Early Morning Nurses (and Nursing Students)

Ackeem, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN · Jun 28, 2016

Multiple alarms for me, also one alarm with snooze works sometime, but it can set you up to be late too.

Biscuits&Cheese · Jun 29, 2016

For some of my clinicals, I have to get up at 0430. I get out of bed as soon as I hear the alarm - whether I'm awake or not! I can always trick myself to "5 more minutes" if given the chance - so I don't give myself that chance. I also have back up alarms set "just in case".

Preparation is key for me. I have all my scrubs laid out for the morning, including socks, shoes, and band for my hair. My bags are packed and double checked the night before. My favorite travel coffee mug is clean and waiting on me.

As much as I hate getting up early, I hate being late even more! If I am running a little late, that is when I'll hit every red light, find every bottlenecked portion of highway, and park in the most distant lot.

quazar · Jun 29, 2016

I get as much ready as possible the night before, because my brain just does not engage for a while in the morning and I'm prone to forgetting stuff. I pack my work bag, right down to putting my keys and phone charger in my lunch bag in the fridge, because yes, I will forget those too (don't laugh). I lay out my clothes in the bathroom so I can jump into them right after I shower. I plan my eye makeup (I'm a makeup junkie, and yes, I plan my eyeshadow...don't judge...) so I'm not spending forever hemming and hawing over my makeup palettes. I plan what color of lipstick I will wear. I cut caffeine and take something to help me sleep if I need it and make sure I'm in bed early enough to give me 6 hours' sleep. If I'm lucky, I won't wake up every hour checking the clock. If I'm unlucky, I'll wake up sleep deprived, hit the shower to wake up, and depend on coffee and pray for a busy shift to keep me awake.

NurseKateC · Jun 29, 2016

Yep I like to also set two alarms. One for 4:45 and the other for 5:00. I normally force myself to get up with the first alarm though. I take a shower immediately. All of my items for work are set out the night before. Especially since I don't want to wake my husband up trying to find clothes in the morning. My lunch is packed and ready to go the night before. I set my coffee pot for 5:15 in the morning so it's ready once I get out of the shower. They say it takes 30 days to get into a routine and I would say that is true. After a while I found myself getting up naturally at around 5:00 ish in the morning without an alarm even on my days of..

guest4/14 · Jun 29, 2016

I second laying out your clothes the night before. This definitely helps in the morning, when you're half asleep and trying to get out the door. When I first started nursing school, I would realize just after getting into my car or worse, when I got to the hospital, that I had forgotten at least 1 thing at home- whether it be my watch, or my badge, so I made a "supplies basket" in my room with all of my clinical supplies in it (pen light, stethoscope, scissors, badge holder, etc.) which made my life 100 x's easier on clinical mornings. I am the type of person who won't wake up with just 1 alarm so I had to set several. I was too excited/nervous on clinical days to not get up though, it brought me back to those grade school days when you would wake up the morning of a field trip with butterflies in your tummy.. oh the good ole days.

Rhyadawn · Jun 29, 2016

I get up earlier than I have to. I *could* be out the door within 15 minutes of waking up, but I take at least 90 minutes to really wake up, so that's what I do.

SerenaTabladillo · Jun 29, 2016

I sleep in the morning & work nights instead. I usually wake up around 4pm, which gives me time to go for a run, shower, and eat breakfast before I go to work @ 7p

suni, BSN, RN · Jun 29, 2016

This is so nice for me to realize I am not in the minority. I worked night shift for 33 years and have been on days for the past 3. My husband calls me before he leaves for work at 530. I am a coffee in the am out the door and breakfast at work, not really a big fan of breakfast. Lots of coffeeðŸ‘

wolf9653 · Jun 29, 2016

I've always not been a day person since I was a kid. When I have to do AM shifts , and I'm not too lazy, is iron my clothes, pack my day bag, make sure where my keys are, make my lunch etc the night before. go to sleep early, maybe 9PM , take melatonin if i need. btw get a small bottle, it goes weak in less than a month once opened. keep the curtains open so I get full sun in the AM. Set 3 alarms: 10 of, o'clock, and 5 after. turn on all the lights when I get up, maybe I should invest in a daylight lamp to come on at wake up time. . get as much daylight during the day as possible. go out for 5 min each break. and eve walk. And try to get out of doing anything dangerous until the afternoon. The only times I can go completely day was when I vacation on the beach and spend 14 hr per day in the sun.

YourFavNurse16 · Jun 30, 2016

Yes they key is doing as much as you can the night before so you can do little as possible the night before. Do your hair and tie it up, iron your clothes,fix your lunch, have everything gathered together so you can just do your am care slide on your clothes and walk out the door in the am. Plus you will get more sleep if you do it that way. Set about 2 alarms too.

NurseSammy90 · Jun 30, 2016

I always get up earlier than my alarm. I have a scrub bin that I pull from..lol

My issue is getting up from my comfy bed. Other than that, I'm out the door in 20. I'm a 8am:nurse:

bagladyrn, RN · Jun 30, 2016

For a guaranteed wake up - I take an old fashioned "Big Ben" alarm clock- the wind up kind with bells on top - and set it across the room on top of a tin pie plate. This will raise the dead! Not a pleasant wake up but certain! If you also set a more pleasant alarm for several minutes earlier you will soon train yourself to get up to that to avoid the racket.