Sleeping for an occasional night shift

[goingback]

Help! I have to do a per diem night shift (haven't done nights since nursing school). Not really sure how to get myself to sleep during afternoon evening. Do I try to take like a melatonin at 3 in the afternoon and put on eye shades and use ear plugs? Do I try something like ativan to relax to sleep? I am just scared about not being well rested.

[chrisrn24]

Occasional nights? I either sleep less the night before so I am tired and I take a nap that afternoon that is approx. 2-3 hours. Or sleep in late (like noon) the night before.

[kool-aide, RN]

Wake up early in the am so you'll need an afternoon nap. Try Benadryl.

[shermrn]

Only take something to help you sleep if it is something you already take on a nightly basis, otherwise it might have some lingering effects during the time you need to be awake. One person mentioned benadryl, consider that on some people it has the opposite effect. To help you stay awake for your shift, only ingest caffeine before or during the first half of your shift, drink plenty of ice water throughout the night, stay away from sugar which will just make you more tired in the long run, dont dress too warm try to stay on the cool side, do some light cardio before your shift starts.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

I rotated for years and when starting on nights, I typically just woke up like normal the day of and was awake for about 24 hours before finally going to sleep the next morning. Doesn't work for everyone but that's how I did it for five years.

[Sun0408, ASN, RN]

I rotated for years and when starting on nights, I typically just woke up like normal the day of and was awake for about 24 hours before finally going to sleep the next morning. Doesn't work for everyone but that's how I did it for five years.

I still do this, I can't nap before work no matter how hard I try. So I go to bed the night before kinda late, wake around 10am, work my 7p to 7a shift then home and in bed til 3...

Some wake early and nap before work. You will have to find what works best for you but I would avoid taking something for just a nap.. I did try to stay up all night the night before and sleep the day of but that didn't work for me either..

[Jory, MSN, APRN, CNM]

I take a children's benadryl to help me sleep...it's just enough to where you don't feel groggy.