Night shift?

[MiaLyse, APRN]

I was the reading the working nights thread and was wondering

if anyone went from second shift to third and how hard was it

to get your body used to it?

I do have a husband who gets the kids to school already and

I would be able to sleep during the day as the kids are all in

school, plus hubby would help me when they weren't. All children

are older too which would help (8, 9, 16 and 17 years old).

I just have always been afraid to try it as I think I'd have a hard

time sleeping during the day? I already take tylenol pm some nights

to help drift off at night.

[iteachob, MSN, RN]

I worked nights for several years.....loved it (the pace is more my style). I was much younger then (it was 20 years ago).

I always spent a couple hours winding down before trying to go to sleep; usually asleep by 9:30 am. I'd get up at 5 pm to eat and get ready to go to work. I never worked more than 4 nights in a row (usually only 3). First day off, I'd usually stay up MOST of the day. The last day off, I'd stay up quite late (3 or 4 am) before going to bed.

The first night back was always the hardest, but this schedule worked for me. I should probably add that I was single and had no kids back then.

[yousoldtheworld]

I went from 2nds to 3rds without much trouble. I am very much a nightowl though. As it was, when I worked 2nds, I got off at 11, by the time I got home, undressed, and settled, it was after midnight, and I usually didn't actually fall asleep until 3 or 4 a.m.

If you have a hard time going to sleep at night, it actually might be beneficial to you to work nights. I usually sleep from 8 or 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. or so. You still have time to have dinner and spend time with your family before you have to go to work. Or, if it suits you better, you can try to go to sleep right as soon as you get home, or you can wait a little longer and sleep a little later. The key is to make a routine and stick to it!

If you do switch to nights, I would definitely recommend that you stay on your night shift schedule even on your days off. If you try to switch to a "normal" day schedule whenever you don't work, your body will be confused and you'll have more trouble sleeping well.

[MiaLyse, APRN]

>

This is what would make me nervous, staying up on my nights off while everyone sleeps.

[Neveranurseagain, RN]

When I worked rotating shifts, I "trained" my self to go to sleep within 1 hr of arriving home. I used a meditation/progressive relaxation technique that would shut my mind off...it worked most of the time.

[MiaLyse, APRN]

When I worked rotating shifts, I "trained" my self to go to sleep within 1 hr of arriving home. I used a meditation/progressive relaxation technique that would shut my mind off...it worked most of the time.

That sounds good. Maybe I could simply take a tylenol pm, put myself

in a dark bedroom and sleep. It's a thought I guess. It's a shift that

seems best when the kids are in school.

[mikeicurn, ASN, RN]

I worked night shift when I was in my twenties and I used to get bounced back and forth between 2nd and 3rd. I didn't have a hard time, but like others have said, I was also young and single. I found that I needed to switch my entire schedule around. When you work days you usually get up in the morning and go straight to work. Then after work you come home and unwind for a few hours, then go to bed. I notice when most people work nights they go to bed as soon as they get home, then they are already awake for a number of hours before they go to work. That kept me exhausted at work all the time. So I when I was on second and got off at midnight I would stay awake until 6 or 7 am, then get up around 1 or 2 in the afternoon to be at work by 4pm. I found that when I did this I was less tired all the time.

[rentalnurse, RN]

dont take tylenol PM it has benadryl and sometimes gives ya a hangover effect.. Ive taken Melatonin without any side effects and it usually wks well, I can even take part of one and nap the afternoon before my first night on..

[Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP]

I could never take Tylenol PM, as it gave me the paradoxical insomnia. Now, I can take Benadryl fine, and APAP too, but the combo of them both in 1 pill....not a good idea.

[MiaLyse, APRN]

dont take tylenol PM it has benadryl and sometimes gives ya a hangover effect.. Ive taken Melatonin without any side effects and it usually wks well, I can even take part of one and nap the afternoon before my first night on..

I wake up with Melatonin, I sleep better with Tylenol PM. The dosage is

2 pills but I have only ever taken one a night. If I take 2 then I feel

too sleepy.

[MayBoo]

Tylenol PM makes me tired the whole next day.

I loved working evenings the best. I am a night owl. This is my best option for working. Nights are okay too. Days I really struggle getting going and the pace much higher. I am an older nurse and nights and evenings are great.