Night shift and exercise

sjalv · Feb 13, 2015

Disclaimer: I'm a young, single guy with no kids.

I just go to the gym right after work for about an hour, get home and shower, then go to bed and do it all over again the next day. Note that this is what worked for me during my externship, where I worked 7:30a-8p. I can't see why it wouldn't work on night shift (which is what I'll be working as an RN) once you have established the appropriate sleeping schedule.

No one really wants to work out after working a 12 hour shift, but I guess it's about priorities. If you know that you would be up for 1-2 hours upon getting home anyway, why not drag yourself to the gym?

thenightnurse456 · Feb 13, 2015

Agree.

I go running after my shift. Helps me reflect on the night. Then I go home shower and sleep like a baby.

Exercise before work made me tired, but to each their own!

jar312 · Feb 14, 2015

Thanks everyone I am gonna try to go after my shifts this week and see how I do. Also thanks for the disclaimer sjalv! LOL

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Feb 14, 2015

I work 12-hour night shifts. Like a previous poster, I visited the gym immediately after my shift ended, worked out for anout 60 to 90 minutes, went home, showered, and fell asleep. Some people claim that exercise keeps them awake, but it helped me achieve a sound sleep. Your mileage may vary.

JWG223 · Feb 14, 2015

I am new to the night shift and am having a difficult time trying to fit working out into my schedule! What is everyone else secret?!?!

I've slacked lately, but I typically lift/cardio in the mornings right after work, and when I don't work, sometime around 1-4am.

JWG223 · Feb 14, 2015

I work 12-hour night shifts. Like a previous poster, I visited the gym immediately after my shift ended, worked out for anout 60 to 90 minutes, went home, showered, and fell asleep. Some people claim that exercise keeps them awake, but it helped me achieve a sound sleep. Your mileage may vary.

This was my experience/formula.

Mr. Murse · Feb 14, 2015

Unlike previous posters, I don't like being active after work. I work 3 or 4 days a week (12 hour shifts of course), and I treat work days differently than free days.

On work days I'll usually get up about 2 hours before I have to leave, take 30 min or so wake up time, then do a quick workout for 30 min and have the last hour to shower and eat or whatever I need to. Or I'll take my rest days on work days and give my body a rest from the workout routine, which it needs anyway. I don't feel the need to do long or difficult workouts on work days.

On days I'm not working I try to do my more intensive, more time consuming exercises. Like full body workout or going out for a long trail run.

This way, I'm getting 3 or 4 days of a full, intensive workout, and then another 1 or 2 low intensity workouts, and another day or 2 of rest. I prefer a little workout before work also because it makes me feel more awake and energized.

Try all of the above replies and see what works best for you.

DanaerysTargaryen · Mar 7, 2015

I wake up in time to get in my workout before my shift. I usually try for an hour or a little more of gym time before my first shift, probably 45 minutes to at most an hour between two shifts, just for purposes of getting a decent amount of sleep. The waking up part is miserable, but I can load up on caffeine before my workout and get myself going that way, and I tend to get a better workout than when I try to push myself through a workout immediately after a 12 hour shift, at a time when my body is firmly convinced I should have been asleep for probably a good 5-6 hours by the time I get to the gym.

floridanurse1983 · Mar 14, 2015

Join a 24 hr gym. That's what I'm doing.

caliotter3 · Mar 14, 2015

Walked in the neighborhood right after work and then nice shower, fell asleep.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Mar 14, 2015

Join a 24 hr gym. That's what I'm doing.

As someone who works 12-hour nightshifts, I totally concur with this suggestion. I have been a member of a local 24-hour gym for years. The wide-open business hours work well with my erratic schedule.