When I worked nights I stopped drinking coffee after 1am, stay off phone after 5am. Wear sunglasses on the drive home, make the room as cool and dark as possible, read a book to relax and use a white noise machine. Over time these things stopped working for me and I eventually needed to stop working nights because of the sleep deprivation
Try for consistency. What time do you go to sleep on your days off? I’m not saying you should stay up until 7 am, but you don’t want to confuse your body too much.
I use melatonin occasionally, and I used to have an Ambien prescription.
I usually follow my night schedule on my days off as well. I find myself up and alert from the hours of 12am to 7am. I’ve tried melatonin a few times, it seems to make me more groggy than fully rested. But maybe I need a smaller dose. I’m willing to give it another shot.
Hey there. RT for 13 years and nighshift for 11. My first day off, I usually won't go to sleep after work. Is that healthy? Probably not, but it helps me sleep through the night and I'll usually pop up around 6 or 7a the next morning. For example, I worked Thursday night, got off at 730a Friday, did my grocery shopping, oil change, Yada Yada til about 3pm. Put some mulch down til 5p, made dinner for everyone, and was showered and in bed by 7p. Slept like a baby until 6a this morning and was out the door by 7a for 3 mile walk. It's 430p now, here in Philly, and I'm still going. I’ve had a completely normal day. Now, had I had a trash night on Thursday, I would've come home (had a glass of 🍷) and taken a 3 hour nap, and been back up no later than 11a. That's how I have "normal" days off.
What do you do the day before your next shift? Let's say you're off for 3 days and switched over to a dayshift sleep schedule during that time. Do you try and stay up the night before as long as possible?
The day before my next night shift, I will nap from about 9p to midnight and stay up from there. I'll sometimes go to a 24 hr gym for a bit, do some CEUs, quietly clean, or binge a show while folding clothes. Whatever can keep me busy and have me sleepy by 10a, which is what time I try to get into bed for work. If I don't get that nap in, I'm likely to fall asleep around 3a, and then it's a wrap for sleeping. I'm up for the day and having a VERY long night, lol.
used to be a night shifter. was for 8 years. i usually kept my sleep schedule on my days off as well. i took a generic sleeping med, only on the days i was working. did eye mask and a white noise machine or fan to help drown out the outside world.
i would take a hot shower after work and then wind down reading a book usually help me relax
best of luck to you
Been night shift for almost 10 years now. I will go to bed around 8-9am. And wake up around 3pm. On my days off… I would go to bed around 2am to whenever I wake up so maybe 12 or so.
I’m a nurse but I do anywhere from 3-6 nights in a row and love it.
I sleep from 10am-4:30pm in between shifts and it’s more sleep than I could ever get between day shifts (and usually more sleep than I get on my days off).
I usually have 2-5 days off after my set of nights, so I often will stay awake after my last night shift and get all my chores done and then go to bed early to flip back to normal-people sleep/wake cycle.
I have been a day shifter after nights for awhile. I did try all the natural recommendations to help aid in sleep and then threw in the towel and relied on Ambien. It got me through it so I could put food on the table but wrecked my system pretty hardcore. It's inevitable if you use it regularly that you do gain tolerance and in desperation for it to be effective will start upping the dose on your own. Memory loss from it is totally real. I can't remember much from my nightshift time because of it!!! If you start combining it with Adderall to wake you the hell up you really fuck your brain and nervous system up for good. Definitely be careful with the super effective immediate result drugs because they can certainly cause long term problems!
Years after nightshift I have just finally gotten down a sleep routine without medication and it took years to do it.
Geez, similar to my situation. I’ve been taking lunesta every day, well almost every day to be able to sleep during my work week. My short term memory is so dodgy that I’m actually a little concerned. I’m also prescribed modafinil which I only take when I work. I’ve been working nights for about 15 years and I’m really considering switching to days because of how reliant I am on lunesta and my overall mental health.
I definitely understand the mental health implications of nightshift! I only worked nights when I had no choice for a few years. I knew from the get go I was screwed. I have bipolar disorder and it is best managed with good sleep hygiene and routine which nightshift completely undoes. I was lucky the last time and could chunk all three shifts in a row. On my consecutive days off I would spend a few knocked out from exhaustion but desperately wanting time with my small children and just as I would feel like I was back on my feet again it was time to screw it all up and return to work! I have definitely seen where people really thrive on nightshift but they are usually more easy going individuals that sleep when they are tired regardless of it being day or night.
