Nightshifters: What wakes you up while you are trying to sleep in this 9 to 5 world?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

  1. If you work night shift, how much sleep can you usually get during the day?

    • 9
      0 to 4 hours
    • 66
      4 to 6 hours
    • 43
      6 to 8 hours
    • 3
      more than 8 hours

121 members have participated

I have worked both shifts over the years. While I prefer the atmosphere on nights (NO SUITS!!!!!), I often find it difficult to get a good amount of sleep. Here's why:

1. No matter what time I cut off fluids, I always have to pee by noon.

2. Lawn services and their eardrum breaking machines! Do they really have to be THAT loud?

3. I live one short block away from an air raid type fire whistle! Some moron put it in a playground-now that's using your head!

4. The dog.

5. The doorbell.

What about the rest of you out there, what's keeping you awake?;)

I loved my nights the best, but I also liked to pick up some day shifts...it helps to get to know the people/shift you follow and vice versa....

Did the same as the rest of ya'll..white noise, dark room, beeper for emergency calls ONLY (Family and school) and phones off.

I usually took a warm bath, 2 Benedryls and went right to bed for about 5-6 hours. As I got older, I found I felt better when I split my nights and slept normally on my nights off...worked better for me.

I've always enjoyed the camaraderie at night better than the circus on days!

Tookie, your story was hilarious....endlesly barking dogs make me want to do the EXACT same thing! LOL!

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Specializes in ICU/CCU (PCCN); Heme/Onc/BMT.

I love working nights. In healthcare, it's the only shift to work, in my opinion.

What wakes me up during the day when I try to sleep? Well:

1) The phone when the ringers are not turned off.

2) The door bell.

3) My 135 pound dog, Bubbles, when she barks, snores, breaths, burps, passes gas. . .

4) Too much coffee the night before.

5) Music in my head. This has always been a problem. Whenever I'm working on any music project, the melodies and harmonies reverberate endlessly through my head. (For this, I really love and hate music!)

Still, though, I manage to get a total of about 4 to 6 hours a sleep when I work nights. Sleep is done is shifts. About 2 to 4 hours once I get home and then another 2 hours before going to work.

To all of you night nurses. . . . you're a special bunch of people and don't you forget it!!! :)

Happy Nursing Week, Folks! :)

Ted

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Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.

Howdy Yall

From deep in the heart of texas

Im a hardcore nightshifter forever it seems like. I only get 4 hours of sleep a day. But I can sleep through hurricanes, tornadoes, sirens whatever. But I get off in the morning and after another cup of coffee Im usually either off to the club for a workout or to the course or driving range.

keep it in the short grass yalll

Teeituptom

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I too work the 3rd shift, I have been doing it for the last 15 yrs and I love it. I sleep for a few hours in the morning and then again in the late afternoon. I unplug the phone. Most of my family and friends have gotten use to me working this shift. Where I work we are considered the "DAWN PATROL"

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I have worked nights for almost 3 years and suffer from periods of insomnia on days I am working and catch up on sleep on my days off. I have a few 5-6 song CD's- put the headphones on and usually drift off before the CD is done. I keep the phone close just in case one of my kids is sick at school. The insomnia usually lasts for 1-2 weeks and may disappear for months. Never fails somebody calls and wakes me up (including work!). I have a whole new definition for sleep deprivation when summer arrives and my kids are home!

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I turn the ringer off on the phone, the answering machine down, put in my earplugs, and put on my sleep mask. I don't have a doorbell, so if someone knocks I can't hear them anyway. The only thing that I can hear through my earplugs is a loud lawnmower. But if I'm really tired, not even that bothers me. I can usually get from about 4 to 6 hours of sleep at a time.

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Hi all!

i graduated in december and started a hospital night position in january. I usually get 4-6 hours of sleep now. this seems to be enough. I will tell you why I like the night shift. Days are too crazy, the shift is usually less hectic ( but not always), the people are really a different breed, and you may have time to do extras for your patients, and you get to know your coworkers. it seems that nightshift is the place for me!

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Specializes in Case Management, Home Health, UM.

The #!&$*@!! phone always woke me up. I was living at home with my parents then, and they wouldn't let me take the phone off the hook. I LIVED for the day when I was able to quit working nights. And, when I did, I slept..and slept.....AND slept....!

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hi there everyone, I am new...just registered today...and I seem to be the only Brit!! I'm sure I'm not, but I am having fun deciphering your abbreviations!!

Anyway, on my unit (NICU) we rotate onto nights every 5 weeks or so. I generally work 7 in a row and then have 6 days the following week off...which is nice! I usually dont have trouble sleeping, but I just finished 7 yesterday morning and for some reason only slept for about 3 hours each day...nightmare!

I live in the middle of nowhere, dont have kids or dogs, or neighbours...I think sometimes you just cant sleep!

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For me, sleep while the kids are in school. I use earplugs, blinds and curtains on the window, a ceiling fan, voice mail with the phone turned off but the cell phone on so the school can call with any emergencies (I don't give my cell phone out except to the school and family - and they know they might be waking me!), eye blinders sometimes (you know those funny masks), benedryl at times, and my husband installed a switch on the doorbell so I can turn the ringer off (funny to watch someone ring and ring when they see a car in the driveway, yet I never hear it!) I've learned on my nights off not to even bother trying to sleep if I can't, all I do is toss and turn. I feel I am an insomniac by nature, so nights has always worked for me, despite my sleeping difficulties during the day.

However, only one more night shift to go - then after years of service on nights, I am moving to days. Should be interesting.

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I found that shutting the door, phone off, fan on high and using a mask (Brookstone makes the best one!) makes for a great sleeping day. Granted, i dont have kids at school to worry about, so I can sleep all day if I want. I have even been known to sleep 12 hours during my 12 night stretches (thank god for a self sufficient hubby!).

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i work straight 12-hour nights. i have no problems falling asleep or staying asleep, but do have problems with waking up and getiing my body ready to go. but by 7p when my shift starts, i am awake and ready to work. i am able to sleep without blinds, if the phone rings and i happen to hear it, i am able to fall right back to sleep, TV is always on. 4-7 hours is what i usually need. all this might change when i have kids, a house, and animals. but by then i plan to find a 9-5 job....

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