Needed advice on staying up and staying healthy in night shift

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HI, to all. As a new grad, I will be working at nightshift by next month. I am a night person but people are telling me that working at night is different.

I would like to know what do u eat to stay healthy and not getting full to stay awake while working night shift? How do u manage your time with kids? :balloons:

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Specializes in Acute Med, Pediatric Hematology-Oncology.

eat regularly during the night (just like you would during the day) and invest in a good pair of earplugs and thick, dark curtains so you can sleep during the day. :) and dont skimp out on sleep during the day.

i work fairly regular nightshifts, so my body switches over pretty easily. my only problem comes when im trying to sleep the night after my last night. i usually take a melatonin capsule (its an over the counter sleep aid) and that gets me back on track for my time off. have fun!!

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So glad you asked this! I'll be starting 7p-7a shift soon, too! (and I also have 2 children who might just want to see me now and then)

I used to have a bedroom w/no windows and it was a God-send. Dh worked odd hours and *needed* it to survive! Now I will need to put in good, thick curtains. Try to find ones that have 3 layers to block out as much light as possible (and to keep the room cool in the middle of the day in warmer months if that's an issue where you live). Having a sleep mask (some airlines give them out, so ask for one next time you fly) is also really nice. They're fairly easy to make, or you can use a thin winter cap that pulls down low in a pinch. Don't even bother putting a blanket/sheet over your window. It will ruin it and really won't work as well as a good curtain or a sleep mask.

I also have an old box fan that I'll be plugging in, not to cool me, but to provide white noise to muffle normal household sounds so I can sleep while others are awake. Alternately, you can turn a clock-radio onto a non-station (just static) and turn the volume way down. I also plan to restrict the children from the hallway outside my bedroom during certain times.

For falling asleep fast after you get home, make sure you stop drinking caffeine and eating/drinking sugar and chocolate about 4 hours before you'll be home and ready for bed. Take a warm shower as soon as you get home, but don't rush--take time to slow down while you're there! Then sip some water, read a little from a book (preferably a boring one--search for a real yawner just for this purpose) by the light of a lamp you can turn off from bed (getting up will wake you up all over again), then lie down in the dark and Do Not Move!! If your room is totally dark, it can actually be easier to feel sleepy and fall asleep faster if you lie still with your eyes open than with them closed (no idea why, but yes, I've experimented on myself). Establish a bedtime routine and follow it every day. Just beginning the routine and working through it will trigger sleepy feelings once you get very accustomed to it. Works for babies, and can work for adults, too! Use that routine no matter when you go to sleep, even on non-work days/nights so that it will be more effective when you're trying to sleep after working all night.

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Specializes in neuro, med/surg/, cardiac care.

I find working nights i actually see the kids more, especially when they were younger. With a twelve hour day you leave before they are up and are home usually after they have gone to bed. With nights, you have supper with them, go to work and home in the morning to see them off to school. For me is great also because I can get up at 3pm to pick them up at school as well. The big thing is getting your sleep!When I was much younger i used to stay up after the second or third night and clean house , shop whatever, i hated to wasted a day. Now I find I have to sleep or I get sick, plus very , very grumpy. Try to have a little cat nap at work if you are able to as well . Even a half hour does help. As to food, I bring light stuff in, bagels and cream cheese, soup, fruit, cereal. Nightshift really does not permit for 3 breaks as does days so generally you eat all your food at one sitting, or at least that seems to be the way on my unit and from past experience. I can't do canned drinks like diet coke either at night, does not sit well and I end up looking prego by the end of the morning.:lol2::lol2::lol2:

Good luck to you!!

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Specializes in LTC, MDS Cordnator, Mental Health.

I worked nights and went to school days... for two years. I found that if you have a routine when you get home. it will help. I would make a piece of toast, glass of milk. watch a little TV then (after getting ready for bed first.) then go into my darkened bed room set my alarm. for when i needed to get up. (if i had a class) put in my sleep video....;)

"you got mail" I know hokkie but no killing screaming and great music. my vcr has a repeat function. lay down and then i would just doze off and sleep like a log. I never missed a thing with the family. I just had to plan when i needed to sleep...

Now i am on full time days and one weekend a month. I am doing this for my DH as he works days as well.

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Specializes in ICU.
watch a little TV then (after getting ready for bed first.) then go into my darkened bed room set my alarm. for when i needed to get up. (if i had a class) put in my sleep video....;)

"you got mail" I know hokkie but no killing screaming and great music. my vcr has a repeat function. lay down and then i would just doze off and sleep like a log.

I have a sleep video too...mine is Jurassic Park! I have no idea why, because there's a lot of screaming and running around, but I'm always always asleep before the Rex escapes :-)

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i have been on nights for 3.5 years so here is my advice. first and foremost, don't expect to "get used to it" right away. it took me 6 months before i truly felt comfortable on nights (staying awake, sleeping the next day, not being grumpy, etc.) like the others have mentioned a routine is key and a dark room. i actually bought black poster-board and cut it to fit my window - works wonders and i can remove it on days off or prn - for some reason the 'blackout' curtains just were not enough for me. i also agree with a fan or some other white noise, but for me having a tv on would never allow me sleep peacefully (do what works best for you).

take it or leave it, but here is my routine. keep in mind i have a set schedule with the same 3 nights in a row every week - shift is 7p - 7a:

day one - i try to catch a short nap in the afternoon before i have to work that night. work my shift and just before i drive home i take one tylenol pm (25mg of benadryl is the key) or a 3mg melatonin - i try to alternate so i do not build up a 'tolerance' to one or the other. my commute is only 5-10 minutes so there is no way i will be dui on the way home :yawn:. get home in time to have breakfast with the kids before they go to school. once they are out the door i get ready for bed and am usually asleep by 0830 at the latest. i get up at 1500 so i am ready to be 'present' when the youngest gets home at 1515.

day two - as mentioned before i get up at 1515 spend time with kids doing homework, playing, accomplishing a few household chores, little league, etc. dinner with the family by 1800 and off to work by 1845. repeat my shift and repeat am routine as noted above.

day three - repeat day two (up at 1500, evening routine, off to work, etc.) the difference is at the end of this shift i do not take a sleep aid so that i won't sleep all day....don't want to waste the day, plus need to 'switch over' back to days off. i purposely set my alarm so that i only sleep 3-4 hours. i'm up by about 1300 and set about as though it's a regular day. the trick for me on this day is make plans, be busy, etc. until it's time for bed this helps 'trick' my body back into a days schedule. i'm usually in bed by 2100 on this night and up with the kids for school in the morning....repeat for all of my days off....then back to my work schedule.

as far as staying healthy....be prepared. make sure you have lots of water!! bring your own healthy snacks that you can nibble on throughout your whole shift. i find if i eat a meal i get very sleepy. while at work i find when i get the most tired if i will stop and do some simple stretches for 10 minutes or so it wakes me up, releases tension, and helps keep me invigorated.

hope this helps, good luck on nights....and enjoy the shift differential! :nurse:

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Specializes in air & ground ambulance.

work days. Recentr scientific date has demonstrated that those individules who work 12 hours a day and then you throw in a night shift! There has been a 30% increase in heart attack and related problems. Take good care of your self so you can take care of those babies. Linda

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