Due on nightshift tonight not slept since 7am yesterday

[Nightshiftworkerhelp]

I can’t sleep! I was on nightshift last night and due in again tonight. Woke up at 7am yesterday morning but just can’t seem to relax, wasn’t able to sleep before shit again yesterday and now feel horrendous.

It’s a new temporary role and I want to make a good impression so keen not to phone in but I think I’ll need to.

I drove home this morning and nearly caused an accident (a minor one). I’m still a relatively new driver so my skills aren’t the best even when I’m at my best.

It’s a patient facing role so I’m worried about my ability to do drug calculations etc.

But I’m so worried about phoning in because I don’t want them to think I’m flaky and rubbish. I’ve been trying to sleep since 8am!

I’ve also got the added stress that I have a 17 month old who caused my DH nothing but stress and cried for a solid 4 hours last night and barely slept because I wasn’t home (I was particularly well rested to start with!). I’m so worried about him when I’m away at night .

Financially I need this job to work but it’s been a bad start but I’m worried if I go in I’ll mess up/not be safe and worried if I don’t go in they’ll think I’m unreliable and I’ll mess up ratios.

I’m not entirely sure what I wanted out of this post! Thanks for reading though. Last night was my first night and I’m worried it looks like I just don’t want to work. I do!

There's lots of excuses here, sleep, child, bad driving. It does sounds like you don't want to work

Lol WTF?

Oh no 😢 You must be shattered. Could you put a fan on for white noise (and you wouldn’t be able to hear your DD downstairs) and try again? Could you lock yourself in the bedroom and get blackout blinds when on nights? Hugs x

I guess you are a nurse. I wouldn’t go in tbh. It’s really dangerous driving with no sleep, I knew a nurse that crashed on a dual carriageway after a night shift. However you either need to find away to remedy the problem ( how did you manage as a student nurse on nights? )Or go to the doctor and get a note saying you can’t do nights or start looking for nursing jobs that don’t do nights.

I think if you ring in sick because you're too tired, you'll likely be told that you don't have a job anymore.

Rest as much as you can, get a lift (or a taxi) into work and drink coffee.

I used to hate working nights. When I was a junior dr, I found that wearing sunglasses on the way home used to help. Having something to eat and drink and a warm shower before heading to bed. It takes time to get used to and to find what works for you, getting meal timings all sorted etc.

I always had to eat before bed on night shifts. Carby cereal like muesli or porridge is good.

Go for regular walks around tonight and caffeinate yourself long enough to stay awake and drive home in the morning, then eat, bath & bed. Most people don't sleep anything like as long during the day, but a few short hours of decent sleep can get you through.

Thanks for all you advice, some of which I’ll definitely use in the future! I did nights as a student but always managed at least a good few hours in between.

Unfortunately didn’t sleep but I did go in. Something I won’t do again as I don’t feel that I gave as good patient care as I would’ve done if I’d had a good few hours.

I do think the people who were pushing me to go in and saying I’d loose my job if I didn’t may need to think about there advice. I saw two bad drug errors last night (one which I caught) which I’m certain were due to lack of sleep (people on their 4th night with only a few hours sleep in between and looked exhausted).

I am unsure if nights are for me, although stuck for a few months. Partly due to the culture of go in even if you’ve had no sleep in 48 hours and look after people who are very ill even though you can perform to your best. In my experience, it’s a rare person who can do this or those who’ve been doing it for years.

Ah I’m late to this but you poor thing.
Definitely need to consider your health if you’re struggling to adapt to night shifts - and yes sadly mistakes happen when people are tired.

Maybe stick it out for a few months if you have to but then look for something with day shifts.