night nurse can't sleep during the day!

[keener]

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?

[xoemmylouox, ASN, RN]

I had the same issue when I worked nights. I could only get 4 hours or so of sleep. If I woke up to use the restroom that was it, I was up. It actually didn't bother me much. We were able to self schedule so I would try to do all 3-4 nights in a row. On my days off I would switch to a midway between day/night shift sleep/wakefullness. I was able to spend a lot of time with my family that way.

Everyone is different. You were given a lot of good advice. Some do adjust in time, others don't I preferred night shift - I made more $$, less visitors, less admin micro-managing me, and the night shift crew tended to get along well. If you enjoy your job overall stick it out and see how it goes. Keep an eye out for openings on day shift and make the change if you don't adjust in time.