Energy?

cardiac.cure03 · Apr 3, 2007

Oh, I'm interested to hear what you all say.... Cuz I'm right there w/ ya!

I'm either working, :sleep:ing, :typing ing, or :biere:ing. Haha, only kidding.

bethin · Apr 3, 2007

What I do is eat throughout a shift. I take a 30 min lunch but I don't eat a meal. I find that eating a meal when at work tires me out soooo much. So I snack on carrots, pudding, oj, then for lunch have a salad. It doesn't take much to fill me up so this could be different for you.

After work, if there are things that need to be done - DO NOT SIT DOWN!!

You will not get back up.

I have the same problem that you do about sleeping and procrastinating on days off so can't help ya there! :)

Purdue_Nurse · Apr 3, 2007

I feel the same way. It is very hard to keep up with household jobs when you do 12 hour shifts. I usually try and group my days I work together if possible. It's a long haul, but then I get four days off together. The first of those days I usually have a sleep in/laundry/pick up around the house day. The next I try and run all my errands (groceries, bank, bills, etc). A girl I used to work with would spend Sundays she had off cooking. She would put together a few different casseroles, do all the preparation except for baking. Then during the week when things were crazy they could just throw one in the oven and have a good supper.

When at work, I usually have some caffeine around 1400 or so to get me through the rest of the shift. I've also found that staying hydrated by drinking lots of water through the day helps. I know, some days there isn't time for that but keep a big bottle of water by where you chart and at least try and grab a drink from time to time as you run by. If there's no time for lunch (which there usually isn't) I eat at least a little something as I chart. Eating usually revives me a little. I also have found that I feel the best at work when I have caught up on my sleep on my days off. Some weeks there is too much going on to sleep in and I can tell, I am WIPED OUT the next week.

These things help me some but I look forward to hearing what other posters have to say. I still find that I am often tired.

AirforceRN, RN · Apr 3, 2007

Being a student nurse and a young male, I'm full of urine and acetic acid most of the time and energy isn't yet a problem...

What AMAZES me are the Mothers and Fathers who work twelve hours on a busy ward, go home, feed the kids do some cooking, laundry, help with homework etc etc. I don't know how you guys do it but my hat is off to you. I think I would go crazy.

So, to all you folks out there who work all day or all night and can still present your kids with a smile and a hug when you get home...Thank you... :bow: you are heros in my books

Roy Fokker, BSN, RN · Apr 3, 2007

Music! Music! Music!

Music is what picks me up, music is what keeps me going, music is the one thing that can really put me down.

cheers,

Roy (nodding his head to "Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin while typing this out)

Being a student nurse and a young male, I'm full of urine and acetic acid most of the time and energy isn't yet a problem...
What AMAZES me are the Mothers and Fathers who work twelve hours on a busy ward, go home, feed the kids do some cooking, laundry, help with homework etc etc. I don't know how you guys do it but my hat is off to you. I think I would go crazy.
So, to all you folks out there who work all day or all night and can still present your kids with a smile and a hug when you get home...Thank you... you are heros in my books

I'm no student nurse but I DITTO that sentiment!

mom2michael, MSN, RN, NP · Apr 3, 2007

I drink at least 120 oz of water a day and I walk 2 miles a day on the treadmill. I keep my breakfast and lunch light and snack on high protein or fruit during the day.

I know those seem like crazy things, but ever since I started doing this - I have no problems with my 12 hour shifts anymore and I am rarely tired when I get off work.

PickMePlze · Apr 3, 2007

You sound just like me. Im always wiped out, I've lost weight, my house looks like a hurricane hit it, etc, etc. I'm still trying to adjust to the 12+ hours.

lovejana22 · Apr 3, 2007

i think i go through the day half asleep (not really but sometimes it feels like it) i have taken up drinking lots of water and orange juice!! i changed from my favorite little debby cakes to fruit and veggies. in may it will be one year since i stopped smoking!!!! :balloons:, and i feel some much better.

nurse4theplanet, RN · Apr 3, 2007

These are great suggestions.

The smoking thing is still somewhat of an issue with me as well...I've been struggling to quit for over a year now something fierce. I will do fine for awhile, then I will slip up and fall right back into to the habit. I hate it. I know it sucks the life right out of me and that it's no good for my health! So I have to keep working on that.

Eating throughout the shift is a great idea. I usually grab a quick bite on my way in and I am starving by lunch...so then I eat way too much and I am sleepy afterwards.

I need to try to stay away from coffee and sodas. They give me that first jolt in the morning when I feel like a zombie, but it doesn't last long and I am paying for it later.

Roy,

Music is my getaway! I have a trek to work so I thouroughly enjoy putting on a good CD to rock out before and after my shift. I never really listen to it other than then, and I should change that. Nothing wrong with doing housework to a little Journey or Eagles, right?

These are all great! Keep sharing!

incublissRN, BSN, RN · Apr 3, 2007

I eat lightly at work. I need to start trying to drink more water. Exercise seems to keep me energized...when I can find the motivation and energy to get started! I am sooo tired after work and I am 23. Everybody says "Oh, but you're young." I just started working nights in December and it is getting better, slowly.

I feel like on some days off all I do is sleep. It's better if I have days off grouped together so that one day is sleep in day, one day is errand day, etc. I don't know how the wonderful mothers on my unit work all night long and go home and take care of their families. Do they just walk around chronically fatigued? Or take cat naps whenever they can? I guess I will have to figure that out soon since I'm getting married in October.