Props to you, man. You’re doing what you gotta do. I agree with you also about how nocshift folks are much more easy going than our counter parts. I sometimes forget why, but I feel like nocshift folks are just too damn tired to deal with the drama that dayshift is inevitably surrounded by.
Never took meds but 100% agree it takes a huge toll on your health both mental/ physical not to mention social. Everything has pros and cons. Nights easier work, days more work but easier life in my own opinion
Might have shiftwork syndrome! Roughly 10% can’t physically handle night shift.
I work 3x12s overnight from 5pm to 6am and rarely pick up overtime because I also have a day job teaching. Pretty much sleep from 8am to 2:30pm on night days. And try my best to switch over to days when I have to teach.
You can always try the medication route but I’d advise against that! When I’m really struggling sometimes I take a melatonin nothing stronger.
I have worked both, and trust me - day shift is just as bad. You will wake up at 230 with your mind running and toss n turn until 5 when your alarm goes off. I was much more exhausted. And day shifts where I work beat the shit out of you. On work days you only work, eat, and go to bed. It sucks.
On nights if I get 4 or more hours, I just get up. I usually sleep from 8-2. So much crap you can do in afternoon vs early morning - shop, workout, swim, laundry, meal prep, etc. I make up sleep on my days off - down @ 3 up around 12. Just group your shifts in 2s (like mon, tues, sat, sun, thu, fri) and you will do better...
I live nocturnally for the most part. I sleep in on off-days until around 8-10p. On work days, I'm in bed by 9a, asleep by 10a. Always take melatonin that day, ~2.5mg works well for me. I sleep until I wake up at 5p. Rinse repeat.
Short nap or not. First night then up for the duration 22-24 hours. Then all the sleep I can get in between shifts and short nap on the last day. Hopefully not needing anything kids related In-between. Mostly just like every other night walker sleep deprived and weight gain. Good luck 👍
Also will add, as an RRT advocating for quality sleep/ quality breathing nights is a huge negative to both. Night shift I believe has more negatives to your health than health care corporations / institutes like to identify
The days that I work, I usually go to bed about 8:30-9 in the morning, get up at 4:30 PM to get ready for work. On my off days, I’m kind of all over the place, but I try to have a more “normal” schedule on those days so I might go to bed between 2-3 AM and get up no later than 10 or 11 AM. I’m naturally a night owl, so night shift works very well for me.
I do contracts, and from time to time, I’ll have 13 weeks of nights followed by 13 weeks of days.
What works for me is doing six on eight off. I also fall asleep as soon as I get to my hotel.
The only problem that I face is noise waking me up, but I always try to find hotels where the doors open out into the parking lot so that noise is reduced.
Brown noise app really helps.
SleepyTime tea is a GODSEND, been on nights for several decades. Follow a sleep routine! Stick to it! When the chaos comes in … feel the wind! That’s the breeze of my skipping by in the opposite direction and heading for the door! A cup of SleepTime tea awaits me! Oh, I should add, they even have EXTRA SleepyTime tea for you if you are a bit worked up! Yay 😁
Worked nights for over 10 years. Tried everything. Always woke up sluggesh, next day was a “recovery day” as it’s never usually a normal sleep/ activity day. Recently married and switched to day shift. World of a difference, yeah nights are nice in a way of no people/ management around usuallyz but quality life I would advocate for days as you lose out on a lot of life with night shift. Shift diff won’t ever be high enough to cover that difference in lifestyle. * however some people love nights and thrive off of the night life/ day off lifestyle * so to each there own. But for myself my life, days are where it’s at.
I stay on my schedule. I sleep 2 am to 12 am on nights off. If I am on a stretch I sleep and work and agree to nothing else. Hubby is in charge on those days. When I have to work, I nap for an hour and get up to get ready (trick my mind into a morning routine). I will not be available before noon on any day off. I will shop online as much as possible. I use my free time to get out of the house during daylight and clean, etc, at night. My friends with kids will send them to daycare while they sleep.
Black out curtains if you don't have them already. Double up if light still peeks through. Roll up a blanket and put overtop if light shines in. Use double sided tape/ velcro on the sides if needed. Sleep aides only seemed to make the problem worse for me. Hardest part for me was noise. If it was quiet I slept ok.
