First night shift tips?

[TOWGA]

I have my first night shift on Friday night, does anyone have any tips? Thank you

Don’t do it.

@DustyLee123 If I didn't have to do it, it would be ideal but I do because of the job I have got.

Stay up late the night before and have a lie in. Or get up early then have a nap in the afternoon before work.

My preference when I was childless was to stay up late then lie in on the morning the nightshift starts. But now I have a child I can't do either 😩

Do not stay up late the night before, it won't necessarily make it easier to sleep in the day and could just mean you're even more tired.

Stop drinking tea/coffee by around 3am, or you'll mess up your sleep the next day.

If it's a sat down job, go for a walk every hour or two, it helps.

Plan a proper meal break, I have hot food about 3.30am.

If you feel like death, tell your colleagues. We've all been there so they'll know how hard it is to start. Most won't mind trying to give you an easier night if your struggling.

Drink a lot of water

Have a nap before before if you are able. Eat before you go.

Take food but expect to get to 3am and want to eat junk. By 4am you’ll have lost the will to live.

At 6am you’ll be doing the it’s almost home time dance delirious.

Good luck!

Make sure you’re well rested beforehand.

Drink lots of water and healthy food.
Do not drink red bull or other energy drinks.

I always used to flag about 5am and found brushing my teeth woke me up. Strange but it always worked.

I am a midwife. I work 12 hours night shifts all the time. I still remember being scared before my first night shift. It wasn't as bad as i expected. This is what I do. Stick to my usual routine the day before. Either go for 1 hour swim or 2 hours walk around lunchtime. Have lunch Lie down around 2 pm. Most of the time I fall asleep for about 1 hour. Spend the whole afternoon in bed- I will be up on my feet all night so I don't feel guilty about it. I have coffee around 6 pm before heading to work. I prefer busy shifts, somehow it feels less tiring. I have some relaxation hypnotherapy recording on my phone so I always doze off on my 1 hour break. Then I drink tea with 2 teabags for extra caffeine. I try to stay away from junk food. I find the day after the night shift the hardest. I usually can't go to bed at my usualtime. I will try to go for a swim or walk or have a bath (depending on how tired I am). Then I will read a book till around 10-11 pm. Sometimes I have a small glass of wine. This works for me

Thanks all!

I have been a HCA for 3 weeks and this is first night! So 12.5 hours, I have children of my own so I'm trying to work out the best way, I think a nap in the afternoon will be what I do!

Just power through the first night you will be awake 20 odd hours but you will defiantly sleep when you get home.
nap if you can before your next night shift.
I always start to feel really bad about 4am so usually go for a walk around the office to wake me up a bit

Try to get afternoon nap if you can, take lots of food - I used to eat a lot of nuts and raisins. Try to have a meal time but don't have too much time off work or you'll flag.

It's normal to feel like death around 3-4.

Caffeine is good but don't overdo it or you'll feel shaky.

Depending on how long you're on nights for and how your life is you'll need to decide whether to go straight to bed after or stay up till late morning.

Good luck

I would say get as much childcare for the afternoon before work as you can afford and don't feel guilty. You will be on your feet when everyone will be snug in bed. I would also say find a couple of minutes to speak to your children to wish them good night aroundtheirbedtime. It was years before my own children told me they used to worry I went away for good (I suppose because no one else they knew had such a bizarre work pattern). Wards tend to be quieter on night shifts. For example we still admit women in labour but we don't do elective Caesarean sections at night. So there is less work for HCAs. Honestly you will be fine

I did 11 years of nights and am interviewing for a night job later this week. I would go to bed 5 hrs before, sleep, get up an hour before, go in, work, come home, go to bed for three hours.