adjusting to night shift

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I just recieved an offer for a night shift position on an ortho floor, I accepted and am very excited to start in march. (it's my first job!) My position is going to be 2 nights and 1 day shift per week. I'm a little nervous about adjusting to this type of schedule. Does anyone have any advice for me on how to change my sleep schedule/eating schedule? Thanks!!

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I think that is going to be tough on your body, and that kind of schedule is evil to require of an employee in my opinion. I worked nights for 3 years, and just flip flopping back to a day person on my days OFF made me witch on wheels. I have since changed to day shift and while the pace is more demanding, and the pay less, it is totally worth it. I feel human again.

That being said, my advice is to guard your sleep like a mama bear. Take care of your body and spirit. You are a nurse and you deserve all the love and kindness yourself that you give to your patients. I wish you well.

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Witch on wheels... pretty funny... and accurate :/

don't mess with me or anyone else that hasn't slept in 24 hours. Your head. will. be. bitten. off. (in one piece, no less).

My boss called me at noon between shifts once for something stupid and I said "DON'T YOU REALIZE THAT I HAVE TO SLEEP!?" I was ****** off in the moment, but then felt kind of bad after I was rested. Notice that I said kind of... I'm a floor nurse. My job is hourly. Therefore, when I'm not on the clock, I am not to be bothered with work. If I wanted to be btohered at home, then I would have applied for an upper management/salary type job. Seriously, if it's not something urgent and pertinent to me only (and because I'm a floor nurse, 99.99999% it's not), I am NOT to be bothered. My new cell phone allows me to block certain numbers, send them to voicemail, or assign certain ringers. I love, love, LOVE this feature... 30 minutes after I clock out of work my work phone number is blocked. The only time I turn it on is if I'm looking to pick up an extra shift an am waiting for a phone. One manager said to me once "I tried calling you once, but it wouldn't go through." I said, "yup, I block outside numbers when I'm not working." She looked at me like I was speaking Chinese. She wanted to know how she could call and get ahold of me outside of work. I simply said "well, I'm sorry, but only close family can get ahold of me." She looked at me puzzled and you would have thought I cussed her out or something. To all you young nurses out there: set your boundaries early. You are NOT their property. Anyway, I'm not even sure hwo I ended up on this tangent? Anyway, block their number if you can on your nights off (if you can/know how). Set boundaries. Make sure you take your nights off to yourself (go have some drinks, have some good sex (GOOD sex... 3 minute sex doesn't cut it longterm), watch some good movies, drive someplace beautiful and new to watch a sunset, take a drive, whatever floats your boat). Remember that life is VERY short so make the most of it. 70 years from now most of us will be dead and in a coffin, so be sure to enjoy life while you can! Just because we night shifters have a crappy shift doesn't mean we can't go out and have fun on our nights off. Humans are mobile for a reason, so be sure to stay that way! :)

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Specializes in pediatric.

I currently work mostly night shifts (7pm-7am) and my little trick that im trying right now is taking melatonin pills. its a hormone that controls your sleep cycle. it helps me sleep during the day if for some reason I just cant fall asleep on my own. ALSO, right now I know that I have to work tomorrow (Sunday feb 14th) at 7pm. It is currently 11:55 pm Sat Feb 13th. If I just stay up for 2 more hours, I can go to sleep, wake up at around 2 pm (I sleep like a cat, i will easily sleep 12 hours straight) and once I wake up at 2 pm, I have a couple hours to myself to just run errands, hit the gym, do what I gotta do, then go to work. I can last all night, and by 8am Monday morning, I am back in bed. The tricky thing is, that if you dont work again Mon Night, then you might want to set your alarm to maybe 12 pm or even 11am, just so you can have your full Monday to yourself and get yourself back into a somewhat normal sleep pattern. It can get a bit tricky, but once you figure out your own schedule, just STICK TO IT cuz you will most definately get cranky/grumpy/evil if you dont get your sleep!

GOOD LUCK!!

zZzZzZzZz.....:p

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you can sleep for 12 hours? i'm jealous! and envious! (please forgive me, lord!) :D

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Specializes in LTC, drug and alcohol rehab.

It will be hard the next couple of weeks but it will get better and try to make a sleep schedule.:yawn:

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Specializes in NICU Level III.
you can sleep for 12 hours? i'm jealous! and envious! (please forgive me, lord!) :D

I can, too, but definitely not in between shifts! What works for me is the morning before a shift (if I did not work that night before) I go to bed around 6am and get up at 5pm. Get to work at 6pm, get home at 7am or so and go to bed from 8 to 830am. I usually can't sleep solid until 5pm even with melatonin, but I try!

Don't drink caffeine after 3am or so or you may have a hard time sleeping when you get home.

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Specializes in med-surg.

Just the other night, I had the same question asked to me. We have a new doctor, and a young one at that. Poor thing is having the hardest time working night shift. I have been blessed with being able to sleep anytime of the day or night, just as long as I am tired.

The new doc said, "Once I even get a glimpse of sunlight, my body wants to wake up. So I put my mattress in my closet."

How big this closet is, I don't know. But black out curtains do exist, and they work wonderfully.

Some doctors are brilliant...just not so much with common sense.

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Congratulations on your new job!

I worked night shift and swing shift for many years. Basically, the first month you feel like crap -- you honestly don't know how you are going to keep your eyes open. After that, your body adjusts.

The thing is, the swing shift is what throws your body out of whack. I never did come up with a way to cope with that beyond lots of B vitamins. Good luck!!

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Specializes in A myriad of specialties.

firstly, congrats on the new job! secondly, i've been doing night shift for over 5 years and frankly, there is no total adjustment(for me) to the night shift. i recommend a nap before your first shift of the week. i work 4 10-hr night shifts; i take a 3-5 hr nap in the evening on "my monday" and then each morning when i get off work, i try to stay up until noon then go to bed. i usually get 4-6 hours' sleep that way.

i recommend shutting off your phone. i do not have a home phone(just couldn't justify the expense anymore since i usually had the ringer turned off anyway). i turn off my cell phone.like others have said or inferred, i too am a bear if i've had inadequate sleep. in the past, i've said a few unkind things when managers have called me on my days off(even on my vacation) after i've left explicit instructions to not bother me on my nights off. they know better. i'm not getting paid to be nice to them when i'm at home relaxing or in the midst of some family crisis. recently, i told them i have no phone at all. we'll see if that works. i highly doubt they would like to be bothered on their days off or awakened at 0200 or bothered on their vacations. i work a psych floor and we staff are frequently verbally and physically abused by patients; i will be darned if i am going to put up with contact from that place on my time off. ok,...off my soapbox now!

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Thank you all so much for your suggestions. Hopefully I'll be able to figure out a rhythm that works for me. I'm looking forward to beginning my nursing career!

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Congratulations on your new job!

You sure have a funny schedule. It will be tough especially because you're forced to switch back and forth. Working the night shift per se isn't too bad if you follow a certain routine. I started working nights a couple of months ago and realized it wasn't as bad as I expected. The pace is slower; the unit is more quiet... I'm not the soundest sleeper, but I find sleeping during the day very doable. I guess it depends on the person.

I've found a few tips through the net to help you adjust to night shift...

http://www.ehow.com/how_6032548_survive-working-night-shifts-nurse.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_6032587_sleep-during-day-working-nights.html

I particularly find the tips on how to sleep during the day very effective.

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