Adjusting to night shift--HELP!!

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I'm a new nurse, and I've accepted a night shift position--11pm to 7am. I didn't get more that 3 hours of sleep at a time during my first week (last week.) I'm back at it again tonight.

Does anyone have advice about how to manage sleeping? I'm looking for tips, advice, drugs : ) --please HELP!!

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Of course, anyone working night shift will probably be sleeping now, like I should be.:(

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Specializes in Family NP, OB Nursing.

My advice:

1. Make sleep a priority! I worked nights (and loved it) for 11 years and this was much easier before I had kids, but even with kids I put getting rest as close to the top of my list as possible. If you don't you will wear yourself out, be too sleepy and possibly make mistakes.

2. Darken your room. You can invest in "blackout" curtains or blinds or simply find a way to hang up somthing dark and dense over the windows. I bought cheap, dark blankets and when I slept during the day I tucked them over heavy curtain rods I had hung for that purpose. Total cost about $30, much cheaper than the curtains or blinds I would have needed for my large windows.

3. Use white noise. A box fan is great and pretty cheap, I ran it the entire time I slept. If white noise isn't enough buy some ear plugs and use them also.

4. Stick to a routine. I worked 12 hour shifts, so usually I would come home, see my kids off to school, take a shower, read the paper and eat something light and usually by then I was sleepy. I woke up at 1630, had a cup of coffee, took another shower, made dinner and then headed out to work. You might try putting off going to bed right away as I found it easier to sleep in the afternoon than in the morning sometimes.

5. Turn off the phone, and turn down the answering machine. If you have to post a note on the door for delivery people.

A few other odds and ends: a sleep mask sometimes helps keep out any stray light, don't drink any caffeine 3-4 hrs before you plan to go to bed, if you can't sleep get up, do somthing boring or at least non stimulating until you feel sleepy. There is nothing worse than laying in bed waiting to get sleepy.

Let your friends and family know that you need to sleep.I was always amazed at how even the people who knew I worked nights wouldn't seem to care to wake my up "just to talk" or "hey wanna get some lunch?

Remember it takes time to adjust. I also would try to keep my sleep on the same schedule if I only had a day or even two between shifts since it's really hard to go back and forth. I didn't like to use meds...even benadryl leaves me "hung over" and I'm not one for messing with anything that could cause dependence, it's just not worth it.

Good luck!

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I'm a new nurse, and I've accepted a night shift position--11pm to 7am. I didn't get more that 3 hours of sleep at a time during my first week (last week.) I'm back at it again tonight.

Does anyone have advice about how to manage sleeping? I'm looking for tips, advice, drugs : ) --please HELP!!

hi Grad in may'7.

i have read your note. in our contry from 9 :00 pm till 07:00 am. usually we are working 3 staff at night from 10 to 32 patients & we are not subose to sleep at work time. we are working 4 days every two weeks. it's realy a problem if your habit is sleep early. the only things you have to do is to addapte with the sutation. and you should sleep enough at night................thanks

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I have worked night shift for about a year and half and love it. It was hard to get adjusted to but I love being a night owl now. Like rninwch advice said, there are many things that you can do to help you. I personally black out all my windows in my bedroom-- this is very important for me. If I can't sleep I try to eat a little and drink a little milk. I try not to eat a lot due to sleeping right after eating (fear of gaining weight) but it helps. If all else fails I'll take two tylenol PM, most of the time the sinus style because I have sinus problems anyway. Make sure you make time to sleep. I go straight home and lay down. Period, If not then I am up all day. However, being on third, if you wake up with only 3-4 hours of sleep, at least stay in bed and try to sleep more. Just resting does it for me sometimes. And make sure that your phone is turned on silent and your cell phone is on vib. Good luck!!!!

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What is keeping you from sleeping? Kids, noise, light, neighbors?

I worked nights for 10 years, YES get a box fan...I have one outside my bedroom door set on medium. Put up NO SOLICITING signs. I have NO phones in my room at all and I can't hear them or the answering machine at all upstairs. Cover your windows (I used dark sheets...so my room didn't ALWAYS have to be dark). I had almost an hour commute home, so that was my wind down time. My biggest thing this spring while working nights...I'd only sleep 2 hours at a time. So, I'd get up, use the bathroom and make myself go back to bed. I had to arrange for my kids to be gone during the day on the weekends "be quiet mom is sleeping" does NOT work.

Good luck, believe it or not...you will adjust. Well, most people do. ;):zzzzz

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I had to arrange for my kids to be gone during the day on the weekends "be quiet mom is sleeping" does NOT work.
My kids learned VERY early that a sleep deprived Mom was an unhappy Mom. And an unhappy Mom = unhappy kids. Hence, they became my staunchest guardians when it came to my sleep ;)
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My advice:

1. Make sleep a priority! I worked nights (and loved it) for 11 years and this was much easier before I had kids, but even with kids I put getting rest as close to the top of my list as possible. If you don't you will wear yourself out, be too sleepy and possibly make mistakes.

