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Discussion

Adjusting to Rotating Shifts

Hey guys,

I'm a new nurse for about 4 months. I was hired to work rotating shifts between days and night and they have to be split even. We do self scheduling in 6 week periods. I have tried to do 3 weeks nights then 3 weeks of days. I am now going to try 2 and 2 instead. I try to completely flip flop my schedule, but I really struggle with switching as I'm a day person by nature. Now, I am lucky to get 5 hours of sleep at night or during the day. When switching from night to day I often end up going to work with no sleep in a 24hr period only to work 12 hours. Melatonin and benadryl help, but don't make me feel like I've had a quality sleep, and I still do not get 8hrs. It's really starting to affect my life in many ways. Is this something you eventually just get used to, or are there any tips that help? I have black out curtains and an eye mask. I love my job, I do not want to quit, and switching to all days is not an option.

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    Once read a study about this that stated it is better to rotate backwards, from night to PM to day and that a certain shift should last a minimum of three weeks in order to give the body time to adjust.

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    I worked a rotating day/night shift for 2 years after working a straight night shift for 1 year. We did 6 week increments. I think I did okay initially but the longer I did it the harder switching back to nights became. I took melatonin as well but no matter how much sleep I got during the day I never felt truly rested for the night shift. Is it possible for you to do a straight night shift? That might actually be easier if you can just stay on a straight night schedule even when you aren't working. I couldn't because I had young children. I took the rotating position because at least for 6 week stretches I'd be on the same sleeping schedule as my family. As my daughters got older though it became harder so I ended up leaving the hospital for school nursing. I know you don't want to quit so maybe trying for a straight night position would be worth a try.

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