Night shift advice needed...

[Nursebface]

Night shift has many pros and cons. Seems as though the pros are outweighs the cons and that's why I'm trying to stay on nights for a little while longer. But it's really messing with my psyche. When I'm not working, I always sleep through the night, regardless if I got off at 7:30am and slept until 5pm. I always am tired. Then I wake up at 7am and I can't nap, even if I work that evening. So I'm up for 24+hours when I go back to work. And it's really stresses me out to the point of frequent emotional breakdowns. Any advice on how to fall into a better habit?

[barcode120x, RN, NP]

I've been working nights as a nurse for a little over a year and nights as a per diem lift tech previously for about 4 years. I think the only way to get used to night shift and the sleep schedule is keep going at it. Fortunately for me, I was always a late night person so staying up from 7pm-7am for up to 3 nights in a row was no problem. I'm an easy sleeper too. I can knock out any time, anywhere, in any location or lighting. I usually feel pretty good as long as I get at least 7 hours of sleep regardless if it's overnight or during the day. I do have to say that even though I sleep 7+ hours right after coming off the shift and waking up around 4pm, I still feel "drowsy" at times. That is normal because we were born to sleep at night, not during the day. That feeling will never go away but your body will get accustomed to it...hopefully lol. On my day off after work I'd wake up around 4pm, do my daily routine, then head back to bed to continue a normal sleep cycle around 12am or 1am. Sometimes I get myself to wake up around 1pm then head to bed early around 10/11pm just because I'm tired. If you're having trouble sleeping on your days off, do things to make yourself tired and/or keep yourself busy like working out or reading.

Anyways, long story short, it will take awhile for you to get used to the night shift sleep cycle, but it's not abnormal to feel drowsy/tired on your days off. Also, avoid taking sleeping medication! I would also avoid caffeine if I were you since you still aren't used to the sleep cycle. I do have a friend that worked nights and she just couldn't get used to it after about a month in. Fortunately for her a day shift spot opened and she moved.