Night Shift

I spent a career as a graveyard shift narcotics officer before retiring and beginning NS. You will get burnt out quickly if you don't make a concerted effort to ensure that you get adequate sleep. For me that meant an honest 8 hrs a day. It didn't matter if it was broken up into two 4-hr blocks, but I had to have a total of 8hrs to function up to potential. The best two things that I found to help achieve that rest was to drop the temp in the room 10* cooler than it normally stayed, and to seal up all windows with aluminum foil. If the room is light, then the brain triggers the ARAS (ascending reticular activating system), increasing its receptiveness to incoming stimulus, allowing you to be awakened easier.

1. Turn off all cell phones/house phones
2. Explain to all family members that you are a night shift nurse and to respect your sleep
3. If you work two days back to back, when you come home the second day, do not sleep all day. Try to sleep until approx 12 than get up and try to resume a normal day schedule. Try not to sleep that entire day because it will throw you off.
4. Eventually, you will figure out what works for you but those are the top things to remember. Enjoy! I love night shift.

Oh yeah do not forget to darken the room the best you can. I bought specialized window treatments to make sure my room was extra dark.

I think some of the best advice has been stated a few times in above posts; condition yourself by staying awake all night even on your days off - if you can and don't have any other obligations that require you to do otherwise. I once had a class that was 8-10 in the morning four days a week. Now the only day when I had to go to this class after work was Monday, but even on the other three days I would stay up all night, go to class, and sleep when I got home. It might sound extreme but what seems to make the 7pm-7am shift so miserable for some of us who work it is when we are working the hours our body thinks we should be sleeping. So if you are going to have to work this shift for awhile, its best to just readjust your body's clock.

Food is critical. Places will not deliver, and scrounging is not an option (either no food left, or it was left out all day). Get into a routine. I noticed that when things are slow, that is when something gets missed (weird right?). Calisthenics, if possible, are an awesome way to stay awake.

Watch your caffeine consumption at first, or you may have a hard time getting to sleep in the AM (believe it or not). I found that I needed less sleep while on night shift. Try not to screw up your sleep on your nights off.

A white noise machine is critical for blocking out the screaming kids and traffic throughout the day.

Congrats!

-Redfoot

I have worked on nights in the ER for years. It IS harder on your body whether you realize it or not. It really does wear you out even though you feel fine. There is less time to get things done in the day AND you spend most of your off days sleeping all day to catch up, and still dont get stuff done. But, being a freee spirit and like doing things my own way, I enjoy it..not so many brass hanging around, better staff, better energy, but often, weaker nurses, since most experienced nurses demand to work days. So, you have to be a leader. Plus, getting up at 5 am for a 7 shift just not sit well with my seratonin.

I've been working 12 hour night shifts on tele (Fr, Sat, Sun and an 8 every other Mo) and for four years. I really do enjoy this as it gives me more time off, more differential and away from management - which in my mind, is a plus.

I try and avoid coffee as much as I can and chug two litres of water each shift. Keeps ya peeing and awake.

I worked 10 days on 4 days off six hours on, six hours off (12 hours work/day) job with an oil company. It was hell. Had my own business. 80 hour weeks were common, paperwork and hounding people to pay....hell again....

I'd love to work 3 x 12hr shifts a week, 7PM-7AM. Fri, Sat, Sun nights even better. There is almost no one night fishing during the week ;-)

Tricks...
1)DARK when you sleep. Pitch black. One can adapt to noise but not light.
2)BRIGHT light when it's wake time. BRIGHT lights at work. If you're stuck under those energy saving fluorescent tubes, bring in a couple of bright "daylight" lamps. Keep them on and close any time you've a chance.

Although I won't graduate until next May, I recently started working as an ESN (Employed Student Nurse) on a Cardiology/Cardiac Surgery unit. Here in British Columbia (Canada), normal shift work comprises two 12-hour days (0700 - 1900) followed by two 12-hour nights (1900 - 0700), followed by five days off. I was initially quite concerned about how I'd adapt to this, but found it surprisingly easy. FYI, I'm 53, and normally sleep about six hours/night.

A couple of useful tips from some of my veteran nurse instructors/mentors:
1.) Eat very lightly (or not at all) during the wee hours of the shift, especially if you want to maintain a daytime circadian rhythm when you're not working.
2.) When you get home in the morning, eat something light (e.g. toast with peanut butter) before you go to sleep. This helps prevent being wakened by hunger.
3.) Drink a little chamomile tea or something warm and uncaffeinated before you go to bed.
4.) It doesn't work for everyone, but I find that a little melatonin (about 1mg or so) reliably puts my body into 'sleep' mode.
5.) Keep your sleeping room quiet, dark and cool. I didn't want to spend the money on special drapes, so I used an eye mask I found at REI. I live in downtown Vancouver, where it's really noisy, so I use earplugs (buy 'em by the bag at Home Depot; much cheaper than the drug store).
6.) Eat a good lunch when you get up/before you go to work, and have a light supper during your first break (usually around 2100-2200).

This regimen worked like a charm for me, and I found I had almost no need for "recovery" after four shifts.

Good luck!