staying awake on night-shift

Ruby Vee, BSN · Aug 23, 2005

it is nice to know i am not the only one with this problem. i've had a horrific past couple weeks with sleep probs. i think it would be better working the 7p-7a - i work 10p-6a 5 nights a week. when i sleep on my nights off i am screwed for the rest of the week. i just found out i am pregnant, so i am cutting out the caffeine, which makes it worse. a couple days ago, i was so tired i just about gave a pt. a bp med instead of synthroid. i guess god was watching over me(and the pt.) on that one and i caught it. i knew i shouldn't have taken this job, but now i need it for the benefits. i will sleep for a couple hours when i get home, and then wake up and i will lay there for hours trying to go back to sleep. what a waste. would appreciate support, suggestions
tracy

what works for me is to take 25-50 mg. of benadryl as soon as i get home from work. that usually holds me for 3-4 hours. when i wake up to go to the bathroom, i take more benadryl. if i can't go back to sleep right away, i read until my mind starts to fuzz, then go to sleep thinking about the book (rather than about work, or my to do list, etc.)

ruby

Gompers, BSN, RN · Aug 23, 2005

I've been doing nights for 14 years now and I love the shift, but I too get sleepy around 4 am. I will get up and walk around or bathe my patient or chat. I also drink coffee but try to avoid that after 4 am. I usually do worse if I work 3 in a row so I don't do that often. Ithink the sleep debt builds up since I only get about 5 1/2 to 6 hours of sleep a day. I have recently started having problems staying asleep after 11 am. I tried the OTC sleep stuff but since most of it contains Benedryl it doesn't work for me. Antihistamines make me restless instead of drowsy. Now I take Ambien. Usually 2.5mg works fine to keep me asleep. The worse part was when I would get sleepy driving home. Now that I work within 30 minutes from home it is better but there were many times when I worked an hour from home that I had to pull over. Very scary.
How does everyone feel about taking naps at work? I think if it is your break that the hospital is not paying you for then if you go to the lounge for 30 minutes for a nap if needed it should be okay. My only problem with this is the many staff members I work with who will do this for longer than their break time or who take their 45 minute dinner and their 45 minute nap. Anyway the hospital policy is no sleeping period. At one hospital where I worked if the supervisor caught you sleeping they could make you go to the ER for a drug test and to determine if you are fit for duty. They usually only did this for chronic offenders. I have heard of employees who were fired for sleeping at the desk.

Well, it probably wouldn't work for those who have families and like to spend time with them in the evening....but what I do is I stay up until 11am after working nights, then sleep until about 5pm, and start work at 7pm. This way, I've not been up for hours when I go to work, so I rarely get sleepy there. I'm also nice and awake for the ride home, since I don't start to get sleepy until about 10am. I run errands on the way home from work, get all kinds of stuff done before I go to bed.

As far as sleeping - many of my coworkers do it but I can't. I can't force myself to take a nap, and unless it's a 2-3 hour nap it just makes me more tired. But the way we do it on night shift - instead of taking our 30-minute lunch and 2 15-minute coffee breaks, we combine them all into a full 1-hour break. So a bunch of people go lay down somewhere for 45-50 minutes, then duck into the break room to eat something really quick before the hour is up. So really, as long as they're back on the unit in time for the next group to go for their break, there isn't a problem with the napping.

Now, napping at the bedside is of course a no-no.

nurseiam · Aug 25, 2005

In my unit we take all our breaks together. For 12 hours we take 30 min @ 11p then 1 hour @ 2 or 3a. Some people will run to the lounge and sleep for 50 minutes. I was always too afaid I would oversleep and drool on myself. Instead we go have a great luch that is ALWAYS fun.!

:blushkiss

kitty29 · Aug 25, 2005

I'm working now...this is my 3rd 12 hour shift and I will work tomorrow night also.

For me it works best to group my shifts up to 4 in a row---this allows me up to 7 days off in a row. I find I adjust better and sleep better on the whole.

Try to stick to a healthier diet. I try to stay away from caffiene unless I'm really bad. I have been taking v-8, apple & fruit20 to work and try to eat a balanced meal when I get up.

