Night Shift Woes

bollweevil · Mar 6, 2008

Do you feel like you are the only one in the world up on your nights off? :aln: I am so mixed up & feel like crap...does anyone else feel like this? I am up all night & sleep in the daytime....always. As long as I am working I am fine....in a routine.....but have a day off & bam! I am totally messed up. No one seems to understand that you cannot just switch back & forth....or I can't!
I also feel guilty that I just am not around for my family/friends.....if I am up they are asleep or vica versa. There is nothing to do...everyone is asleep, all the stores are closed except Wal-Mart & you can only go so many times! ( I feel like a shoplifter!)
I try to be quiet so not to wake hubby....uggggh! So vacuuming & major cleaning is out......bored to death on my nights off!
I have been on nights about a year & half....I absolutely hate the way I feel but I really like my shift & coworkers! Does anyone else feel as mixed up & crappy as I do? Thanks for letting me have a pity party! :omy:

Yes, I do. Is there an all night gym you could go to? Otherwise, maybe you learn to sew or bake fancy stuff or play an instrument - quietly, of course. :idea:

bollweevil · Mar 6, 2008

You are not alone. Nights are good and bad. Good in the sense that it's not as crazy, no Dr rounds, fewer new admissions and people generally sleep. but the bad part is that I feel hungover after doing a shift. I dont' sleep well in the day, so I'm basically up for days straight. I have 5 children so it's not that easy to get rested. Where I work it's two 12 hr days, then quick turnover to 2 12 hr nights. Then 4 off, but you really sleep your first day away, and are in a zombified stated for that whole day.

Can you get a straight shift? It's too hard rotating.

bollweevil · Mar 6, 2008

Nope I work 12's....come to think about it ...when my days were scheduled together I don't remember feeling like this! I use to work 3 in a row & off 4. Now I may work 1 off 1 or work 2 off 1.....or work 5-6 & be off 1-2. I agree it is a lot less congested at night & that I like.

This is ridiculous. fiddle with the schedule and see if you can't find a way to sugget to your schedulemaker for people to not have that irregular schedule. I'll bet her schedule doesn't work like that. She's probably on a very regular schedule.

crb613, BSN, RN · Mar 6, 2008

This is ridiculous. fiddle with the schedule and see if you can't find a way to sugget to your schedulemaker for people to not have that irregular schedule. I'll bet her schedule doesn't work like that. She's probably on a very regular schedule.

You got that right she works M-F 9a-6p. I think we all pretty much agree....night shift makes you feel like crap, you have no life, but most of us do like the enviroment......now if we could just figure out a way to feel better! Thanks to everyone for your post and input.

CABG patch kid, BSN, RN · Mar 7, 2008

I'm pretty much going through the same thing. I love my job but it gets old staying up at night by yourself on the nights off. The main thing I'm having an issue with is getting errands and things done that I can only do during the day, like getting the oil changed in my car for example. I'm so happy where I'm at though, and would depise day shift, so I'm sure I'll figure out a way to make my time off more productive. :)

k1968mm · Mar 7, 2008

You are not alone. Nights are good and bad. Good in the sense that it's not as crazy, no Dr rounds, fewer new admissions and people generally sleep. but the bad part is that I feel hungover after doing a shift. I dont' sleep well in the day, so I'm basically up for days straight. I have 5 children so it's not that easy to get rested. Where I work it's two 12 hr days, then quick turnover to 2 12 hr nights. Then 4 off, but you really sleep your first day away, and are in a zombified stated for that whole day.

:yeah:OMG you have five children and manage it all? You deserve gazillions of Kudos! :bowingpur I don't know you but I am proud of you.

I work night shifts too as a tech while raising two girls alone and going to school. you are not alone with the nightshift woes. I too feel depressed for not being able to sleep like "normal" people. I feel isolated from the world and I feel guilty when I sleep all day long and fail to run errands the way I planned on doing.

On nights off I can't sleep without chemical help (medication). My nurse practitioner prescribed ambien because I have a hard time unwinding when I get home from work. Also, my neighbors wake me up with all sorts of noise, so if I don't have chemical help I don't rest enough to go back to work.

On nights off there is just so much I can do around the house without waking everybody up. I watch movies or read something. I can't even do laundry without waking the girls up. None of my friends work nights so it is hard for me to visit with them too often.

Want to hear something pathetic? LMAOOO SOmetimes I grab a pizza and head off to work on my days off! At least there I can sit with my coworkers at 1 am to eat a pizza together and laugh a little. :bugeyes:

It is hard to work the night shift. But I wouldn't trade it for a day shift...

The nurses I work with at night are wonderful to work with and I can't imagine having to work with the daytime folks. One of the nurses I work with has been doing the night shift for almost 30 years. She tells me that she got used to the schedule after a few years, and that she is able to sleep normally on her days off. Maybe someday I will get there...

Peace and light to you and tons of love for all that you do :redbeathe

K+