Night shifts are killing me 🥲

[LR97]

I just need some advice please any advice?? I've been a nurse for 2 years I work in children's a&e and work full time rotating shifts. At first the nights did bother me but I've always slept well and managed to get back into a decent sleep pattern pretty quickly!

I usually work 4 nights if I'm doing them, occasionally 3. I'm getting better at sleeping a few hours before my first night and I'm usually pretty good at balancing how much sleep I need after my last night so I can try and get back into a rhythm.

However, for the past few months it's taking me around a week to get back into my normal sleeping pattern. For example I finished nights on Friday morning and the past few nights it's taking me forever to fall asleep and when I do I feel like I'm not in a deep sleep as I'm actively dreaming and I'm waking every hour or so 🥲 right now I'm wide awake and I'm back on a day shift at 07.30am.

Does anybody have any advice please?? I don't know how much longer I can do it, I have a 6 year old and work in a demanding job so I can't afford for my sleep pattern to be taking a week or longer to correct itself! As you can imagine the mood swings can be awful.

Don't know the answer but I guess being on the phone doesn't help. Now your wide awake...
Yep! I can't sleep either and on the phone....
Hopefully you can figure something out sleep is crucial for best performance
Best wishes :)

As a nurse I am sure you know how working nights, especially long term or on a rotating pattern, is associated with shocking health outcomes.i would do your utmost to find something else.

Haha yeah definitely not ideal being on my phone but it just gets to the point where I'm trying to get back to sleep for so long I just get fed up!

My daughter was a nurse (is but now in education role) she didn't have kids then but detested nights.

Assuming the night shift suits your family commitments? Have you heard of Melatonin? They may help you sleep? I bought some in France, not sure if you can get them here, I've just googled and different stuff comes up UK.

You can't do a hugely demanding role like this on little sleep, have a look at some natural remedies (melatonin is natural) first. Look after yourself, you're doing a fantastic job..thank you!!

I used to split my nights up so I only did 2 in a row. They can brutal with kids.

I feel for you, I'm 14yrs along doing exactly the same but giving up soon as my health is shattered from it.
Honestly look into other options to get out of day/night rotation it's so bad for your natural body clock, I work 12hr shifts and never fully recover from the nights 💐

@ilovebreadsauce Yeah I'm looking at going into health visiting but I would need to go back to university so I need to look further into it!

@Breakingpoint1961 yeah I think im going to ring my GP as well to get some advice of them too! It's just awful trying to get back into a normal routine! Thank you so much x

@IsGoodIsDon only recently have they started affecting me baring in mind I've done them for 5 years as I did them when I was a student too! But yeah awful as I'm so tired during the day! Trying my hardest not to nap when I'm off during the day but sometimes it's just so difficult !

@Luckycloverz I couldn't imagine doing 14 years, well done to you x I'm broken after 5 years if I count my student years too! I don't even do as many as other people either, I try and request as little as I can. I don't know whether anxiety is playing a role in it too now as now I'm conditioned to think my sleep is going to be off after them. Only good thing about them is the money! I think I'm going to have a chat with my ward manager today x

Go to the GP and they can sign you off on health grounds, you might have to go through Occy Health too but if genuinely making you ill and effecting your work/life balance it's not worth it! x
Waves from ten years of nights shifts, my kids are six and four so I feel ya! 👋 X

I'm 9 years into nights.

I have blips like this too (hence being awake now ha!) but other factors contribute too. My dp works away, so when he first goes u struggle to get used to sleeping alone again, and when he's home I struggle to get used to sleeping next to him again!

I finished three nights yesterday (level three nicu) and had a busy three nights with a teeny 24 weeker so messed myself up by sleeping longer yesterday,

But normally here's what I do.,

Before my first night I go back to bed when the DC are in school. And get up around 2:30, even if I don't sleep. I'm rested. Between nights I have breakfast and get straight into bed and sleep till 3/4pm

I eat a meal before work, then a small meal around 9pm/2am (if i manage to get breaks) then nothing until breakfast.

