First night shift tonight! ugh

[LoveHim08]

Hey everyone!

I was trying to sleep with my new blackout curtains in my room before I start my nightshift, but I can't sleep anymore...

I am working my FIRST nightshift ever and I'm really nervous! I am a nurse and I don't know how this 7pm to 7am thing is going to go.

Has anyone else had to work at night and if so... do you have any tips?

[Nekochanpurr]

No tips here.. But good luck! :)

[4424]

my advice is that you will quickly be able to sleep during the day once you are tired enough! don't worry about today, by tomorrow u will be fast asleep :)

gluck

[bichonlvr]

Have fun at work tonight!!! You will be to busy to worry about sleeping then you will crash when you get home!!!

[KMS]

FH's sister is a nurse and she loves working the night shifts. She says that it's much easier than the day shifts because she does her usual checks and a few extra things here and there, but it's pretty quiet in general. You will get used to working night shifts. It will just take a little time.

[hummingbird521]

i am a retired respiratory therapist and worked night shifts many, many times. personally i hated it. i couldn't ever get my body used to the shift. i figure however you are younger than i was though and this will make it easier for you. just reverse the process. do as you would working days. another words i imagine you sleep normally till about 2 hours before going to work, do that now. stay up (if you can) when you get in from work and do the same schedule you do now, clean, laundry, chill out time, and then go to bed for the day till time to get up for work. it will be hard getting used to it, but you can do it. as someone else said "you're going to be so tired you will get sleep". lol

[TangoWedding]

FH works the night shift - 2am to 11am. He seems to like it, actually. You'll get used to the hours and the sleep pattern. And good call on the blackout curtains - we couldn't live without ours!!

Good luck! :grinhappy:

[sunrise2112]

I used to work the night shift...10p-6a...to get used to the schedule I would stay up as late as I could the night before, then sleep as long as I could the next day. I used to go to work and go to sleep once I got home. Some people stay up after they get home, go to sleep later then wake up right before they have to go in, but I never liked that. It'll rough the first few days until your body adjusts.

[hummingbird521]

oh heck let's not lie. it sucks. lol.

[LoveHim08]

Thanks everyne for the words of encouragement! Honestly, it was much better than days! Not as many people, just a couple doctors and pts families were mainly sleeping or gone.

I am glad I am on nights!

[TangoWedding]

Yay! Glad you enjoyed it! :D

[bichonlvr]

GLad you enjoyed it!!!

[ikkin510]

I worked 6pm-6am for a while. I hated working nights. My DH works a mix of days and nights and he doesn't mind it. Thankfully you have a job that you can do a lot of walking around when you get tired. I didn't have that luxury...LOL.
One thing I found to be helpful when I had a hard time falling asleep was Tylonal Simply Sleep. You can get it at Walmart or any drug store. It's not addictive and I found just that little bit helped me to fall asleep on those few days that I just couldn't do it on my own. Hope this helps!