anxiety

Nurses Stress 101

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What are good ways to reduce stress and anxiety the night before work? Some days are fine and I sleep through the night and have a great shift and others are toss and turn all night poor sleep with a horrible shift to follow. I do exercise and try natural sleep aides

Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

If you work out, don't do it within 3-4 hours of going to bed; it revs up your system and makes it harder to wind down. Also, you can try a nice warm (not hot) shower or bath about 90 minutes before bed---it triggers a drop in body temperature that will signal the brain that it's time for sleep. Shut down the computer and turn off the TV at least one hour, and preferably two, before retiring for the night. Use your bed only for sleep and sex, and keep your bedroom cool, dark and quiet (or if you're like me and don't like it TOO quiet, you can use a fan or a "white noise" machine to block out unwanted sounds).

And if you can manage it, try to go to bed and get up at the same times every day---even on your days off. This resets your body clock. I had to resort to this myself because I was sleeping so poorly and so irregularly that it was literally causing me health problems; once I got used to it, things stabilized and now I'm not only healthier but happier. :)

Specializes in pediatrics; PICU; NICU.

What helps me any time I have anxiety is doing guided imagery. I have several CDs with these programs on them. It takes about 15 or 20 minutes to go through one of them & I feel like a new woman when I finish. I do this if I'm having trouble getting to sleep or if I find myself anxious during the day.

Thanks for tips. I will try them

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