After my last night I force myself out of bed at 12:30-1pm and keep myself busy. Then force myself awake until 10/11pm and I usually get back into my routine pretty quickly,

Night are starting to take its toll on me too. But it works better for child care for me. And when I do a rare day shift I can never bloody sleep the night before it anyway and then for a few days after it usually genuinely feel like I've got the flu,

My answer is to hopefully win the lottery and do neither!

@lovinglaughingliving yeah I'm going to book a GP appointment definitely as it's become a lot worse in such a short space of time I'm really struggling at the minute 🙃 x

@burntoutnurse I literally do almost similar to you! I usually don't have breakfast when I get home from a night shift and I'll sleep until at least 4pm usually. So I don't actually detest nights when I'm on rhem! Its just the fact it's taking me a week at the minute to get back into a somewhat normal routine! I got in bed at 10pm last night tried to sleep around 11pm was awake at 1,2,3 and I've been Fully awake since 3! Even in between I could feel myself dreaming each time I didn't even feel fully asleep. Been trying in 20 minute intervals to get back to sleep on and off but after laying there for 20 minutes I get bored x

I have used night nurse to get myself back into my routine when I'm struggling. Though I do have a day of feeling groggy after taking it

And I watch tv to drop off x

@burntoutnurse so hard isn't it. As I don't actually hate nights when I'm on them but don't know much longer I can do it. I've got work in 2.5 hours and I work 13.5 hour day shifts 🙃 and I've had probably at best 3 hours sleep if that, and my alarm will be going off at 6am so I've decided to stay awake!

To all of you nurses on night shifts, firstly I applaud you, secondly I really hope you have great support for yourself and your children

I hope your shift goes ok! I've got two nights off before I'm back for two. I have dropped my hours recently which I think helps! Only to 30. Can you afford to do that?

I'm sure nights are the major contributor, but ow old are you? Is Peri- menopause starting to rear it's ugly head? That's certainly co tribute to me (early 40s) having crackers sleep issues - often wide awake at 3am or 4am.
If so, magnesium glycinate might help.

Hi, I’m a Ward Manager now so no longer do nights but when I was a Staff Nurse I absolutely hated them! I used do everything I could to avoid night shifts and would swap shifts with anyone who was willing and my manager knew to ask me first if we were short staffed in the day and needed to swap shifts around. I don’t think it’s safe practice to be at work when you’re absolutely exhausted and I honestly felt unsafe sometimes by night 3, I don’t know how anyone could do 4 in a row and would never allocate my staff more than 3.

Have you tried discussing it with your line manager? From a managers perspective, if one of my staff came to me and told me what you’ve written here, I’d be happy to discuss their concerns and see what I could do to support them. Perhaps seeing if it would be possible to work a maximum of 2 nights in a row, ensure you have at least 2 days off in between, nights only once a month etc. I have several staff that I have these kind of arrangements with and we make it work. I’d rather do this than have staff who are exhausted, possibly working unsafely and not giving the best care.

If your manager is unsupportive, the beauty of nursing is there is a huge variety of roles you could consider, many of which don’t require you to work nights so I would probably look for a different role!

@Breakingpoint1961 thank you 💕💕and I do luckily xx

@burntoutnurse currently eating my morning weetabix hoping for some energy 🤣 I don't think I could afford to drop my hours just yet but it's a possibility x

@SnowsFalling I'm only 26 so imagine me in 10 years 🤣🤣 i don't think age is on my side if I'm struggling now haha!

@JuniperAndTonic Hi! You sound like a lovely ward manager 💕 my ward managers are really lovely too!

I will definitely be having a discussion with one of them this week! I've spoken to some of my colleagues today as some of them do 34.5 hours and it means only 3 nights in a row which is better than 4! Not sure if it would make a difference but worth a try and then I can go from there 😊 xx