how to prepare for working night shift hours

Hello! I have been working 12 hour (7p.m.-7a.m.) night shifts for a few months now. It is challenging, but can be done! I would suggest a combination of a gradual shift in hours and coffee at night! :-) for example, drink coffee at about 5p.m. and stay up as late as you can before sleeping, until you are on your desired schedule. What will your hours be exactly? Something else that can help is taking Melatonin (don't take it when pregnant) it is what your body makes to sleep naturally. Also, once you are sleeping during the day, go outside as soon as you wake up and get some sunshine, it will trigger your body to wake up. If you have any questions just ask! I am getting good at day sleeping now! :-)

Coffee and Jolt Cola.

Thanks for the ideas -- the caffeine route won't work for me, I so badly abused it as a youngin' that I think my pancreas has gone on strike whenever it has caffeine, as it now makes me real sleepy.

I was talking to a few ex-RN friends today, they said to just stay on the first of night of work, that I will be jittery enough from it being my first day, then I will be naturally tired at shift's end. But I spoke to an LPN who lives in my building, he said he did 8 mos. of the night shift and at first he couldn't get used to sleeping during the day and after a time he could not sleep at all, YIKES-A-RONI!!!

Well I guess time will tell....

Thanks for the replies though, the more counsel the better.

stick to a steady sleep schedule

oh and also invest in some really heavy curtains that doesnt allow sun to shine in

When I used to work NOC, I'd sleep from around 7 or 8 till about 3 or 4pm. In the wintertime where I live, that would mean it would be getting dark again right as I woke up, and I absolutely hated not ever seeing daylight. So I used to go walk around at the mall for a while to get some exercise and help me wake up with all the bright lights before work.

Good luck!

You can't really prepare. It is very different being home and staying up 24 hours and being at work for 8-16 hours. I used to begin my shift by having a nice hot cup of coffee every night and it definitely worked for me but I started drinking less to none. Nowadays I have something to eat before my lunch break and on my lunch break i snooze for 30 minutes. Some nights will be much more difficult to stay awake some nights will be easy. On my days off I still sleep at night. During the days I have black curtains that are open once I am awake. Hard shift, most people say night shift is easy however no other shift likes picking up night shifts

You can't really prepare. It is very different being home and staying up 24 hours and being at work for 8-16 hours. I used to begin my shift by having a nice hot cup of coffee every night and it definitely worked for me but I started drinking less to none. Nowadays I have something to eat before my lunch break and on my lunch break i snooze for 30 minutes. Some nights will be much more difficult to stay awake some nights will be easy. On my days off I still sleep at night. During the days I have black curtains that are open once I am awake. Hard shift, most people say night shift is easy however no other shift likes picking up night shifts

..only zombies like myself

The most important thing I've found is to get into a sleep schedule that works for you, and stick with it.

I work 11-7, and generally get home around 715. I eat something small for breakfast, watch a little tv, then get ready for bed. I usually sleep from 8-4. I always sleep with a fan on and an eye mask, and I find this really helps me get uninterrupted sleep during the day.

When I get out of work in the am, and have that night off, I still sleep til 3 or 4, then stay up until 4am and sleep until around noon. I have tried just staying up all day or just taking a nap, but I find I'm too much of a zombie if I do that. Then I try to go to sleep that night and am wide awake by 2 am, so I'm exhausted! This is why I try to stay on the same sleep schedule.

Thanks all! The general consensus seems to be that I should do the 2230 - 0630 shift, then relatively soon after I get home I should hit the hay. I am soooooooooooooooooo hoping it fits well w/me, as I am up till midnight normally, and then have fairly annoying insomnia (I get up 4-5 times in 8-9 hours). I start this Monday night, so time will tell for sure.

i cant say i would know how to prepare for certain times to run in the night, but I do run late when I do voleenteer

Black out curtains, melatonin and a fan for noise canceling are my friends :)