Adjusting to a new schedule

Mandychelle79, ASN, RN · Aug 21, 2010

Oh I know. Last year before my first ever nursing exam, the Dean came over and basically told me I looked like crap. I had to explain I was on day 7 of an 8 day stretch, had 13 hours of sleep in 3 days. I work afternoon shift and had class at 8 am.

My body just gets used to the sleep deprivation I guess. I know my how my body reacts to sleep. I need at least 3 hours to feel refreshed, anything between 4 and 8 hours im not so pleasant and over 8 im great.

And I do drink a lot of caffeine, been known to fall asleep while watching assigned videos.

brokenroads27 · Aug 21, 2010

its hard to adjust but after a while you wont even realize how much sleep you actually are losing. i try to slip in naps in between clinicals when i can. that helps me to be able to stay awake long enough to finish work or study. its pathetic when you realize that the days during school that you get to sleep past 5 am are days that are considered "sleeping in" lol your body will get used to the hectic schedule, you'll see.

SingDanceRunLife · Aug 21, 2010

Yeah...when I woke up at quarter to 9 today, I referred to it as sleeping in.

I'm thinking that on Mondays, I'll be getting up at about 6:45 since class starts at 8, but we need to be there by 7:50/7:55 at the latest...so we'll be leaving around 7:25 since it's a 10 minute drive, but then you have to add in parking since we have to park on the 6th/7th floors of the garage...and on Tuesday and Wednesday, clinical starts at 7, so we have to be there by 6:30 which means leaving by about 6 which means getting up around 5. But Thursdays, we don't have to be at school til 1pm, so we get to sleep in...and Fridays we don't have class or clinical.

I'm sure I'll get used to it though. I've always adjusted easily. It's just weird for me because for most of high school, we started at 9, so I got up around 8. I haven't had to get up before 7 since 9th grade which is now 5 years ago.

healthstar, BSN, RN · Aug 21, 2010

When nursing school starts I sleep around 2-3 AM. I am not a morning person, the best sleep for me happens to be in the morning.

ruaalien2 · Aug 21, 2010

So glad I'm considered an evening student. Lectures start at 1L50, clinical at 4. My plan is to sleep till 9 and get up and study and do school work. Then again I am job searching as well.

That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Aug 21, 2010

When nursing school starts I sleep around 2-3 AM. I am not a morning person, the best sleep for me happens to be in the morning.

Tell me about it. I worked night shift all summer long. Adjusting to morning classes is going to be painful

TmC1999 · Aug 21, 2010

I am by far not a morning person, all summer long I was in bed by 3 or 4 am up around 9 am. But now I have to commute 1 hour to NS there and back 3 days a week getting up around 5 to make it there on time, I have no clue how I'm going to do it! lol Bad part is I don't drink caffeine or coffee, wonder what I need to wake me up for the LONG drive there and back! :)

ShantheRN, BSN, RN · Aug 21, 2010

I think your body adjusts to the punishment. At least mine has. I work nights and go to school during the day. Even while on summer break I'm not able to fall asleep after work right away. If I can sleep before 1100 I consider it a victory. On the flip side, I don't want to disrupt my weird sleep patterns because it'll suck just that much more once class starts.

I really think I do better on tests when I've been up all night working before them I allow myself the luxury of Starbucks during school. It keeps me happy and awake. If I didn't have that coffee jolt between work and school I think I'd cry.

Saysfaa · Aug 21, 2010

Has anyone else had these issues? Yes.

Will this change over time? Maybe. For me, sometimes it did and sometimes it didn't. It almost always does now that I know what things change my sleeping patters but I still sometimes have to make a special point of doing them.

How do you adjust? In order of what in most important.

No caffeine.

Manipulate light levels, especially get lots of light when I want to wake up but also dim lights for the last half hour or so before going to bed.

Set up triggers for sleep... aka a routine but it is more mental than physical. The most effective one I've ever heard of was from a friend who struggled with insomnia until she started clearing her mind after going to bed by thinking of each muscle seperately and telling it to relax. She went toe to head several times before falling asleep -at first. Now, she can get in bed, think of her big toes and fall asleep before getting to her little toes. Mine isn't that spectacular, but I'm not as consistant at it either. I plan farms.

There are also triggers while getting ready for bed... if you routinely do them on your way to bed and generally don't do them at other times. The more consistant you are, the more of a trigger they become.

No naps in the last 4 - 6 hours before going to bed.

Limit sugar and increase exercise. These always seem to go together for me, if I make a point of doing one, the other happens even if i don't make a point of it.

I've found it is far better to make a point of getting enough sleep than to learn to function on little sleep. I might have less time to do things, but I get so much more done with so fewer mistakes that I'm still much better off.

cmw6v8 · Aug 21, 2010

I'm going to have to wake up by 6 for my classes on Monday/Wednesday, and by 5 if I want to squeeze in a workout on those days. Other than caffeine, nutrition and exercise help me stay energized. Exercise in the morning if you can--it'll wake you up for the rest of your day. Getting exercise always helps me sleep better. Nutrition is another thing--try and stay away from sugar and refined carbs. Sometimes that's not possible, so I always make sure I take a multivitamin with plenty of B vitamins, and I've also been getting this dehydrated, powdered vegetable stuff that you mix with water and drink as juice or put it in a smoothie. It has TONS of veggies in it, along with other nutrients that really help me stay energized. I forgot the name of the brand that I have right now, but Amazing Grass is a brand that I've heard a lot about and that I'd like to try as well.

TLH1999 · Aug 21, 2010

I think your body adjusts to the punishment. At least mine has. I work nights and go to school during the day. Even while on summer break I'm not able to fall asleep after work right away. If I can sleep before 1100 I consider it a victory. On the flip side, I don't want to disrupt my weird sleep patterns because it'll suck just that much more once class starts.
I really think I do better on tests when I've been up all night working before them I allow myself the luxury of Starbucks during school. It keeps me happy and awake. If I didn't have that coffee jolt between work and school I think I'd cry.

You sound like me! I have worked 3rd shift for almost 9 years and 2years of those I have been attending class all day as well. My NS schedule is kind of rough, but I am sure I will adjust my sleep schedule accordingly..lol. And yes, it sounds weird, but I also feel like I can do better on tests when I have been working all night. Of course, I can study at work.