How to deal with no sleep?

squatmunkie_RN · Oct 10, 2011

No Doz.... Start with just half a tab.

vampiregirl, BSN, RN · Oct 10, 2011

You might want to try to stay away from the junk food. Look for good quality proteins, complex carbs and some healthy fat in your food choices. Think string cheese, protein bars (many of these are candy bars in disguise), peanut butter, tuna packets, yogurt, fruits, nuts... Things that can quickly be grabbed so that it's not too long between meals/ snacks.

WillowNMe · Oct 10, 2011

Good nutrition and a little cough syrup or Benadryl normally does the trick for me...

canesdukegirl, BSN, RN · Oct 10, 2011

I agree with Vampiregirl regarding high protein meals.

I know that this sounds completely gross, but bear with me. A friend of mine from India told me that his "brain food" in the morning was a packet of salmon mixed with walnuts. I love anything from the sea, and I love the texture of nuts, so I tried it. I LOVE IT!!

I eat this for lunch pretty often when I am in a rush to get out the door in the morning.

If I have time the night before my shift, I boil some eggs and then put them in a ziplock bag, sprinkle some salt right into the bag and shuck the shell right before I go out the door in the morning. This is a wonderful breakfast for your drive in to work, and the protein will keep you satiated until lunchtime.

Regarding sleep...do you like to read? I have always read prior to going to sleep, and I find that this engagement forces me put the day's problems out of my mind.

I also have a small fan in my bedroom that I turn on simply for the white noise that it offers. A bomb could go off, and I wouldn't hear it! I learned this trick when I was in college and my roommate was throwing a party. I needed to get up early the next morning, and was SO ****** that I couldn't sleep. I was also very hot. I can't sleep when I am hot-I gotta be cold! So I turned the box fan on to cool myself off, and gained the added effect of white noise. Imagine my surprise when she told me horror stories the next evening regarding the party that I completely didn't hear!

Aromatics may also offer you some help for sleeping. I put some lavender lotion on my hands and my neck before I go to bed. It helps!

I don't drink coffee either. I don't like having the jitters. So to combat early morning sleepiness, I MAKE myself get up 1.5 hours prior to leaving the house. So that means that I get up at 0430. I use this time to slowly go about my morning tasks of showering, dressing, putting on my war paint, checking my emails, etc. This tactic has proven to be a godsend to me. I can leisurely get ready for the day. There is nothing worse than being in panic mode because you overslept. Your whole day is off-kilter.

I hope these suggestions help to a degree. It is very nerve racking to think that you are too tired to care for patients. Perhaps if you can wake up early and center yourself, you will feel refreshed and not feel that you have cobwebs in your brain.

canesdukegirl, BSN, RN · Oct 10, 2011

Good nutrition and a little cough syrup or Benadryl normally does the trick for me...

Does Benadryl not give you the WORST hangover in the morning? I used to take 12.5 of Benny when I had trouble sleeping, but COULD NOT fully wake up until about 1300 the next day. My synapses gave me the finger when I begged them to fire. I felt like my brain was full of cold molasses in a snowstorm.

RNOTODAY, BSN, RN · Oct 11, 2011

I agree with Vampiregirl regarding high protein meals.
I know that this sounds completely gross, but bear with me. A friend of mine from India told me that his "brain food" in the morning was a packet of salmon mixed with walnuts. I love anything from the sea, and I love the texture of nuts, so I tried it. I LOVE IT!!
I eat this for lunch pretty often when I am in a rush to get out the door in the morning.
If I have time the night before my shift, I boil some eggs and then put them in a ziplock bag, sprinkle some salt right into the bag and shuck the shell right before I go out the door in the morning. This is a wonderful breakfast for your drive in to work, and the protein will keep you satiated until lunchtime.
Regarding sleep...do you like to read? I have always read prior to going to sleep, and I find that this engagement forces me put the day's problems out of my mind.
I also have a small fan in my bedroom that I turn on simply for the white noise that it offers. A bomb could go off, and I wouldn't hear it! I learned this trick when I was in college and my roommate was throwing a party. I needed to get up early the next morning, and was SO ****** that I couldn't sleep. I was also very hot. I can't sleep when I am hot-I gotta be cold! So I turned the box fan on to cool myself off, and gained the added effect of white noise. Imagine my surprise when she told me horror stories the next evening regarding the party that I completely didn't hear!
Aromatics may also offer you some help for sleeping. I put some lavender lotion on my hands and my neck before I go to bed. It helps!
I don't drink coffee either. I don't like having the jitters. So to combat early morning sleepiness, I MAKE myself get up 1.5 hours prior to leaving the house. So that means that I get up at 0430. I use this time to slowly go about my morning tasks of showering, dressing, putting on my war paint, checking my emails, etc. This tactic has proven to be a godsend to me. I can leisurely get ready for the day. There is nothing worse than being in panic mode because you overslept. Your whole day is off-kilter.
I hope these suggestions help to a degree. It is very nerve racking to think that you are too tired to care for patients. Perhaps if you can wake up early and center yourself, you will feel refreshed and not feel that you have cobwebs in your brain.

Does the getting up early thing REALLY work> Because I am a last minute sleeper, shower at night type of person---- but I am a sooo dragging lately I will try anything.... are you typically a morning person,, because I am not.....but willing to try if it will work.......

imintrouble, BSN, RN · Oct 11, 2011

Ear plugs.

Fancypants09 · Oct 11, 2011

Try and do a small cardio workout, 20 mins/day (a few days a week), or longer if you're up for it. Combining heart-pumping physical activity with small [portions] and frequent [ever 2-4 hrs] nutritious meals is a God-send! Reading before bedtime as canesdukegirl mentioned helps me as well.

Best of luck to you!

Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP · Oct 11, 2011

I use a prescription sleep aid (currently nursing a baby so had to take what the OB recommended, otherwise I use OTC), white noise, and my bedroom windows are blacked out (thank you, Hubby! :redbeathe ). I do a series of stretches before lying down, and if it was a particularly brutal shift, will take some ibuprofen too. Between all those, I can normally get a good chunk of sleep - even with lawn mowers and boys outside screaming and playing tag.

If I truly do not sleep AT ALL between shifts, I will call out. I have only ever had to do that once in ten years, but I didn't feel bad about it. I will not put my patients nor my own life at risk. My job will not be raising my motherless children should I fall asleep commuting and slam into a tree, nor will they support my family should I lose my job/license for a mistake I made while sleep-deprived.