Nightshift Headaches

renerian, BSN, RN · Sep 25, 2002

Julie I get physically sick after working nights. Then I get home and cannot sleep.....overwound..

renerian

prn nurse · Sep 25, 2002

Lotsa night nurses take tylenol PM or Benadryl 50 mg prior to going to sleep. One of the secrets of tolerating nights.

Waking up with a headache, especially if it is occipital, is a symptom of hypertension.

MollyMo · Sep 25, 2002

Quote
Originally posted by Julielpn
After I work my 7p-7a and go to sleep, I wake up almost every time with a horrible headache!
Has anyone else experienced this, or am I a loner?
What do you guys do? What helps?
Thanks,
Julie

You might just need new pillows. What position do you sleep in? Is your head under the covers? What about the temperature of your room? I'm asking because I changed or adjusted all those things and my headaches went away.

jschut, BSN, RN · Sep 25, 2002

I sleep in the same position I sleep in when I sleep at night. ANd yes, sometimes my head is under the covers...usually when the sun is shining brightly..... and the temp seems fine to me....

Wonder why I get them only when I sleep of a day? Is my body realizing it's time to be awake and it's fighting?

jode · Sep 25, 2002

Julie, I have worked the night shift alot and there are several things I have found helpful. Knock off the caffeine and sugar fixes after midnite and drink lots of water or non-caffienated beverages. Eat your meal for the shift early in the night, and eat a healthy light snack before going to bed. Try to sleep on a regular schedule. ( Not always easy, but try to regulate the irregularities!). Keep your room cool and dark. Buy black out curtains if you must. Working nites can be a good thing if you get enough rest. OH and TURN OFF THE PHONE !!! Let the answering machine do its work. Good luck!

Peeps Mcarthur · Sep 25, 2002

Julie,

Have you considered that it might be Circadian in etiology?

I used to work 7-7s as an RT about 12 years ago and if I had known about Melatonin,I would have certainly used it.

There are 1mg sublingual doses and 3mg po doses available at General Nutrition Center. Use it before going home while you adjust the timing of the dose for optimal performance. Melatonin metabolizes into the hormone that your body would normaly release in response to the onset of darkness.

Hints: Make the room you use for rest dark enough to make a vampire happy.

Unplug the phone and under no circumstances answer it.....................it will only be an evil manager asking you to pick-up a shift,or an aquaintence wondering why you are still in bed at 1pm:(

You must accept that you are now in a different world. The social activities you enjoyed as a "day person" are now rescheduled or canceled. You are now a night person and can't understand why anyone would go to bed before 3am on thier day off.

Force yourself to your darkroom and avoid daylight during hours of rest. If the path to the bathroom is exposed to light.....................fix it. Stay in darkness for your scheduled sleep pattern!

Be discilplined!!

Be consistant!!

After you form a habit,it will come naturally

OBNURSEHEATHER · Sep 25, 2002

When I first started working nights, I woke with lots of headaches. Even now that I sleep at night, if I don't have ideal sleeping conditions, I'll wake up with a headache.

We put a ceiling fan in our room. Didn't really provide any noise, I use the TV for noise, but I just sleep better year round with cool air in my face, Bought some heavy, cute purple curtains as a present to myself. Turn off the phone. Eat a light snack before you lay down. I always passed a Tim Horton's on the way home, and a warm bagel with light cream cheese did it for me!

But all these things never made me feel completely normal. I just wasn't meant to sleep during the day and work at night. My body just never got fully used to it.

Heather

Heather333 · Sep 25, 2002

Headaches can also be a sign of dehydration. I work nights and notice that I do not drink enough water during my shift and when I get home I am too tired and just go to sleep. Keeping well-hydrated is important and may help with keeping the headaches at bay.

Hope you are feeling well soon....

Heather

bagladyrn, RN · Sep 25, 2002

Sleeping with your head under the covers might be part of it - rebreathing all that stale air - try a sleep mask, or just tie a bandana around your eyes to block the light. Another thought - are you clenching/grinding your teeth while sleeping? Can happen if you're stressed - if so your dentist can give you an appliance to wear to stop it.

heather36303 · Sep 18, 2008

o my goodness, these symptoms are exactly what i have been experiencing lately. i have been working night shift now 7-7a as a RT for about 6 months and i have been waking up to horrible headaches and have been taking exedrin migraine almost every day now which may not be good. my room is not fully dark when i sleep, but its just dark enough i thought, maybe i should make it darker, i drink enough water during my night shifts, so thats not my problem, and then the bathroom is light when i get up to use the restroom during sleep during the day. so , maybe i need to get a darker curtain for the restroom! hmm, gives me alot to think about. what else do i need to do , i really dont want to continue to take headache meds or sleeping meds every day.........

jstbreathe · Sep 18, 2008

"unplug the phone and under no circumstances answer it.....................it will only be an evil manager asking you to pick-up a shift,or an aquaintence wondering why you are still in bed at 1pm:(

you must accept that you are now in a different world. the social activities you enjoyed as a "day person" are now rescheduled or canceled. you are now a night person and can't understand why anyone would go to bed before 3am on thier day off."

lol!! that is sooooo funny and true!!!! as for the people wondering why your still in bed at 1p. i try to explain to them that its 1am for me. they don't get it!!

i try to sleep during the days even on my off days. i get the kids off to school then go back to sleep. til time to pick them up. if not i would be a zombie when its time to do homework with kids.

i have found that i will get sick if i don't stay on schedule!

:specs: