Night shift misery

Lev, MSN, RN, NP · Jan 2, 2015

Nights shift is tough! I work rotating shifts at my PRN job 7-7, and I can't imagine doing it full time. I will be working evenings 2:30p-3a at my new job, but I know this won't be as bad as 7p-7a.

The thing with nights and sleeping during the day is that you really have to be undisturbed as you sleep. Do you have a quiet place to sleep where there aren't outside noises and people walking in and out? I've also found blackout curtains helpful. I also turn off all electronics. On my way home from work I wear sunglasses and blast warm air to make me comfy and relaxed so I can sleep when I get home.

As far as the weight loss, would it be so bad to eat a warm breakfast when you get home in the morning to help you relax and then go to bed? This may also help with your relationship with your husband. It can be time spent together instead of you rushing off to bed. Read the paper, sip on some decaf coffee and then hit the sheets. When you wake up you can eat a late lunch before work and then bring some food to eat at 12-1am. I make it a rule to not have any caffeine later than 12am.

Why are you awake at 4am on your days off? You don't have to live a night life just because you work night shift. Try to group your night shifts together and then get one good nights sleep and sleep late the next day and then be off for 3 more days.

Take a small dose of benadryl 12.5mg (nyquil is benadryl anyhow) the first morning after work just to get you sleeping and/or have some warm milk in the mornings.

((HUGS)) it will get better with time. You only have 5 months left till you can go on days! It will go quicker than you can imagine. Some of what you are feeling is related to being a new nurse vs working nights.

seconddegreebsn · Jan 2, 2015

My shifts are 7:30p-8a, so the nights I work I don't get to see my husband, who leaves for work at 7 am and comes home at 6pm. My nights off I try to stay on schedule as much as possible because I'm having such a hard time sleeping - hence being awake at 4 am. I didn't see him for 72 hours straight last week, not a great situation for either of us.

I keep trying everything recommended for sleep but I live in an apartment complex - unfortunately there's ambient noise. I've got the white noise machine, blackout curtains, melatonin, sleep mask. It's just got really working - my body is telling me it wants to sleep at night. I haven't gotten more than 3-4 hours of continuous sleep in a month. I know people go many years working nights - bless them, I have no idea how they make it work.

Red Kryptonite · Jan 2, 2015

I know people go many years working nights - bless them, I have no idea how they make it work.

We're just built differently. Personally I've always been more of a night owl/late riser type person. It wasn't hard for me to just extend my normal staying-up-late ways, and my body usually is just so grateful to sleep that it will allow me to pretty much any time. Every now and then I'll have a bad week or two where I struggle with sleep, but usually not.

You said you're avoiding pharmaceuticals (good idea) but what about a glass of wine before bed? Could go with the breakfast someone else suggested. A veggie omelet and a glass of pinot grigio sounds pretty good to me! For night shifters, 0700 is our 1900, so it's not like it's weird or anything. Anyway it could help.

You say you're working 12s. For 8s I could see why a person would keep the night shift schedule on their days off because you only have 2 days off. I work three 12s a week and I have a husband and five kids, so I do not keep a night shift schedule on my days off. I'll sleep after work, get up to get kids from school, and then we do family dinner, sports, religious ed, whatever is on tap that evening, and I go to bed again at night. I'm still tired enough to sleep, and my husband gets some attention, and somehow it all works out. Even I don't like working three in a row, though, it's too much. I prefer two on, one off, one on, three off. I had a week recently where they had me on every other night....that sucked. Too much switching back and forth, it was chaotic.

Try to find a strategy that works until you can get on days. Sorry it's so tough.

BiotoBSNtoFNP · Jan 2, 2015

I lasted on night shift for a year. Looking back now do I realize how much I was suffering. I worked 3 12s but was constantly up at 0400 like you are. On my days off i would try to go to bed at a normal time but I would wake up around 0300 and be up for hours before I could fall back asleep and sleep all day

!! My social life consisted of middle of the night netflixing and going out to breakfast with coworkers after the end of a shift. Other than that, I rarely saw anyone and did anything but sleep!

Some people love night shift! Others really have to work at it. Sleep when you are supposed to and force yourself NOT to sleep when you are not supposed to. You may be grumpy but it is better than sleeping constantly. Have your husband encourage you to get out of bed during the day on your days off (easier said than done haha). New grad jitters definitely do not help either-they may be also impeding good, quality sleep.

You CAN do this until the summer when youre able to change to day shift! Suffering through this and getting through the new grad hurdles will only help your future career if there are no other options for job changes or dayshifts right now.

Think long term! It helped me to have a little calendar next to my bed where I would cross the days off to count down when I could go to day shift (haha yes i really did that!!!).

Good luck!!!