5 Tips in How To Adapt to Night Shift

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Working night shift can be hazardous to your life. Here's 5 tips on how to adapt...

  1. Paint your bedroom walls black (to sleep during the day)
  2. Do not adopt a new pet (you don't want it waking you up while you sleep)
  3. Stay away from the coffee (you'll end up in the bathroom every hour if you do)
  4. Stay away from the Zombie in room 101
  5. Ignore Vlad when he tells you to drink some of his Hawaiian Punch.

In the spirit of Halloween, add your night-shift tip below...

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Ah, that stinks!!!... this is why I have lived in the country for the past 20 yrs, nice and quite, love love it :inlove:

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kbrn2002 said:
Yes! I have worked nights for 15 years, and the only thing that really bothers me are the normal daytime outside noises...kids playing, dogs barking, garbage men, construction, traffic...all the stuff that "normal" people do. A fan year round helps some, but I still can't sleep through the loud roofing crew that's been working on my neighbors house for over a week now.

Ah, that stinks!... this is why I have lived in the country for the past 20 yrs, nice and quite, love love it :inlove:

1 Votes
kbrn2002 said:
Yes! I have worked nights for 15 years, and the only thing that really bothers me are the normal daytime outside noises...kids playing, dogs barking, garbage men, construction, traffic...all the stuff that "normal" people do. A fan year round helps some, but I still can't sleep through the loud roofing crew that's been working on my neighbors house for over a week now.

Ah, that stinks!... this is why I have lived in the country for the past 20 yrs, nice and quite, love love it :inlove:

1 Votes

Aluminum foil on the windows, at least my bedroom is at the back of the house so it doesn't look "too trashy". I have a small bit in the middle I can peel up to look out too, to see if someone's coming up the driveway etc. My neighbors probably think I'm a crack head. Hubby also works nights and my mil will knock on the window instead of the door if she knows we're asleep, I'll glare angrily out my window flap when she does. We also have an air purifier running that drowns out cars, loud neighbors, lawnmowers etc. I couldn't sleep without it.

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Great tips. I also, have worked nights for 14 years and I find that tin foil covering the windows is great. But if you have bad windows that air gets through it might make a little noise.

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Find a schedule that works for you, I worked full time nights and went to nursing school full time, it was brutal but I had a goal.

Some work as many nights in a row as they can and adjust there sleep habits

others try to get the minimum amount sleep during the day, then go back to sleeping at knight and try to catch up on there sleep

Depending on where you work and who you with,cat naps, I haven't done it but others have.

Some people can adjust to working nights others cant

working nights is totally different than working days, on nights everyone tends to have the mind set to just keep everything under control (your not dieing on my shift) and NO DRAMA, On days they get to play with all the management people and doctors messing things up or fix what needs to be done.

things that have helped are ear plugs and a dark room, I have a couple of coworkers sleep in there walk in closets.

others get off , drop there kids off at school , short nap, pick kids up from school, hope for a another short nap and back to work.

It helps a lot to have a support system in place, everyone has to pull together to make it work.

I work days now and miss the people on nights

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Play vampire...Avoid sunlight when you get off in the morning. Sunglasses as soon as you step outside, don't run errands on your way home, and go into a dark or lamp lit room when you get home. Drape dark fabric across the top of curtain rods and let hang down to cover the gap between wall and blackout curtains, or use blackout roller shade behind curtain.

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\ said:
As a new graduate nurse when nursing positions were very scarce, I accepted the night-shift position (for 4 years) in a local hospital. It was the worst mistake of my life (In retrospect, I think that I should've waited until I had landed a day job). No kidding, I aged so fast in those 4 years than I had in the previous 30 years.

I have read that melatonin is secreted by the pineal gland only in pitch black condition and that it is necessary for REM sleep. Most persons who delude themselves of having "slept" during the day have actually not slept in the real sense of the word. No wonder most of them say that they don't dream.

I work night shift and I have the most vivid dreams and I always remember them. I love to freak my boss out and give her a laugh by telling her my work dreams. I do fall asleep with a mask on but 9/10 it falls off and my room has a huuuuge bay window facing south east. But I have insomnia too so even when I do sleep I don't sleep much

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\ said:
Would also add a fan to the mix...great for white noise

This!

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I put a dark sheet over bedroom window and meant to buy blackout curtains over 2 years ago, LOL! Still gathering dust...

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Specializes in Acute Rehab, IMCU, ED, med-surg.

I used dark-colored fleece blankets to cover my bedroom windows (put grommets every 1/4 of the width for the large window, and 1/2 way across for the small window). Inexpensive and very effective for room darkening!

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