If you work nights, what are your days off like?

[NightNerd]

Do you keep to the same schedule on nights off, or switch back to daytime living? What do you do to exercise and relax? Do you find that you just get less sleep now than on a daytime work schedule, or the same amount spread out differently?

I'm just curious. I thought I would be able to catch up on sleep after working two nights in a row, then have a relatively unencumbered day life. Instead, I'm finding that I actually have more trouble sleeping now, and stay up quite a bit later than I used to, even on nights off.

[BSNbeauty, BSN, RN]

I work nights and van but never sleep the day away after a night shift. I usually sleep until 1 or 2pm and then stay up to enjoy my family, run errands and etc. I hate to waste a day sleeping. I usually crash around 10pm and wake up recovered. It sucks but that's the price I pay.

[trolloc6340]

My schedule is hellish, running 12's. And the nights off are not much better. I usually keep my night schedule if only a few days off. But the more days off I have, i slowly reset to day shift schedule.

[Animal House R.N., ADN, CNA, LVN]

I work 4 12's 5 off 2 12's and 3 off and pattern starts over. First day I work I lay down around 11 and sleep till 4pm. In the am I come home have coffee with hubby and help girls get ready for school. Play with my dogs and go to bed by 830 am. 1st day off stay up till 9 to make business calls. Get up at 2 pm. Do dishes and laundry.Work in the garden. Make sure you eat healthy and watch snacking. A lot of snacking goes on at night if not busy. I have to use melatonin and benedryl to sleep,but my best sleeping hours have always been 1am until 8 am.

[~PedsRN~, BSN, RN]

I like to work back to backs so I can switch back to the daywalking life easier. I usually don't sleep much on the day I head to work, so I sleep all day the next day when I'm off... when I finish on my last day of the week, I sleep only until lunch time. I get up, enjoy the rest of my day, and then head back to bed around the normal hour so I can get back on track.

[FLAlleycat]

I always got three nights in a row which was a tremendous help! But, I've always been a night owl, so even on my four consecutive days off, I stayed up until about 3am, then slept until around 11. (But, I had no young children at the time which made the schedule doable!) I absolutely loved night shifts! Took a while to adjust to days when I became a nurse practitioner, and even now, I'm still up until about 1-2AM.

[DoeRN]

Worked nights for many years. I would always schedule myself for 3 in a row. My next day off I would sleep until 1:00 or 2:00 get up and run errands. Then I would be back on a day schedule. Not saying it was easy but if I stayed on a night schedule on my days off I felt isolated and depressed.