Sleep

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So for the past few years since i have switched to 12s i notice on my days off i have trouble getting out of bed because im so tired but, i usually have to work the next day and i cant sleep at night. Im a unit secretary i should not be this tired honestly. I worked night shift for about a year and it was fine till summer so i switched to day shift. Getting up at 4:30am was torture even only 3 days a week! So i found a new job where i started at 7 so i didnt have to be up until 5:30 and im still stuck in this awful sleep cycle :( I have had blood work its all normal. Im only 24 so i would hope its not perimenopause! anyone else going throihj something similar and any tips to help?!

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.

Are you making an effort to go to bed at the same time and get up at the same time every morning? Are you getting enough sleep?

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no im not i cant fall asleep before 10:30 so the days i work i only get 6-7 hours of sleep and on my days off i wake up at 7:30 on the dot!

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I've been a dayshifter for almost 20 years. I have never liked getting up at 5:30am. I feel like a train hit me the next morning after a 12 hour (if lucky) shift. And I have trouble falling asleep the nights I work the next morning-even with the help of ambien. I cannot turn my mind off. I also cannot stay awake the entire night so I took the lesser of two evils when the 12 hour shift thing seemed to take over every facility in my area.

I also have a 1 hour drive to and from work. I literally have everything ready to go the night before and wake up with just enough time to role out of bed, into my uniform, and out the door (15 minutes). Glad it's not a beauty competition because what you see is, well, what just rolled out of bed at that Godawful hour. Only owls are up at that time.

Your not going through menopause. Your body just likes to wake up when there's sunlight present and is probably wondering why the heck it was working nonstop for 12+ hours instead of the usual 8/9 to 4/5 that many other people are accustom to.

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that makes so much more sense !!!! really on the nights that i work i cant turn off my mind but when i know im off the next day i fall asleep and really dont want to get up ! an hour drive must be awful i only have a half hour ! but i get up early to make sure my dogs are fed and let out before i leave

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

You might read up on the role that light exposure- particularly screens - play in sleep onset. Sleep hygiene is a special area of study and interest for me, and there is a LOT of evidence out there for recommended strategies. The SRS (Sleep Research Society) is one group I follow on FB and they have a vast repository of information and research.

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
You might read up on the role that light exposure- particularly screens - play in sleep onset. Sleep hygiene is a special area of study and interest for me, and there is a LOT of evidence out there for recommended strategies. The SRS (Sleep Research Society) is one group I follow on FB and they have a vast repository of information and research.

That's good advice. And there are special lamps that you can buy that wake you slowly and gently by changing the light in your room.

Also, Ambien to get to sleep on the nights before work may help. And a bedtime ritual that involves a warm bath, herbal tea and some light reading to turn off your brain.

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