night nurse can't sleep during the day!

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I'm a newer nurse working nights in the ICU. The team helps me out a great deal and makes me feel supported. I like the unit, and I'm learning a lot. I have no trouble staying awake at night during work. My issue is that I cannot sleep more than 3 hours during the day, and after a few nights, I am a complete mess. I can't stop crying and feel extremely emotional. I dread going to work not because of the work itself, but because of the loss of sleep. It takes a few nights of regular sleep to feel normal.

I've talked to my manager; there are no day positions unless I want to leave my unit. (I don't!)

I take magnesium regularly which helps a lot in general, but not with staying asleep.

I have tried benadryl, but it did not help.

I have a very dark room, white noise, and do not get interrupted. I just wake up and cannot get back to sleep after 3 hours.

Any suggestions?

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Specializes in ED, Cardiac-step down, tele, med surg.

I hate nights. Partly because I can't sleep during the day, and when I've tried nights I felt so sick and depressed. It was like I had the flu 24/7. If it were me, I'd take a day shift in another dept or look elsewhere. Personally, my physical health is more important than career. With that said, some folks find that simulating a night time environment, using blackout curtains and white noise to block out daytime sounds helps them adjust.

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How long have you been working in the ICU? I'm a new nurse as well ( 7months) working nights in a Tele/subacute/step down unit. I had the same problem starting out. I tried to keep my night shift schedule the same when I'm off but it just makes my sleep habits worse. Basically I'm tired a majority of the time even when I'm off bc I flip between night and day schedule . It's easy for me to sleep when I'm just getting off of work. I sleep from 10am- 5pm. Stay up until 2am then go back to sleep until 10am. Then if I'm off I sort of fall back into a weird day schedule but go to bed between 2-4am.

On the days I have to go back into work I take a 3hr nap before and drink coffee. I'm actually fine with that. When sleeping I suggest making sure your room is on the cool side. I always have my fan on or windows cracked. I listen to soft meditation/relaxation music from YouTube that I play as I sleep, and blackout curtains.

Nights take time to get used to but I'm with you... I definitely plan to go back to day shift ( for my own sanity and to get my life back)

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Your body will become adjusted, hopefully. The same thing happened to me and I still feel drained every now and then. I take Benadryl and/or Aleve PM, cover my eyes and off I go.

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I feel for you, as I have been here. Do you have black out curtains or shades? Even if your room is very dark i would do all i could to makeit pitch black. I also bought an eye mask, mine has curved areas over the eyes so it doesn't touch my eyelashes. I have a fan near my bed and i have an app on my phone with gentle rain noise I like. I drank an organic sleepy time tea with chamomile, etc. Maybe ask your doctor about other sleep aides. Benadryl made me feel groggy when i woke, like i didn't get good sleep. Try a warm shower before laying down. And when you come home from a shift focus on sleep right away. Don't get on your phone or turn on the tv. I know it stinks, but keeping a regular schedule for awhile is best, but it means you have to sleep during the day when you are off and continue to be up at night. I found that staying on a true night shift schedule for a couple of months or more was helpful. I have done night shift a number of years, and at some point it just evens out and now I do fine with it. Good luck to you

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Have you tried Melatonin? Valarian root? Or even considered a prescription for a sleeping pill?

I had a tough time sleeping for more than 3 hrs until.I tried Melatonin and Valarian root, for me it really worked, I could sleep until 3-4 in the afternoon and woke up refreshed and able to enjoy my evening!

Hope you are able to find something that works for you.

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Thanks for the comments, everyone.

I used to take Melatonin and it now makes me itchy--I can't take it anymore. I do have some nice herbal teas but they don't keep me asleep. I don't usually take medicine, so even trying Benadryl showed my desperation. I may have to try a prescription, because I cannot leave my position; I'm in a nurse residency program and have a 3 year agreement. If I leave prior to that, I owe the hospital 10 grand.

I feel sick all of the time, and I never see my kid. It is horrible.