2. Darken your room. You can invest in "blackout" curtains or blinds or simply find a way to hang up somthing dark and dense over the windows. I bought cheap, dark blankets and when I slept during the day I tucked them over heavy curtain rods I had hung for that purpose. Total cost about $30, much cheaper than the curtains or blinds I would have needed for my large windows.

3. Use white noise. A box fan is great and pretty cheap, I ran it the entire time I slept. If white noise isn't enough buy some ear plugs and use them also.

4. Stick to a routine. I worked 12 hour shifts, so usually I would come home, see my kids off to school, take a shower, read the paper and eat something light and usually by then I was sleepy. I woke up at 1630, had a cup of coffee, took another shower, made dinner and then headed out to work. You might try putting off going to bed right away as I found it easier to sleep in the afternoon than in the morning sometimes.

5. Turn off the phone, and turn down the answering machine. If you have to post a note on the door for delivery people.

A few other odds and ends: a sleep mask sometimes helps keep out any stray light, don't drink any caffeine 3-4 hrs before you plan to go to bed, if you can't sleep get up, do somthing boring or at least non stimulating until you feel sleepy. There is nothing worse than laying in bed waiting to get sleepy.

Let your friends and family know that you need to sleep.I was always amazed at how even the people who knew I worked nights wouldn't seem to care to wake my up "just to talk" or "hey wanna get some lunch?

Remember it takes time to adjust. I also would try to keep my sleep on the same schedule if I only had a day or even two between shifts since it's really hard to go back and forth. I didn't like to use meds...even benadryl leaves me "hung over" and I'm not one for messing with anything that could cause dependence, it's just not worth it.

Good luck!

Excellent suggestions!

I use the box fan, it drowns out all the extraneous noises and after using it for so long, I sometimes even need it to get to sleep on nights I don't work lol.

As a traveler, I don't have the blackout curtains or extra blankets. That was a problem until I found the perfect solution: aluminum foil ---- cheap and tacky, but VERY effective (who's going to see it anyway?).

One thing that really helped was "Do Not Disturb" service provided by the phone company. $3 a month and NO calls ring through, but instead are forwarded to a voice mail. You can set it to be "on" when you're sleeping (it has lots of programming options) and you enter a pin code that can be used by people calling in an emergency. I gave the pin to my kids and my father, and they knew if they got the 'do not disturb' message when calling me that I was asleep--- and to use the pin if they truly needed to wake me up.

And they knew it better be a damned good reason lol.

Best $3 I EVER spent :D

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My kids learned VERY early that a sleep deprived Mom was an unhappy Mom. And an unhappy Mom = unhappy kids. Hence, they became my staunchest guardians when it came to my sleep ;)

Well, I must admit...my kids don't like me grumpy. They don't ALL get it though. I have 4 kids ages 6-15. ;)

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Well, I must admit...my kids don't like me grumpy. They don't ALL get it though. I have 4 kids ages 6-15. ;)
I told my kids that if they woke me up, there'd better be blood--- and lots of it, or flames licking at the bedroom door.

My youngest broke her arm one afternoon and her sister told me later she actually stopped for a split second and thought about it before storming into my room to wake me up.

So I was forced to redefine "emergency" :lol2:

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It takes a good 4-6 weeks to adjust to night shift. I work 7p-730a and I try to go to bed when I get home, sometimes I eat something small if I am hungry. I try to sleep between 6-7 hours a day. On my days off I flip, I go to bed around 11-12 and get up around 10-11. On my first day back I get about 12-13 hours of sleep, I get up around noon or 1. Something that REALLY REALLY helped was buying a new mattress. We were overdue for a new mattress, I bought a faux tempur pedic mattress that was less than half the cost of a tempur pedic. It was highly rated on epionions.com and my only regret was that I didn't buy it sooner. Words cannot express the difference in sleep quality when you sleep on an amazing mattress. Around 5 am, I start thinking about my wonderful bed waiting for me at home. I throw a dark throw blanket over my window and put my fan on medium or high. I have 4 kids and they don't wake me unless it is an emergency. If they are good, they each get $2 a day that will be given to them when we are on vacation for spending money. If anyone wakes me up that person doesn't get $2 that day. I keep a running tally on the fridge.

I dreaded working nights and almost didn't take my dream job because it was night shift. I love nights now, hopefully in a few months you will be posting day sleeping tips for the next batch of brand new nurses. Good luck to you!

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My kids learned VERY early that a sleep deprived Mom was an unhappy Mom. And an unhappy Mom = unhappy kids. Hence, they became my staunchest guardians when it came to my sleep ;)

My sleep is always a priority. From one evil liberal to another Great tag line :>>>>

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