AFFECTS of NIGHT SHIFT

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Specializes in oncology,med/surg,corrections.

I worked the night shift for many years because it was best for my family situation......i don't think it is normal for the body...i was nearly always not rested enough....and trying to sleep while the rest of the world is up and about,mowing lawns,kids playing outside noisily,telephone ringing....you don't ever get in the state of sleep that you need to recover adequately.....since i retired....i sleep much better...don't wake up in the middle of the night with panic attacks....and quit having migraine HA's......my body and mind is in a natural cycle:innerconf now....lol....i also worked nights because of somewhat less stress than days......admin gone,etc........my daughter works days on a med/surg floor and it is killer sometimes......my heart goes out to todays nurses and the stresses they face each day......almost regret that my daughter and son followed me into the nursing field....but they love it...despite the challenges nurses face today..

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My friend whose a nurse & I came up with a name for those who work 3rd shift..."Lurch Syndrome"...you know the guy on The Adams Family :lol2: That's only for those who look like him with the big circles under their eyes from doing 3rd shift and who move in two speeds from it....slow & slower :lol2: Those who can do it well & have been doing it for a long time are far & few between....I don't know how people do it..it doesn't seem normal to me for a person to stay up all night like that....:uhoh3:

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Specializes in oncology,med/surg,corrections.

even though some seem to "get used to it".....there is a damage to your mind and body........i hate to say that nursing was at the root of my personal medical and sleep problems,but i have noticed a profound decrease in my own mental stress since retirement....and i sleep all night now like a baby.......less dreams......zero panic attacks that i had begun to suffer......but i do miss working sometimes.......the purpose driven life.....trying to give support to my RN children....by watching thier children while they work......i am a soccer granma now.......:monkeydance: but it is VERY good to spend quality time with them.....actually more than i was able to spend with my own children because of work and education goals......but i come here to keep my finger on the pulse of current nursing issues......once a nurse always a nurse i suppose.....

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My Momma said I was a vampire (staying up all night, not sucking the life out of her LOL) since the day I was born. The night shift is my dream job. I've always wanted to allow myself to sleep when I wanted to, not when the "norm" said I'm suppose to. So for me, night shift is the only way to go!:zzzzz

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For those of you who work nights, on your days off, do you stay up during the day, and sleep at night, or pretty much stick to being up all night all the time?

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Specializes in oncology,med/surg,corrections.

some people do better staying up all night.......but it was difficult to sleep normal hours on days off....so some days i was sleeping days and somedays nights........but i can't handle the day shift.....it is way toooo crazy for me......have you ever noticed that people who like to work nights are different in personality than day people......i never liked getting up early....my daughter has to get up at 5A to get to work.....but she is a total day person.....night shift is a little more laid back.....unless you have a hell night.....which can happen often.......i used to revue my night on the ride home to remember if i did everything......could never come home and go straight to bed......had to de-stress for a while before falling asleep....or it would be a restless sleep.....:zzzzz :sleep: :bugeyes:

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

Even on my days off when I worked night shift I was chronically fatigued. I finally got off nights and am feeling much better. It does take a toll. My blood pressure was higher on nightshift.

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Specializes in ICU, Tele, Dialysis.

too funny! I hear you my fellow zombies! I have always worked 12 hour midnights because of the kids, that way you get off in time to get them off to school or my personal favorite: field trips, especially the long bus ride trips where you get to nap with 32 kids yelling and seat jumping as you try to sleep with your head bouncing off the bus window!

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I am a travleler working the 12 hour midnight shift. I like the shift better but have alot of trouble with the sleep cycles. If I have several days off in a row I drive home which currently is a 6 hr drive one way but I cant see sleeping the day away and wasting a day off. Well most of the time my neighbors arent too bad but this last assignment the neighbors seem to pound up and down the stairs by my apartment only when I am trying to sleep.....Don't get me wrong I love working midnights because you can focus on the patients and not deal with the offices and other big wigs. So what if I lose some sleep and stay up half the night on a night off. I prefer my midnight shift to any day shift all of the time!!!!:monkeydance:

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