What is your sleep routine the night before a night-shift?

Nurses General Nursing

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Do you try to stay up all night and sleep during the day until 4pm, or do you sleep normally and just take a cat nap from about 2-5 in the afternoon? I work my first night shift Monday night and I'm not sure how to sleep tonight to prepare for it.

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I try to stay up late and sleep in - usually until noon or 1pm. If I try to take a nap, I am usually so worried about sleeping that I can't fall asleep!

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Specializes in Acute Rehab.

If it's my first day on I just go to sleep whenever I want [[somwhere between 11-2am]], wake up when I feel [[usually 8-10]], and may take a quick hour nap before work..but not usually.

However, if I worked

the previous night, after the shift, I stay up until 9 or 10. Sleep until 2 or 3, go to the gym and then work at 6 :)

We work 6-630

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Specializes in Ortho, Neuro, Detox, Tele.

work 5p-530am, usually stay up until 3-4 nite before, get up 2-3 if I haven't been working.

Morning after if I have to work, go to bed 7 or 730, up at 3-330.

If I don't have to work, stay up until I get tired 9-10, then sleep until 3-4, get up. Bed round 10-11.

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Specializes in NICU.

I wake up early (six-ish) and then take a good long nap in the afternoon. I'm usually tired enough to sleep several hours. Oh, and I avoid caffeine that day, believe me, that is by far the worst part.....

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

I will sleep normally the night before, and then take a 2-3 hour nap before work the next day.

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during the summer when my kids are off. I sleep normal and take a nap from 2-5 before working 700p-730A. During the school year I get them up and ready and take a nap from 11-2. It just depends if I can nap. Usually not a problem.

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.

I sleep normally and try to grab a nap from noon to threeish. More often than not, I don't get a nap. If I'm lucky, I might sleep for an hour, hour and a half.

I still have to get up by 8 to take my 3yo to daycare, so sleeping late isn't an option. And after sleeping all night, I generally have to take a Benadryl in order to be able to take a nap.

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Specializes in PICU, ICU, Hospice, Mgmt, DON.

I pretty much stick to a modified night routine all of the time....that worked for me the 16 years I did 7p-7a..I would get home around 8 or so and shower, read the paper and wind down...sleep around 10am..till around 5p. Eat something and back at work by 7...I would almost always do my 3 in a row...the morning after the 3rd shift I would stay up longer and sleep later...then usually stay up, but maybe not all night....same for the rest of the week until back to the 3 in a row again....If I tried to flip to a day existance, it just didn't work, I couldn't sleep and would really get messed up...this worked great for me for years. :)

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On my work days I sleep from 9am til 6pm and go to work from 7 to 7... days off I stay about the same... sometimes I sleep later sometimes I get up earlier.

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I do like diva rn & stick to the 'modified' night routine - but have no kids at home to worry about keeping me up. I've found lots of things to keep me occupied during my nights off - clean house, do grocery shopping (local 24 hours super market...) do laundry, catch up on movies, troll all nurses!

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Specializes in Med Surg.
Do you try to stay up all night and sleep during the day until 4pm.
This. It's worked for me so far. Then, the days that do back to back, I get home about 7:30, am in bed by 8:00-8:15, and then up at 4. Rinse and repeat.

It's jus DH and I, so no kids to worry about. The first time I found myself cleaning my kitchen at 2 am was a little bizarre. :)

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