Trouble with night shift since time change

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in med-surg.

I've been an RN for about two years now doing 12-hour shifts on a surgical floor. I started out rotating between days and nights but switched to just nights in March (the rotating was too disorienting for me). I had been doing fine on nights until the time change last month. Since then, I'm only getting 4-5 hours of sleep, even on my days off. I wake up and can't fall back to sleep. I'm exhausted all the time, cranky, no motivation to do anything. Anybody else experience this?

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Specializes in ER, ICU.

I did for a few days. Try taking melatonin at bedtime in the morning. This might be enough to trick your body. DON'T take it more than once or twice a week. If you take it too often your body will stop making it, and on the scale of zero to bad, that would be bad.

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A 2008 Swedish study, Janszky I think, showed a link between daylight savings and MI. Be careful with your health please. Adjusting your circadian rhythm is extremely difficult, as you know, and the added stress on your body CAN do harm. You don't want to fool around; see your doc who may want to do a sleep study and some pharm therapy.

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We are about to start 12hr shifts alongside 8hr shifts on our orthopaedic/trauma ward. With 30-32 beds our staffing level is 6 nurses on each AM and PM shift, and 4 on a night shift. There are 10 out of 30 nurses who want to trial 12hr shifts. How well does it work, and does anyone have any example templates to look at or suggest? Most of us work 32hr weeks, and others work 16, 24, or 40 hr weeks, according to their contracts.

The motivating factor is the old work/life balance and compressed working week to minimise/eliminate split days off and allow more time for family and leisure (life!).

We are worried about shift transitions and getting enough sleep too. Would love to hear the pros and cons of a 12hr/8hr combination roster.

Cheers from New Zealand

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Specializes in PP, Pediatrics, Home Health.

I have had this problem too!I work full time nights, and then do a casual job 2 times a week!It is so tiring and many times I am not getting enough sleep!

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Specializes in ER, ICU.

Also, be sure to get up by 4pm and get outside and soak up whatever sunshine there is until sunset. I made a point of this and it made the transition easier. If you stay in until the sun sets, you are getting almost no sunshine at all.

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Specializes in med-surg.

Melatonin doesn't do a thing for me, unfortunately. My husband works rotating shifts and has a Rx for both Ambien and Lunesta (no, not for the same time!) I've tried his Ambien a few times but I feel like I have vertigo if I get up in the middle of the night. I tried his Lunesta last night and it seemed to work really well. I just don't want to get stuck on anything. I try to get sunshine on my days off, although it's frigid cold here already making it hard to be outdoors. But if I do my 3 shifts in a row there is no time to get outside - I have an hour+ one-way commute so I end up being gone for at least 15 hours at a time - that leaves me with just enough time to feed our dogs and myself and sleep for 7 hours if I can stay asleep. It's the days off that I'm having the most trouble sleeping, especially if I need to be up early for something. Thanks for your responses.

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