Night shift. I can sleep during the day the first night. Anyone else?

millhouse · Jul 29, 2011

I worked nights PRN and NEVER was able to sleep before the 1st night. Most of the time I would try and lay down and my mind would wander. Fortunately, I could make it through one night with out sleep and then would crash hard the next morning when I got home. Good luck!!

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Jul 29, 2011

Eventually you get tired enough....big caution- if you feel dead on your feet from fatigue in the morning, call someone for a ride or take a cab/bus... I worked coma-stim, and one of the pts had been driving home after a string of double shifts (not medical) and ran off the road.

DavidFR, BSN, MSN, RN · Jul 29, 2011

The day I start I have a very generous lunch, no tea or coffee, which usually means an afternoon snooze is guaranteed. Allow yourself a glass of wine with lunch if there's an adequate time period before you actually start work or get behind a wheel.

I go to work feeling more rested than than the nights I just start "cold".

anotherone, BSN, RN · Jul 29, 2011

Ugh I have the opposite problem. i can't fall asleep ealry enough to work day shift. AND I am both days/evenings/nights. ahhhhhh

May336 · Jul 29, 2011

I have worked night shift for years and sometimes still have trouble sleeping. It might help to be in a dark room, minimize distractions like tv, phones and possibly a sleep aid. Those are what helps me out. Hope it helps.

MassED, BSN, RN · Jul 29, 2011

stay up super late the night before your first night - drink coffee around 10pm and watch some interesting movies, do laundry, go to Wallyworld and stare at the animals... LOL. Stay up late and sleep in as late as you can. I usually sleep until at least 10am or even noon is better. I usually am still DOG tired on my drive home and try to call someone as I'm driving.... this morning, though, I felt like I had Nystagmus my vision was so crazy with fatigue.

Sun0408, ASN, RN · Jul 30, 2011

I stay up later the night before so I can sleep later before my 1st shift.. I try to nap and the only thing that puts me to sleep is pop in a movie and lay on the couch.. I cat nap sometimes doing that but not often.. After a year and a half, I have gotten pretty used to it :)

joanna73, BSN, RN · Jul 30, 2011

My problem is I can't sleep at night anymore. The day before my first night shift, I go to bed late. Whatever time I wake up, I'll stay up for four hours and go back for at least a 4 hour nap before work. I'm good to go, but I've trained myself. Also, you may want to try melatonin.

klone, MSN, RN · Jul 30, 2011

I generally work 3 nights in a row, and it's hard to get a nap in that day before the first shift. However, I've found that driving home after that first shift, I'm very dangerous, and a few times I've had to pull off the road and catnap for 20 minutes (and my commute is less than half an hour).

I try to take a Benadryl around 11am before my first shift in order to get about a two-hour nap in the early afternoon. That makes a huge difference.

Horseshoe, BSN, RN · Jul 30, 2011

I am working a string of night shifts because I am desperate for money at the moment. I cannot sleep at all the during the day the first night. Does anyone else have this problem? How do you cope if you are not a nightshift person. Any pointers to get through it alertly? I never fall asleep but my brain gets really tired.

Ok, I got a little confused as your thread title says you CAN sleep during the day.

I feel your pain. I could never sleep during the day before a night shift. I never did adjust, and was reassigned to day shift after about 6 months on nights. My NM knew I wasn't as effective on nights (have always been an early to bed type of person) and could possibly end up making an error (worked in ICU).

I hope some of the tips given here will help you out.

Aurora77 · Jul 30, 2011

I've been at my night shift job 4 weeks now, so take my advice with a grain of salt. What works for me is to stay up as late as possible the night before my night shift, like 5 or 6 am until I just can't stay awake anymore, then sleeping until 1600. Try melatonin too, that helps me sleep.

Make your bedroom as dark as possible, too. We draped blankets all around our window, so it's dark. One of my cowokers says she lined the inside of the window with those heavy duty black trash bags.