All about the Night Shift-Tips & Tricks to making it work

[TheVikingLady]

Hey all! I've recently started a new job where I started the night shift this week and am working on transitioning after over almost two years of day shift. Call me a dreamer, but I'm approaching my new shift with enthusiasm and have made it a project of mine to make life as a night shifter as easy as possible. I thought it'd be fun if everyone would share some wisdom they've learned over the years to making it work. Any problems you've encountered along the way, and how you remedied them.

I'm no stranger to working nights; when I first became a nurse my first job was night shift on a med-surg floor. But after so long working days my body is having a hard time adjusting now that I'm a little older. Again, this is my first week; but one thing I've noticed is more muscle aches/tension-type headaches that I think may be associated with the altered sleep schedule.

What is your experience with working night shift? What do you do to make life in general a little easier? I'd love to hear from you!

[JBudd, MSN]

Drink lots of water. We tend to use caffeine to stay awake, but since it is a diuretic, it is easy to become dehydrated.

Your body naturally slows at night, so when you are feeling a bit dragging, stand up, stretch everything and do a some aerobics, keep the blood flowing. I find a space and actually do some katas from my martial arts.

I don't have a problem with sleeping during daytime (light), but find a fan in the room helps cool me off enough to stay asleep.

One of my meds can cause insomnia, so I simply take it in the evenings instead of the mornings.

[NayNeyRN]

Blackout curtains to help darken your room. Winter is always a bit easier to me because I go home when it is still dark outside, and then I go to sleep in a dark environment so my body thinks it is night. Once I hit bright sunlight, it tends to jolt my body awake, so I wear sunglasses as well if there’s any light outside. I may just be weird though...