Sleep/work schedule for working 12 hour nights

Nurses New Nurse Nursing Q/A

Specializes in General adult inpatient psychiatry.

Hi guys! I just started working as a new grad, working 12 hour nights (7P-7:30A). My preceptor tends to work one day on, one or two days off, and then back in for a day because she's got a baby @ home and may or may not sleep during the day after work. This is throwing me off because I'm not used to working nights and while I sleep during the day after a shift, it's still instinctual for me to crawl back into bed between 12 and 2 AM.

Any advice on how to get through this for now? For you guys who regularly work 12 hour nights, do you clump your shifts together or stagger them like my preceptor does? I thought I'd want to clump my shifts together but I've heard that it can be exhausting.

12 Answers

Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

I worked nights for 12 years:

1. Clumped them together always.

2. On first night, I would take a 3-4 hour "nap" during the afternoon.

3 Next day (after working first night shift) I would go to bed by 9am and sleep at least till 3-4pm.

4. Last morning of the night shift clump: I would try to "hang" and not go to sleep till noon and then sleep only 3-4 hours.

5. Then, I would be back to regular sleeping at night for the four days off.

Specializes in Surgery, Tele, OB, Peds,ED-True Float RN.

Clump! I worked this staggering shift thing and it's twice as bad. You feel like you never get a break and can't really go anywhere because you don't really have enough shifts off. That's just my experience but clumping 3 together made my life much more enjoyable!

Clump....I'm working nights. 3-4 days on, 2-3 days off in between. Try not going to sleep right away when you get home...I target 11-noon as bedtime. Darkness in the bedroom is an absolute must. Diet is important as well. Try not to eat high carb meals at night. No soda. Don't drink too much coffee late in the shift...Experiment a bit and when you find something that works...stick to it the best you can.

Non-work day are important too. Same food rules apply...watch the carbs when up at night!

That's almost how I did it also...except that I would generally go to bed as soon as I got home and sleep 8a-4p. On my last night, I'd sleep from 8a-12 or 1p, then go to bed at 10ish for the night.

3 in a row was really hard for me (although 3 nights in a row was much easier than 3 day shifts in a row). By the last shift my feet hurt, my legs hurt, and I was cranky regardless of how much I had slept.

I'm now in the situation that your preceptor is in. I have a baby, and only work 1 shift at a time. It's killer, but I only work 24hrs/wk, and it beats putting my baby in daycare!

My schedule is exactly like TraumaRN EXCEPT I do not take a nap the afternoon preceeding my 1st night. I find that I'm able to stay awake during that particular afternoon and stay awake all night (assuming I stay busy, which usually happens). I then go home and crash and fall into a deep sleep. Then the afternoon following my last shift I will sleep for about 5 hours. If I sleep any less I find that I'm groggy all day and I'm miserable fighting the urge to sleep.

P.S. Be very careful driving home after your shifts. I fell asleep at the wheel a while back and crashed into the opposing curb. My friend at work just recently fell asleep at the wheel while driving home as well and veered off the highway and hit a concrete barrier head-on. The humming of the engine and the "up and down" motion of the car on the road is like rocking a baby to sleep... it's dangerous.

My preceptor during clinicals was a night nurse. I never slept before my night shift and had no trouble staying awake. I slept the following days from 9-3 or 4. The last day, I slept during the day and again at night so that I could be back on a regular schedule. This was while taking 21 hours of nursing school. I didn't have any trouble. And I vote for clumping! It is much easier than switching back and forth! :)

Specializes in Telemetry, CCU.

I'll just add that everyone is different and it may take awhile to play around and see what works for you. Not to discourage you here, but I think it took me a good 6 months to a year to reaaaaaalllly know myself and what I'm capable of doing sleep/wake-wise. The hardest part in my experience is when you have appointments on your days off and you're trying to figure out if you should go late afternoon so you can catch some zzzz's or go as early as possible and just take a nap later if you have to.

For me, almost every week I have a different schedule. Sometimes I only have 1-2 days off in a row, other times I have 6-8 days off in a row, it just depends on the needs of the unit, since I'm still low on the senority pole, lol. I just try to take it in stride. Lucky for me, I don't have kids and my hubby is just as messy as me, so days off can be for bumming around the house. Heck today, I slept until 7pm, but oh well! I try to make the best of it! Good luck!

Specializes in NICU Level III.

I've been on nights for 2 years.. before the first night I go to bed around 5-7 am...sleep till 5 pm. After that, I am usually in bed 8 or 830a and wake up at 5p...I need a LOT of sleep to function and I'm still tired.

Specializes in Emergency, Trauma, Critical Care.

I'm pretty useless in this thread. Even if I have 5 or 6 days in a row off, I always sleep 9 am to 4 pm. I was always a night owl though, and since I don't have kids, just a husband, it doesn't really matter. I prefer clumping my days, but can't always pull it off.

Specializes in General adult inpatient psychiatry.
Clump....I'm working nights. 3-4 days on, 2-3 days off in between. Try not going to sleep right away when you get home...I target 11-noon as bedtime. Darkness in the bedroom is an absolute must. Diet is important as well. Try not to eat high carb meals at night. No soda. Don't drink too much coffee late in the shift...Experiment a bit and when you find something that works...stick to it the best you can.

Non-work day are important too. Same food rules apply...watch the carbs when up at night!

I've been discovering that getting some things done before I sleep after a night at work helps me wind down and I definitely agree with the food rules. I have no trouble getting to sleep after a shift, but I find it awkward when I have a day off and go to sleep at a "regular time" and then have work the next day...transitioning between "work" days and "off" days.

Specializes in General adult inpatient psychiatry.
I worked nights for 12 years:

1. Clumped them together always.

2. On first night, I would take a 3-4 hour "nap" during the afternoon.

3 Next day (after working first night shift) I would go to bed by 9am and sleep at least till 3-4pm.

4. Last morning of the night shift clump: I would try to "hang" and not go to sleep till noon and then sleep only 3-4 hours.

5. Then, I would be back to regular sleeping at night for the four days off.

Thanks! That's really sound advice and just what I was looking for!

Specializes in General adult inpatient psychiatry.
My preceptor during clinicals was a night nurse. I never slept before my night shift and had no trouble staying awake. I slept the following days from 9-3 or 4. The last day, I slept during the day and again at night so that I could be back on a regular schedule. This was while taking 21 hours of nursing school. I didn't have any trouble. And I vote for clumping! It is much easier than switching back and forth! :)

I feel a little less crazy for sleeping during the day and then at night on my first day off. :) Thanks!

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