Hiya all :) I have been reading your posts for quite awhile as the topics pop up on my facebook. Just signed up today and I've been sitting and reading lots of topics and really enjoying them. I have been a nurse for over 20 yrs and a nurse aide prior to that. Everyone here seems to have good advice for people with questions or issues needing to be resolved. So here I am LOL with my tale of woe. I hope to get some good advice :)
I have been working nightshift for the past 3 years. I don't really care for it, but I have medical issues which cause chronic pain and I just can't keep up on any other shift. I work in a Basic Care Facility in which our Residents need care, but not to the extent of a SNF. So it is not as busy as most LTC facilities. I seem to be able to keep up with the pace on nights.
My issue is my days off, I tend to keep with my working schedule. I work 11pm- 8am, I come home and putz around doing what I have to do then I watch TV or read until I get tired. So I sleep from about 12-1pm til about 8-9pm. This works for me as my kids are grown and off on their own and my 2 furbabies ( dogs ) are used to my schedule now. But on my days off I tend to follow the same schedule as if I was working. That would be fine if it didn't interfere in other aspects of my life, but it does. My family, most of which are also in healthcare careers work day shifts. So I miss out on family activities because I just can't sleep normal hours. I have been told by others who work nights that it is good to keep the same schedule 7 days a week. This would be great if I could sleep from 9am-5pm and have the evening for activities, but unfortunately my habits take up the afternoon and most of the evening. I have tried going to sleep by 9am, but I just can't.
So I was just wondering what schedules other nightshift nurses have and how they deal with it? How do you keep your schedules when you are off work? It is 4am here CST and of course I'm wide awake. I would so love to go to the pool or the lake with the grandkids, but I would just be too tired. I'm not able to retire and I don't want to go through the aggravation of applying for disability even though I would be eligible I've heard horror stories from others. I'm looking forward to seeing how others deal with this :)
when I do sleep? carefully. morning..evening. Depends on your shift..11-7 or 7-7. Dont expect people to be nice and quiet during normal business hours. Plus the kids.
Your body is not geared for working in the dark. We take turns for a nap during night shift.
usually somewhere between 2-4am. Talk it over with your colleagues, head nurse. Get some insight.
I don't know of this is the best thing to do but I sleep from about 10 am-4pm on the days I work. Like others said I like to be on a normal schedule on my days off. So when coming to a day off I sleep only about 2-3 hours maybe 4 just so I am not exhausted and then sleep a normal night that night
Pharmacist here, but I also work a 7on/7off nights. Did this in my 20's but have worked this the last 7 years, late 40's to 50's. I also use "chemistry" but use Melatonin 5mg or 10mg extended release. Usually pair this with Tylenol 1gm and sometimes Benadryl 25mg for a good 6 hr sleep. I also use Ambien 2.5-5mg for an 8 hr sleep. Use Java or Diet Mt Dew to stay awake, but Provigil 50-100mg if the sleep fairy didn't have enough time to visit.
I try to stay up 4am the night before my week, sleep about 4 hrs, get up for morning things and sleep again 12n to 6-7p. In at 9p. Last night sleep till noon. Get up and tired again by evening. Sometimes I have a bit of trouble flipping back to days, but not often.
I doubt anyone will agree with me but this is just my opinion.
I suggest talking to your doctor again or maybe a different doctor, explain to him/her your health problems that affect your dayshift job performance. Ask the doctor if there is anything new available (drug/treatment) that could provide significantly greater relief from the dehibilitating symptoms you described.
It never hurts to ask. If this leads to a happy outcome then you can go back to your preferred day shift schedule. Hopefully.
If this results in a "no,sorry there is nothing out there we haven't already tried on you." I would of course try the suggestions here that you like the most.
I've worked night for the last 3 years. 12 hour shifts, 3 nights a week.
I used to work a set schedule; Mon, Fri, Sat one week, then Tues, Wed, Fri the next.
I made a lateral move to a new hospital/new schedule. Now, we have self-scheduling, but it can vary be demand or the manager and others changing the nights I put in for. I try to work my 3 nights in a row, and sometimes tack on a 4th or 5th, carrying over into the next week.
When I work, I wake up at 1600 and leave for work by 1730 (it' a 45 minute drive, plus traffic). I get home about 0900, eat, shower, and in bed by about 1100. Wake at 1600 and do it all over again.
When I don't work, I sleep a 'normal' schedule so I can be available for my family during the day. I get up at 0600 and go to bed about 2330 or later.
Everyone is different. Some people are naturally wired for nights and some are not. I find working days has the same effect for me as many of you who are trying to adjust to nights.
Days are exhausting for me. I had much less sleep working nights and I could function.
In addition to maintaining a regular schedule on nights, try sleeping with ear plugs, a sleep mask, and a darkened room for better sleep. Manufacturing night time conditions for daytime sleep is essential.
Avoid caffeine, junk foods and drink plenty of water as well.
For 35 years I have been working permanent night shift sounds like a very long time sometimes I can't believe it myself. I work 11:30pm-8:00am when I get home around 8:30-9:00am I usually go to be around 9:30am and sleep until around 12noon. I go back to sleep between 6pm-7pm awake around 10:15pm. When I am off I take a 2 hour nap when I get home and around 10pm I go to bed sleeping all night. I have noticed that my peers would sleep most of the day and still have problems remaining awake at night along with no energy when they are home. This has worked for me hope to retire in about 10 years I have raised two kids my husband and myself working nights. I wish you well and hope this may help sometimes sleeping to much may not work space your sleeping time. I brought blackout curtains along with black sheets I applied this works wonders.
If I don't have to work that night or for a few nights after, I will sleep for about 2 hours as soon as I get home and shower, and then go to bed as usual that night. 6 weeks in and it's working so far.
As Craig from Keep it Real RN says, "night shift is a different type of hell". I personally like it. Some good points where made to survive it:
Eat well and often - healthy snacks like carrot/celery sticks, bananas, apples. Stay away from the doughnuts left in the breakroom!
Try to cluster your days so that you're working the end of one week and the start of another.
The only gripe I have after doing it for years, is that unless it's a couple days off in row , you don't get one. The single day off is spent recovering.
I'm a student nurse right now, but I've worked midnights for over 5 years in various jobs and left to my own devices I often end up being nocturnal (perhaps because of this work history). One thing you really have to do is take melatonin because if you are working midnights your body will produce minimal amounts of it leading to higher cortisol levels and possibly all the bad that goes along with that such as inflammation and weight gain.
I also found that sticking to the schedule was the best bet. When I wasn't I was always very tired and miserable even in my 20's. Of course paying bills, family, the post office and the rest of the world work on the day schedule so you will have to stray from time to time. The best way to cope is to continue the melatonin and to learn relaxation techniques to help you fall sleep when your schedule gets thrown off. I found on some days I had to stay up a day to put it back to regular time. I read some books on meditation and found that often when I tried to meditate I would fall asleep so that's basically what I would do to help fall asleep when my body didn't necessarily feel like it.
Some things that helped me through the years on midnights:
Black out curtains (no light whatsoever in my room) and even closing the shades and turning off the lights around the house leading up to bedtime.
which makes me think I'm going to seriously consider experimenting with a melatonin patch as opposed to the pill when I next work midnights. I've found them on amazon.
Roy Hanson
211 Posts
when I do sleep? carefully. morning..evening. Depends on your shift..11-7 or 7-7. Dont expect people to be nice and quiet during normal business hours. Plus the kids.
Your body is not geared for working in the dark. We take turns for a nap during night shift.
usually somewhere between 2-4am. Talk it over with your colleagues, head nurse. Get some insight.