that is enough to get me through the whole night. The caffeine in only 20 ccs would be one third of the original small amount.

I don't use this every time I work. Maybe once or twice a month. I don't want them to lose their effect, so I keep them for times when I have truly had inadequate sleep or I'm not feeling well. I haven't reacted to the caffeine so far. I used to take No-Doz back in my college days when we were all cramming for exams. That felt horrible, but I've never been a coffee drinker, so that was my only option back then. The 5-hour drinks don't "rev me up." They just take away that hypnotic desire to close my eyes and rest my head on the desk.

The other suggestions--exercise, eating light, hydrating--are good, too.

Hope you can find something that works. Or a day job.

[trauma_lama, BSN]

thanks a lot! you guys kick butt. i'll be sure to wear a sports bra to work so i can really exercise on breaks without giving myself a black eye (jumping jacks are a doozy for a gal with a chest), haha!