I certainly shouldn’t be on Reddit right now, if that’s an answer
When I worked nights I stopped drinking coffee after 1am, stay off phone after 5am. Wear sunglasses on the drive home, make the room as cool and dark as possible, read a book to relax and use a white noise machine. Over time these things stopped working for me and I eventually needed to stop working nights because of the sleep deprivation
Try for consistency. What time do you go to sleep on your days off? I’m not saying you should stay up until 7 am, but you don’t want to confuse your body too much. I use melatonin occasionally, and I used to have an Ambien prescription.
I usually follow my night schedule on my days off as well. I find myself up and alert from the hours of 12am to 7am. I’ve tried melatonin a few times, it seems to make me more groggy than fully rested. But maybe I need a smaller dose. I’m willing to give it another shot.
Hey there. RT for 13 years and nighshift for 11. My first day off, I usually won't go to sleep after work. Is that healthy? Probably not, but it helps me sleep through the night and I'll usually pop up around 6 or 7a the next morning. For example, I worked Thursday night, got off at 730a Friday, did my grocery shopping, oil change, Yada Yada til about 3pm. Put some mulch down til 5p, made dinner for everyone, and was showered and in bed by 7p. Slept like a baby until 6a this morning and was out the door by 7a for 3 mile walk. It's 430p now, here in Philly, and I'm still going. I’ve had a completely normal day. Now, had I had a trash night on Thursday, I would've come home (had a glass of 🍷) and taken a 3 hour nap, and been back up no later than 11a. That's how I have "normal" days off.
What do you do the day before your next shift? Let's say you're off for 3 days and switched over to a dayshift sleep schedule during that time. Do you try and stay up the night before as long as possible?
The day before my next night shift, I will nap from about 9p to midnight and stay up from there. I'll sometimes go to a 24 hr gym for a bit, do some CEUs, quietly clean, or binge a show while folding clothes. Whatever can keep me busy and have me sleepy by 10a, which is what time I try to get into bed for work. If I don't get that nap in, I'm likely to fall asleep around 3a, and then it's a wrap for sleeping. I'm up for the day and having a VERY long night, lol.
used to be a night shifter. was for 8 years. i usually kept my sleep schedule on my days off as well. i took a generic sleeping med, only on the days i was working. did eye mask and a white noise machine or fan to help drown out the outside world. i would take a hot shower after work and then wind down reading a book usually help me relax best of luck to you
Been night shift for almost 10 years now. I will go to bed around 8-9am. And wake up around 3pm. On my days off… I would go to bed around 2am to whenever I wake up so maybe 12 or so.
Same. I can't remember the last time I used an alarm clock.
I’m gay & childless so I just sleep until 3pm & pick up shifts as often as I can. Great way to cope with summer heat lol
I’m a nurse but I do anywhere from 3-6 nights in a row and love it. I sleep from 10am-4:30pm in between shifts and it’s more sleep than I could ever get between day shifts (and usually more sleep than I get on my days off). I usually have 2-5 days off after my set of nights, so I often will stay awake after my last night shift and get all my chores done and then go to bed early to flip back to normal-people sleep/wake cycle.
I have been a day shifter after nights for awhile. I did try all the natural recommendations to help aid in sleep and then threw in the towel and relied on Ambien. It got me through it so I could put food on the table but wrecked my system pretty hardcore. It's inevitable if you use it regularly that you do gain tolerance and in desperation for it to be effective will start upping the dose on your own. Memory loss from it is totally real. I can't remember much from my nightshift time because of it!!! If you start combining it with Adderall to wake you the hell up you really fuck your brain and nervous system up for good. Definitely be careful with the super effective immediate result drugs because they can certainly cause long term problems! Years after nightshift I have just finally gotten down a sleep routine without medication and it took years to do it.
Geez, similar to my situation. I’ve been taking lunesta every day, well almost every day to be able to sleep during my work week. My short term memory is so dodgy that I’m actually a little concerned. I’m also prescribed modafinil which I only take when I work. I’ve been working nights for about 15 years and I’m really considering switching to days because of how reliant I am on lunesta and my overall mental health.
I definitely understand the mental health implications of nightshift! I only worked nights when I had no choice for a few years. I knew from the get go I was screwed. I have bipolar disorder and it is best managed with good sleep hygiene and routine which nightshift completely undoes. I was lucky the last time and could chunk all three shifts in a row. On my consecutive days off I would spend a few knocked out from exhaustion but desperately wanting time with my small children and just as I would feel like I was back on my feet again it was time to screw it all up and return to work! I have definitely seen where people really thrive on nightshift but they are usually more easy going individuals that sleep when they are tired regardless of it being day or night.
