need help changing sleep schedule to accomodate clinicals

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I start NS in August and I realized I will have to wake up at 5am on days I have clinicals (4:30 on snow days to clean the car:uhoh3:) to arrive at the hospital 15 minutes before clinicals begin. I wanted to know how all of you adjusted your schedules to accomodate your clinical schedule. I generally have trouble sleeping especially if i know i have to be awake at a specific time.

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

Im a night person, so switching for one day a week is insanely hard for me to do. So I would typically not get much sleep. Not the best way to go around it but I just could not sleep the night before.

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Right now, i'm pushing my sleep schedule forward to work a night shift tomorrow night; not fun.

But, for just getting used to waking up early, I would set an alarm for 30 minutes before I would normally wake up (before nursing school, that was 1000, so the alarm was set for 0930). The next day, 0800. Then 0730, 0700....until I got to 0520, which is when I have to wake up for clinicals. Also, go to bed earlier. When I have clinical, I'm in bed by 930p at the latest.

EDIT: Also, melatonin can be helpful for making you drowsy to help you fall asleep. Make sure your bedroom is dark and quiet, take 10 slow deep breaths to help you relax if you're anxious about waking up early, and don't use your phone/computer/tv for at least half an hour before you try to go to sleep. When your brain receives signals from light it says "oh, hey, it's daytime, i'm not going to sleep yet!"

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For rotations, I don't try adjust. One day per week for nine weeks wasn't that big of a deal. I'd just feel like **** when I got up that morning, but that's life.

Now, if you were trying to adjust to staying up all day to work all night for weeks or months on end I'd say just take some diphenhydramine to induce drowsiness or stay up all night one night and fall asleep the next day. Cover the windows if you need.

I used to rotate shifts every month a few years ago, and I personally never had trouble going to sleep at any particular time.

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Specializes in Oncology/hematology.

The first time going to sleep early is problematic.... but the next day you are so wiped that you find yourself checking your watch at 8pm wondering why it says that when you feel like its 11pm... fall sound asleep.

My problem was trying to get the rest of my house to be quiet after 9:30pm.... if I got 6+ hours I was good to go.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Yeah... you just learn to live on very little sleep. I remember writing patho maps the night before clinicals on our patient assignment during "hell quarter." I was up till 0100 AM writing the paper, then I got up at 0430 for early AM clinicals... It was torture! But I survived! Melatonin is amazing stuff. Oh, and afternoon naps are heavenly!

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Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.

I am a night person too. It was very hard to adjust to getting up so early during nursing school. I just tried to go to sleep early and I had to take an ambien and sometimes melatonin too. My first job is night shift. I prefer nights and it's an extra 4 p/h and extra 2 p/h on top of that on weekends. (I know some places it's more) but it works for me!!!!

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thanks for the advice everyone =] i think it would be easier if my weekly schedule was around the same start time but with classes and labs alone it throws a huge annoying wrench in my sleep and wake up times, im def going to try melatonin and see how that works out

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