Hi All. I was wondering if anyone had any tips or words of encouragement for getting used to working the night shift. This is my first nursing job and in addition to the intense learning curve, I feel like I'm really struggling to both stay awake and alert during my shift and struggling to get enough rest when I'm off. I find on the days I'm not working I go back a regular sleep schedule. Just want to find out how others deal with this. Thanks.
Jessie, RN
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June 11th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
I did several months on the nightshift after I gradudated from nursing school and hated it! I would come home eat breakfast and go to bed for a few hours and wake-up mid-afternoon and go back to sleep for a few hours before I went in. Did it work – well I got enough sleep and was alert at night but I really did not like it at all. I wish I had a good tip for you……I guess I do look for a new job! Good luck to you.
June 12th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
I’m a relatively new grad (Dec ’08), and I’ve been on the night shift since March. I love it! I really thought I would hate it because I’m not a night person whatsoever.
When you get home, what is your environment like? I have to have a darkened room when I go to sleep, so I got myself blackout blinds (from IKEA, yeah!), which worked like magic. When I get home from night shift and I have to work in the evening, I try to crash from 9-5 which usually works out. So find out what sleeping arrangements work for you.
Also when I was first starting on night shift, I made the mistake of “prepping” the night before- staying up late and then trying to sleep the whole day. Wrong- I found that sleeping regularly then taking a couple hour nap beforehand worked wonders. It’s normal to resume a regular sleep schedule after working night shift- who doesn’t? No one wants to be sleeping during the day permanently. It’s just really about time management.
As for staying awake during the shift, I just try to keep busy. I also drink a lot of water (…and caffeine in the form of diet pepsi because I don’t drink coffee) and try to have a balanced diet. I also use 5 hour energy shots if I really need the extra boost (which isn’t very often, so use them at your own digression).
I hope that helps! Keep it up, it gets better 🙂
June 12th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
Thanks for your guys’ input. I’m going to be working the night shift soon too, so any advice is much appreciated. Anybody else have other strategies?
June 14th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
Hey yall I could use yall’s advice too! I just graduated and started a NICU internship last week. I start on Thursday on the unit and I’m working nights for the first 8 weeks. I’ve never worked nights, nor am I a night person AT ALL. I’m very nervous about being able to stay up all night, being alert to my patients, and getting enough sleep inbetween and on my days off and getting my sleep schedule all mixed up (i go up to 5 days off at a time).
PLEASE any advice?
June 18th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
I have worked the night shift for 15 years. My mantra is drugs and plugs, LOL. I use Benadryl to ensure that I can stay asleep and ear plugs to cut out neighborhood noise (and blackout shades are great too!). I keep a regular sleep schedule on nights I am not working. When I am ready to start my stretch of nights, I go to bed the night before at my regular time. I get up and get some things done in the morning. By 11, I take one Benadryl. By noon, I am sleepy and can sleep until I get up at 5. This resets my body clock. I can go into work and do a 12 hr shift without problem. When I get home, I eat breakfast and pop 2 Benadryl tabs. This ensures I stay asleep all day. Obviously, if I am not working that night, I don’t use Benadryl, but just sleep until I am ready to get up. This may not work for everyone, but over the years I have found this is what works best for me.
June 19th, 2009 at 2:24 am
I LOOOOOVE night shift! But I think I was born a “night owl”. However, for the first 5 years I didn’t have kids. But I still remained to love my nights even after my lovely noise makers came along (I just changed to PRN and weekends). Black out shades in room are a must for me and white noise is a must for me. I keep it very cool. I run my ceiling fan AND turn on a little round HONEYWELL fan I got at Wal-Mart for less than 20 bucks and it is the most noisy fan I’ve ever heard…..great for blocking out LOUD husbands, screaming kids and lawn-mowers. Ear plugs are good if you like things in your ears….I don’t. ALSO, the Benedryl trick is tried and true. I have allergies as well, so I don’t feel guilty. 🙂 A glass of red wine on occasion, is great too!!
When I was young I kept the night schedule even on my off days. Now as a MOM, I do as the others have said. I keep a normal schedule and nap before work the night I start back. I find that I can ALWAYS take a NAP!! Then in the mornings, I wind down, cook/eat a light breakfast, drink a glass of vino, pop 2 benedryls, shower and turn on the fan and SNOOZE!!! Usually 9-5pm. I think when you work nights you need a little extra sleep then if you work days. So 8 hours beauty rest is a must after a shift or on a second or third night.
At work make sure to keep carbs low. Bring tuna, chicken salad, small sandwich or veggies and ranch and fruit, stuff like that. If you eat a big meal or take out from olive garden and you’ve been having trouble staying awake, you might just find yourself lying your head on the keyboard while the house super walks by!! Drink a few cups of joe or tea but only till ~3-4am (I like getting a route 44 rasberry unsweetend iced tea from SONIC before work and it lasts almost all night). Once 4am hits you should be fine….take a walk around the unit and get a cup of water and chart.
Enjoy the night shift. No execs, no middle management, few scarf nurses and usually minimal DOC’s. I think NIGHT NURSES are the closest, coolest and most friendly NURSES of all. LOL I’m not biased or anything…. 🙂
June 19th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
I worked the night shift for several years. All I can say is when you get home stay up for a few hours then head to bed. I mean if you work nights you don’t have much choice but to sleep in the daytime. I would get up about 4 and be there by 7pm. There is always the option of going to a clinic to work days or another daytime position… Good Luck!!!
June 19th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
I have been working night shift for 1-1/2 years now. I like it and sleep as well as I did working days. Six to seven hours is normal for me whatever shift I work. Heavy curtains to block out light or the blinders you can wear over your eyes while sleeping, earplugs when family are at home during the day on weekends, and benedryl OR a glass of wine OR one beer before bed always helps. A warm shower or bath before bed (whichever you prefer) relaxes as well. Also, no more coffee after the 4 a.m. cup at work.
Also, continuing my same routine (staying up all night and sleeping during the day) is very helpful even on my days off. This also works for my friend who has school-age children. She gets up each afternoon at 3:30 p.m. when her children get off the school bus, helps with homework, fixes supper, tucks them in and then at 6:45 a.m. the next morning (yes she was up all night), she gets them up fixes breakfast, takes them to school rather than making them ride the bus, comes home, goes to bed and is up again when they get off the bus at 3:30 p.m. She sleeps 7-8 hours each day and she says she sees her children more now than she did when she worked her 8-5 day job 🙂
June 19th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
My suggestions are the following:
A. stay awake the night before to get use to it.
B. I hope it is 8 hours and not 12 hours shifts for five days. Five days of 12 hour shifts would be unsafe for a new graduate or anyone who never did night shift.
C. I stopped night shift after six pots of black coffee and fell asleep at the wheel of my car & landed in the field. I just slept for four days and I had no ideal how I ended up in the hospital. I asked “now May I be place on the day shift, please?” Therefore, if you cannot handle nights asked to be place on day shift.
D. Find out what works best for you and how you can handle it.
OMG bendryl gives me the hangover effect, yuck.