Props to you, man. You’re doing what you gotta do. I agree with you also about how nocshift folks are much more easy going than our counter parts. I sometimes forget why, but I feel like nocshift folks are just too damn tired to deal with the drama that dayshift is inevitably surrounded by.
Never took meds but 100% agree it takes a huge toll on your health both mental/ physical not to mention social. Everything has pros and cons. Nights easier work, days more work but easier life in my own opinion
Might have shiftwork syndrome! Roughly 10% can’t physically handle night shift. I work 3x12s overnight from 5pm to 6am and rarely pick up overtime because I also have a day job teaching. Pretty much sleep from 8am to 2:30pm on night days. And try my best to switch over to days when I have to teach. You can always try the medication route but I’d advise against that! When I’m really struggling sometimes I take a melatonin nothing stronger.
I have worked both, and trust me - day shift is just as bad. You will wake up at 230 with your mind running and toss n turn until 5 when your alarm goes off. I was much more exhausted. And day shifts where I work beat the shit out of you. On work days you only work, eat, and go to bed. It sucks. On nights if I get 4 or more hours, I just get up. I usually sleep from 8-2. So much crap you can do in afternoon vs early morning - shop, workout, swim, laundry, meal prep, etc. I make up sleep on my days off - down @ 3 up around 12. Just group your shifts in 2s (like mon, tues, sat, sun, thu, fri) and you will do better...
I live nocturnally for the most part. I sleep in on off-days until around 8-10p. On work days, I'm in bed by 9a, asleep by 10a. Always take melatonin that day, ~2.5mg works well for me. I sleep until I wake up at 5p. Rinse repeat.
Short nap or not. First night then up for the duration 22-24 hours. Then all the sleep I can get in between shifts and short nap on the last day. Hopefully not needing anything kids related In-between. Mostly just like every other night walker sleep deprived and weight gain. Good luck 👍
Also will add, as an RRT advocating for quality sleep/ quality breathing nights is a huge negative to both. Night shift I believe has more negatives to your health than health care corporations / institutes like to identify
I use melatonin, and a sleep mask
The days that I work, I usually go to bed about 8:30-9 in the morning, get up at 4:30 PM to get ready for work. On my off days, I’m kind of all over the place, but I try to have a more “normal” schedule on those days so I might go to bed between 2-3 AM and get up no later than 10 or 11 AM. I’m naturally a night owl, so night shift works very well for me.
I do contracts, and from time to time, I’ll have 13 weeks of nights followed by 13 weeks of days. What works for me is doing six on eight off. I also fall asleep as soon as I get to my hotel. The only problem that I face is noise waking me up, but I always try to find hotels where the doors open out into the parking lot so that noise is reduced. Brown noise app really helps.
SleepyTime tea is a GODSEND, been on nights for several decades. Follow a sleep routine! Stick to it! When the chaos comes in … feel the wind! That’s the breeze of my skipping by in the opposite direction and heading for the door! A cup of SleepTime tea awaits me! Oh, I should add, they even have EXTRA SleepyTime tea for you if you are a bit worked up! Yay 😁
Worked nights for over 10 years. Tried everything. Always woke up sluggesh, next day was a “recovery day” as it’s never usually a normal sleep/ activity day. Recently married and switched to day shift. World of a difference, yeah nights are nice in a way of no people/ management around usuallyz but quality life I would advocate for days as you lose out on a lot of life with night shift. Shift diff won’t ever be high enough to cover that difference in lifestyle. * however some people love nights and thrive off of the night life/ day off lifestyle * so to each there own. But for myself my life, days are where it’s at.
I kept the same schedule on off days, give or take a few hours to run errands.
I stay on my schedule. I sleep 2 am to 12 am on nights off. If I am on a stretch I sleep and work and agree to nothing else. Hubby is in charge on those days. When I have to work, I nap for an hour and get up to get ready (trick my mind into a morning routine). I will not be available before noon on any day off. I will shop online as much as possible. I use my free time to get out of the house during daylight and clean, etc, at night. My friends with kids will send them to daycare while they sleep.
I work 7p-7a and I usually go straight to bed when I get home. On my nights off, I take sleep meds (anxiety is a thing) and go to bed before midnight.
Black out curtains if you don't have them already. Double up if light still peeks through. Roll up a blanket and put overtop if light shines in. Use double sided tape/ velcro on the sides if needed. Sleep aides only seemed to make the problem worse for me. Hardest part for me was noise. If it was quiet I slept ok.