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All good advice above. :)

It sucks being hung over feeling. :(

I had a terrible time on nights as a new nurse. But 20 years later doing nights I enjoyed it. I know that for me the difference was in strict sleep hygiene. I mean like religious! I need a LOT of sleep so there was no time for running errands or any such thing for me between 12 hr shifts.

I came home. Did pet care. Made sure the house was safe and settled. Ate a snack. Marched to my room and brushed my teeth/scrubbed my face/took a hot shower/put on my coziest jammies/took a tylenolpm/put on the ceiling fan and turned on my huge hepa filter which is my white noise/ darkened my room all the way/turned off my phone ringer/took a squirt of valarian root tincture/slathered my lavender lotion on my face neck and hands/put my pillow over my head and did my progressive relaxation exercises. Zero variance from this routine between shifts.

I don't know how much difference it makes being older, I'd heard that it would be harder but that wasn't true for me except that my body was more sore--hence the tylenol.

I also had a different mid set. I looked at nights as a better environment. Less visitors, less activity on the unit from other departments, cozier. I did not let myself indulge in thinking about "missing out" on day time activities etc Not only is that not true...when working 12s there is no life outside of sleep and work no matter night or day. You have more days off that's the bonus.

I have a sneaking suspicion that it was a combination of the routine AND the mindset that was the rx for success for me.

I know you said your room was dark but I'd verify that it was black, lower the temp, increase the white noise (the daytime sounds are really distracting on a subconscious level, raindrop sounds etc don't cut it for me) and if necessary take a sleep aid.

As a side note: when I lived in the extreme north and it was light all night I found that the hardest part of sleeping was that there was a different energy in the air, and even the outside birds were chirping all night. That's the part that's really hard. Blocking that out (with white noise), and blocking out any light reception to your eyes-which is what stimulates all your wake hormones etc.

The mindset imo is equally important. Find lots of reasons to like nights and focus on those. Even more than you already do. :)

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Are you doing 12s? How old is your child?

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It sounds like you are going to sleep ok, just not staying asleep? Am i right? You may need to try a different sleeping medicine then. White noise and darkness is key. Try the sleep mask, it does make a difference. The tea I drink is "Bigelow sweet dreams" and I also drink Traditional Medicinals organic "Nighty night". Of course, im not prescribing you sleep aides, just mentioning some teas I have enjoyed, lol :-)

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Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).
Thanks for the comments, everyone.

I used to take Melatonin and it now makes me itchy--I can't take it anymore. I do have some nice herbal teas but they don't keep me asleep. I don't usually take medicine, so even trying Benadryl showed my desperation. I may have to try a prescription, because I cannot leave my position; I'm in a nurse residency program and have a 3 year agreement. If I leave prior to that, I owe the hospital 10 grand.

I feel sick all of the time, and I never see my kid. It is horrible.

I think part of your problem is trying to reconcile night shift, interaction with your child, and getting some decent sleep. I caution you against using benzo type sleep medications as they can become extremely habit forming. you have received some good advice but I have a few things to add. Make sure you are not drinking any coffee or caffeinated beverages during the last half of your shift. Also about a hour before you get off eat a snack with some protein but low carb/low sugar - I like Cave man bars which have like 6 gms of protein and gluten free this will allow your body to feel fed so you are not waking due to hunger. When you get home take a warm shower. I don't know how old your child is but I worked nights when my son was little and would get home in time to kiss him and send him off to daycare before I slept for 5 hours then went to pick him up and prepare dinner before I handed him off to his dad. I know you are in an contract - but IMHO you just can's get back that time with your children when they are little and though my son is 13 now I feel that he has some resentment over the fact that I worked so much I am trying to make it up to him now with more attention. If you can switch to days or a fixed schedule so that you can balance sleep with a real life that would be great.

PS - contracts like the one you are in are rarely legally enforceable - but I would check with your attorney just to be sure.

Hppy

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Honestly I'm not a night shift person either although I'm stick with it for now while I'm nursing a very severe back injury, it's very very quiet where I work. I'm now able to independently sleep during the day time but I have had to train my sleep cycle with help from sleep aids. I do not have any side effects aside from horrible nightmares but to feel functional through out the night I'll take a few lousy night mares!

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