Advice re: nightshift

Riseupandnurse · Jul 23, 2008

I found it very helpful to take a tylenol PM before trying to sleep after/before a night shift. Another thing that helped was to try to schedule waking up to no sooner than two hours before the start of the shift; more like a natural rhythm to get up, get dressed and go to work.

blinks14 · Jul 23, 2008

I too find it easier to function if I get up only a few hours before my shift starts. Again, it feels like you're just getting up to get ready and go to work. I also have room darkening shades in my room that I find very helpful, especially now during the summer. Occasionally I also take a Benadryl if I want to make sure I get a decent amount of sleep.

jeepgirl, LPN, NP · Jul 23, 2008

aren't there OTC meds to just help with sleep (that has no pain reliever)?

chenoaspirit, ASN, RN · Jul 23, 2008

Benadryl...Since thats the active ingredient in Tylenol PM for sleep. Its tylenol pm without the pain reliever. Unless you are hurting, I wouldnt take the tylenol. I had to blacken my windows in my bedroom also.

tatarn2b2007 · Jul 23, 2008

Hi. I love working night shift and I think it is something that if you are forced to do is really hard. I do it by choice. Here are some things that help me. Get a blindfold if you don't have room darkening blinds. You can find them at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Try to keep yourself on the same schedule even on your days off. I found it really hard to work night shift 3 nights a week and then try to get up in the morning on my days off and start my day. Now on my nights off, I still stay up til around 4am and get up around noon. Make sure you drink plenty of water when you are working and if you are working 12 hour shifts, have a snack of a protein and carb around 4 or 5 if you are able to. I usually have some cereal if I am not super busy. I try to stay as close to normal as I can. I still go to the gym and still do everything a day person does, but I do it on off hours. I can tell you it is the best time to grocery shop at 3 am if you live in an area with 24 hour access. Good luck!

NYnurseatheart · Jul 23, 2008

I can vouch for Melatonin being helpful if you don't want to take Benadryl (I have an adverse reaction to Benadryl half the time so can no longer take it). Other advice - same as others have posted. Try to eat a balanced meal some time during your shift (even if it is yogurt, granola, and a side of raw carrots spread throughout the shift). Also make sure to drink plenty of liquids in the beginning of your shift(too much at the end of my shift means I am going to spend extra time getting woken up by a full bladder).

Best of luck to you

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Jul 23, 2008

Protect your sleep! That means turning off the phone ringer, sticking a note on the front door or taping over your doorbell so you don't get bothered by that. Room darkening curtains/blinds are best so you don't have to sleep with a blindfold on; if you don't mind the blindfold and aren't sure about investing in the drapes, you can try that first.

Melatonin is an option if it works for you. If not, Benadryl seems to be the drug of choice of the nightshift. :) You can get the knockoff version, as long as it's plain old diphenhydramine HCL and save a bundle of cash.

When you get home, allow yourself some unwind time: eat, shower, watch tv, read the paper, whatever. But remember you can't stay up so long that you're shorting yourself on sleep if you can help it. Set your clock to get you up just enough time before work, just as though you would do in the morning on a day shift. The 12 hour shifts are a little tougher, as you don't have tons of time when you get home before needing to get back into bed again, but you get used to it (just like 12 hour days, if that's what you've been doing).

Eight hour nightshifts are easier to work around sleep-wise; I know a bunch of people who sleep for a little in the morning after work, then are up a good portion of the day, then go to sleep late afternoon into evening so they're ready for work at 11pm. Depends on your work schedule and your own sleep needs.

Welcome to night shift!

htrn · Jul 23, 2008

Lots of great advice already given.

1. Guard your sleep like you would your bank account!!!

2. Try to set a regular sleep schedule, what ever works for you, and communicate that to people that may try to interupt you (your mom calling to check on you, etc...)

3. I sleep with my cell phone and that is a last resort emergency number for the school, hubby, family, etc...

4. Light blocking room shades are an absolute must have

5. An air conditioner in your room is helpful to both keep you comfortable and provide white noise.

6. Try and hold off on the pharmaceutically/herbally enhanced sleep for as long as you can. You will develop a tolerance for them after a while and they will not be as effective the longer you use them. That being said, drugs are better than insomnia :yawn:

And last but not least - welcome to a great group of people that work well together and back each other up. It's a must for a night shifter and a great priveldge to work with these kinds of people.

dekatn · Jul 23, 2008

I agree with all the above. You might want to invest in a good pair of soft earplugs too, I have a neighbor that loves to mow in the summer, for some reason, nothing will wake me up faster than the buzz of a lawn mower motor or a four wheeler going down the road in front of my house. I use a fan for the white noise, but the noise level of the mower is really annoying to me. I work 12h shifts and find myself crashing about 4a, like a previous poster stated, that is good time for a quick healthy snack. Like htrn said, welcome to nights and the teamwork we have at night is awesome.

bethin · Jul 23, 2008

Something that has worked for me is NOT to drink coffee at 3am. Instead I eat some apple slices. Studies show that eating an apple is more effective than a cup of coffee. If I drink coffee at 3 or 4am I can't fall asleep until noon where if I eat an apple it will keep me alert but I can still fall asleep at 8am.

Everyone has said it, but guard your sleep!! I had HR call me in the middle of the day one time, and I got kind of upset because he knew I worked nights. I reminded him I don't call him at 2am and he shouldn't call me a noon. Solved the problem.

nurseshepherd · Jul 23, 2008

You have gotten some great advise, all of it vital for working night shift. One thing I would like to add is establish a bedtime routine in the mornings just like you would at night so your body gets all the right signals that its bedtime. It will reduce the need for sleep medication, but don't hesitate to use it if you're in bed more than 30 minutes and haven't fallen asleep yet.

I've worked night shift since 1991 and still love it, even went through breastfeeding 2 of my children working 12 hour shifts at night without any more difficulty than my day shift coworkers. Some of the new nurses I have precepted tried to do everything, staying up during the day (getting only a couple hours of sleep - maybe) and dragging into work complaining the whole time that their body wasn't made for nights. Nobody is made to survive on a 1 to 2 hour nap, we all need sleep and we need to take care of ourselves.

Eating healthy is very important, a good multivitamin supplement with iron is great and I swear by colloidal minerals. I've had newbies complain that they had heard nurses gain weight on night shift. Part of that may be from eating out of the vending machines (sometime a necessity but do all you can to avoid this if your hospital does not have late hours in the cafeteria or snack bar for night shift) and swilling down Mountain Dew for the caffeine.

Good luck and welcome - I personally don't plan on ever working day shift, every night shift crew I've worked with has been good and we seem to get along better (not sure why). :mad: