Night Shifters... How do you do it?

caliotter3 · Feb 14, 2010

You will have to find the cycle that works for you. I found that sleeping for about four hours when I got home after work was the schedule I fell into. Then I would be up for most of the day and take a nap before going to work that night. This schedule became the way things worked after I stopped going to school in the daytime and/or worked other jobs. Can't say it was a good way to do it, just the way things turned out. You can't stop life that happens in the daytime just to accommodate your night schedule.

ivorybunny · Feb 14, 2010

I've been working night shift for 6 years now. Everyone at work seems to do it different. For me, when I'm off the day before I go to work I stay up as late as I possible can and sleep in all day. I know some ladies who catch a small nap before coming in- but for me, I need my sleep and it resets my clock especially when I'm working 3 or 4 days in a row. It's harder when I'm off because I rarely get back on a normal schedule- which is fine for me since I don't have kids or anything. It might be different for you if you have other obligations. Good luck!

klone, MSN, RN · Feb 14, 2010

Better living through pharmaceuticals.

Provigil at around 11pm to keep me awake, and Ambien at about 8 am to help me sleep.

I'm glad I'm not on the upper-and-downer train anymore!

I'd also try to schedule six in a row, and then I'd completely switch to a nighttime schedule during that time, and then switch back to a daytime schedule for the 8 days I would be off.

ivorybunny · Feb 14, 2010

AMEN TO PROVIGIL!!! It's been a life saver

L8RRN · Feb 14, 2010

I am new, too. So far, I have been napping about 3ish hours before my first night (from like 1 to 4pm), sleeping as long as possible (7 or 8 hours) between shifts and once I have worked my last night, I only sleep until around noon so I can switch back to sleeping at night with my family. I wake up really early normally to get the kids ready for a 6:30am bus when I am not working so I am able to nap in the afternoon before my first night. Don't know how this will work long term, but it is "OK" so far.

Good luck!

JennRN65 · Feb 14, 2010

I have been working nights for 15 years and i have three kids.

I do not nap before going in on my first night. I am usually sleeping by 8:30am and I get up at 3pm each day. When I get up, we do homework, make supper and then go back to work at 7pm that night. Normally, I work three days in a row, but occasionally a fourth shift is added.

I switch back to day life by only sleeping 3 hours after the last shift so I can go back to sleep that night.

TigerGalLE, BSN, RN · Feb 14, 2010

Oh and one more question. How has working night shift effected your married life? Do you feel like you see your husband less or more now? I'm worried we will become distant with this change. He works a normal 8-4 schedule M-F.

Thanks

Tait, MSN, RN · Feb 14, 2010

Oh and one more question. How has working night shift effected your married life? Do you feel like you see your husband less or more now? I'm worried we will become distant with this change. He works a normal 8-4 schedule M-F.
Thanks

I feel like I see my husband less. I schedule three days in a row so I have a solid four to sometimes five off. Unfortunately this weekend I wasn't able to effectively swap my schedule back to days and wound up napping a lot while my husband watched tv. However it was snowing a lot so we couldn't really get out and do anything, therefore I fell asleep.

My husband works about 9am to 6pm so I usually only see him for about twenty minutes in the morning on my work days. For me it feels like I might as well have to travel somewhere else three days a week. If I could see him before work I think it would be better for me, I love to know he is home and safe, but we make up for it with 10/11pm phone calls and a quick daily recap.

There is a chance it could lead to some strain, however making up for the time on days off, going to bed when they go to bed can really make a difference. I don't try and stay up the night before work if I don't feel like it. I have been known to climb into bed at 11pm with my husband, get up at nine and nap from 1-4/5 before work. Since I normally work S/M/T I know on Monday/Tuesday I will get a good 9-430 sleep in, so I don't fuss the first day too much.

Best of luck!!

Tait

No children yet, so that is a big factor as well.

PS. When I first started night shift I worked 5 8's a week (yuck) and took Tylenol PM to get to sleep in the morning. I long since gave up that habit after feeling just too dopey in the afternoon. Now it is room darkening shades and oddly enough a Starbucks Caramel Macchiato from the new cafe (I think it is the warm milk!) sets me on my way.

ONCRN84 · Feb 14, 2010

Provigil... what is this pharmaceutical you speak of and why have I not tried this...

changeofpaceRN · Feb 14, 2010

Oh and one more question. How has working night shift effected your married life? Do you feel like you see your husband less or more now? I'm worried we will become distant with this change. He works a normal 8-4 schedule M-F.
Thanks

Once I saw this question, I decided to post. I saw my husband less than before when I worked 3rd. I became a zombie during my days off and had no energy to even get up and play with my son. I would sleep in the day that my shift started and try to nap again in the afternoon before I went to work. When I got home, I would sleep from about 830-2pm then nap again before work. It was hard to get quality sleep because there were UPS trucks driving by, lawnmowers, kids selling stuff so I'd hear the doorbell, kids playing outside and running by.. dogs barking ect. I couldn't get use to the noise even with a loud fan and black out curtains. I tried ear plugs but they annoyed me. Anyway, I ended up losing a lot of weight (not the healthy way) and my health and married life went downhill. I had to make a choice so I went to days. Granted, I was never a night owl before. I did it for 2 years and I'm still working on fixing my body and marriage 2 years later. It works for some people and others it doesn't. I know understand why 3rd shift workers are paid more and they deserve it! This isn't a life sentence, you can always change shifts down the road if it doesn't work but I made it work for 2 years. Good luck.

Idontknowbetter · Feb 14, 2010

Legal drugs (for me, anyway... what you do is your business). Let me outline how I do it (after MONTHS of trying things out, this has worked best for me.)

1. First, accept that night shift is unnatural and pretty crappy on your body and mind to begin with it. Acceptance is the first part :)

I schedule myself 3 nights in a row. ALWAYS. Never will I break them up. It's too tough on my body to sleep one night, stay up the next night, and then repeat.

On the night of my first shift I will "take it easy". That means no exhausting myself at the gym, building a brick wall, or moving mountains. Just lounge around and take it easy. I'll go to work that night and feel mostly OK. I"ll get home around 9am and self induce sleep with Ambien. I also make sure my room is dark and quiet. I've tried the non-drug route in the past, and all I do is toss and turn, and I'm miserable. So, I'll wake up from my Ambien coma around 4pm, eat, pee, get ready for work, and then do it again. Then again. When I get home after my last shift (my 3rd), I will NOT take sleeping medicine. I'll go to sleep and try to sleep for a few hours - usually until about 1pm. I'll then get out of bed and keep myself busy. I usually feel like crap for most of the day, but that's the price I pay. Then I'll have 4 nights off and readjust to a normal schedule. It sucks no matter what - you just have to find something that works for you the best.

Also, be VERY careful if you're workng night. Being sleep deprived truly is very dangerous and not worth an extra 15% in pay or that "Oh I work nights because it's not as busy". Just recently I drove to Target, and once I got there, I couldn't remember what I had driven there for, and I couldn't remember driving there, either. Very scary stuff. Driving into a pole isn't worth it.

Every time I go to my MD for an Rx for Ambien she says "Ok, I'll write the RX, but when are you going to stop doing this $hit to your body?" (her exact words every time.)

About 4 months ago one of my coworkers fell asleep at the wheel of her car during a turn, and ran into a brick wall. Someone found her sleeping on some random person's front porch (she was confused and disoriented). Last month another coworker fell asleep at the wheel doing 45 MPH and rear-ended someone at a complete stop at a red light. 3 days later the person she rear-ended hired a lawyer. Funny how quickly that happens.

Anyway, with those encouraging words, I wish you well! :)

P.S. Forgot to add... I've read on here how some keep a night schedule even when they're not working... I have NO clue how they do that. None. Absolutely none. I would think that's considered very detrimental to your health longterm wise. I haven't met any in person that keep such schedules, including th enurses I work with. We ***** and moan together, and then do what we have to do to get by. It really is the pits.