I do take melitonine 1 tablet---unless I don't work the next day. Than I go to sleep and wake-up naturally...ussually about noon. That way I can sleep that first night off ussually and transition better.

On my break I sometimes nap, or at least put my feet up. When I'm in a health mood I go for a long walk and that really boosts your energy.

SteveNNP, MSN, NP · Aug 25, 2005

I know a lot of this has already been said, but here's my input. I currently work 7p-7a in a level III NICU. I usually either have 2 intensives or 2-3 intermediates/CCares with 1st Admit. I stay pretty busy. I do get really sleepy while sitting in a rocker feeding my babies. I find that by grouping my nights in 3s and 4s I can adapt relatively easily by getting up early the morning before my first night, sleeping for 4-5 hours in the afternoon, then going to work. After my last night, I sleep until 12-1pm, then stay up as long as I can (9-10pm) before sleeping through the night. Sometimes Tylenol PM works to help me relax and get rid of the aches. While working, I drink caffeine and keep busy by restocking, etc. I try to avoid too much caffeine, since I'll end up running to the bathroom all night. Drinking cold stuff helps too. Around 2-4am we usually gather around the middle of the unit, where we all get the giggles and amuse ourselves. One rather large coworker of mine grabs an IV pole and "pole dances" down the side of our open unit, while we all practically die laughing. Otherwise we just swap stories or tell jokes to stay awake. So that's what I do! [a word to the wise.... don't eat all night like everyone else....you'll be glad you didn't!]

kitty29 · Aug 26, 2005

I know a lot of this has already been said, but here's my input. I currently work 7p-7a in a level III NICU. I usually either have 2 intensives or 2-3 intermediates/CCares with 1st Admit. I stay pretty busy. I do get really sleepy while sitting in a rocker feeding my babies. I find that by grouping my nights in 3s and 4s I can adapt relatively easily by getting up early the morning before my first night, sleeping for 4-5 hours in the afternoon, then going to work. After my last night, I sleep until 12-1pm, then stay up as long as I can (9-10pm) before sleeping through the night. Sometimes Tylenol PM works to help me relax and get rid of the aches. While working, I drink caffeine and keep busy by restocking, etc. I try to avoid too much caffeine, since I'll end up running to the bathroom all night. Drinking cold stuff helps too. Around 2-4am we usually gather around the middle of the unit, where we all get the giggles and amuse ourselves. One rather large coworker of mine grabs an IV pole and "pole dances" down the side of our open unit, while we all practically die laughing. Otherwise we just swap stories or tell jokes to stay awake. So that's what I do! [a word to the wise.... don't eat all night like everyone else....you'll be glad you didn't!]

Sometimes the nightshift is so much fun isn't it!?

Gompers, BSN, RN · Aug 26, 2005

Sometimes the nightshift is so much fun isn't it!?

YES!!!

Since the unit is pretty clear of admninistration and parents...things are so much more fun and relaxed on the night shift!!! It's not like we're doing anything "bad" - it's just that we can be silly if we want to be without judgement.

JVanRN · Aug 26, 2005

I love night shift in NICU where I work. At first I thought I would hate it but I'm not sure I even want to work days now. Ever. And I was the most anti-night shift person you could meet.

kitty29 · Sep 9, 2005

What's the longest stretch you have worked---I've just completed 6 12-hour night shifts! The OT will be nice on the next check!!! But I'm alittle loopy tonight!!!

lady_jezebel · Sep 9, 2005

Stay busy & refrain from eating too many carbs.

Deidre Shiobhan · Sep 9, 2005

Hi there...
I work nights (7p-7a) and sometimes I have the hardest time staying awake. I guess my biggest problem is getting enough sleep before hand... But my question to you all is: What do you do at night (when you have the spare time) to keep from getting too tired!!!
TIA

Get good quality sleep in the day, chit chatting with each other if we do have spare time. Try to get occupied, strong coffee will help. :rolleyes:

Kalico · Sep 11, 2005

It helps to have your bedroom windows covered with dark curtains so that your room will be dark. If there is any light creeping into the room chances are you won't get much sleep no matter how hard you try. I always found the I could sleep as long as I needed to if the room was dark.