Graveyard Shift

After 4 years of nightshift, I can only say COFFEE!!!! and lots of it.

I have only been working the night shift since January of last year. Coffee/mountain dew are very helpful. Try to stay up the night before - later than you normally would. this will help when you go to take a nap before work.

And keep moving when you are at work!!! - It's when you stop that you fall asleep.

GOOD Luck!!

I've been doing 7pm to 7am for about three months now, I have no trouble staying awake, I have a horrible time trying to sleep during the day. If i work three nights in a row forget it.....I'm exhausted. I have a pitch black bedroom and a nice quiet house, any tips on making this transition easier. I love the night shift regardless, work and people are great! I think part of the reason I have trouble is because I almost try too hard to fall asleep!

Oh boy, I think you'll be okay especially for only one 8 hour noc shift. when I'm not super busy I usually talk to someone around to keep me awake. Goodluck!!

I wanted to say amphetamines but that seemed inappropriate somehow.

My biggest suggestion is to PLAN on something to do between the hours of 3AM and 5AM. You'll be busy enough between 5AM and 7AM. PLAN on things to do to keep you busy and mentally thinking between 3AM and 5AM.

Those were always my most difficult hours.

Also, be verrrry careful of what you eat. Think about Thanksgiving. Remember how tired and sleepy you are after a huge meal? Yeah, it isn't always the turkey. Part of it is the carbs. Watch your carb intake. Eat too many carbs and you'll need a nap. Midnights are NOT the time to be eating comfort foods. That was a HUGE mega key for me. I'm not suggesting you limit food intake, just watch WHAT foods you eat. If you are one that can avoid taters and gravy, this is the time to invoke your food strengths. LOL

Wait for after 6AM to munch on sugary foods. I'm begging you, if you want to stay awake on your shift watch what you eat. Wait until after 6AM to eat comfort foods and sugar.

i've been doing 7pm to 7am for about three months now, i have no trouble staying awake, i have a horrible time trying to sleep during the day. if i work three nights in a row forget it.....i'm exhausted. i have a pitch black bedroom and a nice quiet house, any tips on making this transition easier. i love the night shift regardless, work and people are great! i think part of the reason i have trouble is because i almost try too hard to fall asleep!

oh boy, i think you'll be okay especially for only one 8 hour noc shift. when i'm not super busy i usually talk to someone around to keep me awake. goodluck!!

benadryl works. i have no trouble falling asleep, but tend to wake up after only a couple of hours of sleep and can't get back to sleep. so, i take my benadryl the first time i wake up to go to the bathroom, then read about 15 minutes until it kicks in. i can usually manage 7 or 8 hours of sleep, but every time i go to the bathroom, i take more benadryl.

ruby

coffee at work and benadryl to sleep worked for me for 2 years. ICU is usually hopping at 4 to 6am thats when the patients usually try to die.

paramour

Love the word! And in this setting, soooo true!

After almost 30 yrs. of nites--enough sleep prior to your shift. Yes, I take benadryl to insure this. Even, at times, have taken melatonin.

Once at work--coffee---but not so much thay it will keep me up when I get home.

Light food--as heavier food will make you want to sleep.

Make rounds often. Getting up & walking ia always a help.

Like someone said--between 3 and 5 is the worst, so save some work for that time.

I love my nite shift.

Hope your's will be good

Mary Ann

Does anyone else think it's sad that we have to regulate our days and nights with drugs? (stimulents- yes that includes caffeine, antihistamines, sleeping pills, ETOH, etc) I have been working the 7p-7:30ish shift for a few years now and it isn't any better. What's even worse is usually my nights are split (even though I request them together) because of unit "needs". My sleep problems have been so bad that my doctor put me on a new drug for "shift work sleep disorder"- called Provigil (it's about $10 a pill). The problem is that I take it in the AM some days and the PM on others- sometimes 12 hours apart, sometimes 24 hours (depending on my insane schedule- or lack therof). Does anyone else think we should get workers comp for this? I've heard working nights can even carry a higher risk of certain kinds of cancers, pre-term labor, and miscarrages (maybe all the coffee??) I get $2.00/hr more for working this crazy shift. I'm a "night" person, but I have to admit, it takes it's toll.

Definately make sure you get some sleep the day before. Taking something to make you drowsy to get to sleep helps a lot. Also, do a lot of caffiene.

ALWAYS keep moving, it helps keep your body awake. I also suggest that when it gets really bad, see if you can sneak off and run up and down the stairs a couple of times, that extra movement really seems to help, try washing your face, or if you live in a cold climate step outside for a couple of minutes.

Does anyone have any suggestions on staying awake during 3rd shift.

I have been working graveyard shifts for 4.5 years and I usually try to save some work between 2 am - 5 am (those are my worst hours). I am hypoglycemic so I eat light snacks every 3 hrs and avoid heavy meals. I am not much of a coffee drinker but I drink a COKE about 3 am. Don't really know how much that helps b/c when I can't sleep I drink hot cocoa . Anyway we can read on downtime (not too often) so I carry a good book, the tech and I take turns doing rounds (have to do 15 min rounds on precaution pts unless they are in the camera room), listen to the radio (very low of course), talk with other staff (when available) on the unit, our halls are pretty long so we walk for 30 min if we can. Of course getting a good days sleep :zzzzz always helps.