Tips to switch from nights to days??

pinkiepie_RN · May 31, 2012

I have been working night shift for about 3 months now. I have a routine that usually works pretty well for me to switch from my days off to working nights, but I am struggling to switch back to normal human hours for my days off! Any tips? I wouldn't mind night shift so much if I didn't spend the first three days off struggling to enjoy my life outside of work. I am a big believer that work is supposed to support life, not the other way around, so enjoying my stretch off is important to me.
Any ideas or patterns others use to make the switch would be great! I work 3 on 1 off (I stay up all night that night off), then 3 on 7 off. I just find I wake up at 3 am the first night I'm off and am exhausted the next three days, which I hate.

I found that working 2 on 3 off consistently worked for me, no matter what shift I worked. I'd allow my first day off to compensate for sleep lost working whatever shift I was on. HTH!

eatmysoxRN, ASN, RN · May 31, 2012

I started nights recently and have found I'm not getting nearly as much sleep. I usually schedule everything on days off for after 2 pm. I only sleep 4-6 hrs a day on nights I work. On days off, I go to sleep at 2 am and sleep until noon. I always wake up at noon.

Working days, I'd sleep 12-13 hours on my first day off. I'm liking nights. :)

allnurses Guide · May 31, 2012

I love night shift but my body hates it. I too am around the three month mark. What has worked for me for the last two weeks (and may not work for me come next week because nothing seems to stick for long!) has been working three nights in a row, same nights every week. Once the final shift of those three is over, I come home and stay up "late" - until around 11 or 11:30. I then sleep until 3, get up, have a normal evening with my family and go to bed around 11 PM. I will wake around 4-5 AM quite naturally and get into a day swing. I'll nap if I need to, usually not more than a couple of hours. Then I start staying up later at night as I get closer to going back to work and sleep the entire day before my first shift back on through the use of Melatonin and Benadryl.

I should have a day shift in the next 8-10 weeks. Hope I survive. I have gained 15 lbs since starting nights.