How to Survive Night Shift
How to survive night shift:
OOF if you are reading this it means the worst, you are working the daunting ~night shift~. Okay honestly hear me out… it’s not that bad! Night shift is often worked by new nurses or the old timers who somehow have adapted to that life style and couldn’t imagine it any other way (these will be your saviors lol). Night shift has various pros and cons and I am here to give you a inside look on how to work night shift while also maintaining a somewhat healthy routine and altering your sense of normal to adapt to nights.
I personally have worked night shift for almost a year now and although I am not one of the nurses that will remain on nights for the duration of her career I am thankful to have worked nights for a few reasons. Nights has allowed me time to fully research my patients diagnosis and treatments plans in a more comprehensive manner. I have learned so much on night shift and felt a lot more at ease knowing I could actually understand why I was giving certain meds and drawing specific labs. The critical thinking skills are truly developed in new nurses when allowed time to connect the dots. Overall, night shift has been good for my career… now my life and health is a different story. I have had to actively put in effort and test different routines to create a lifestyle that works for me. I have already tried it all and made the mistakes so let me save you from making them too. Here is my tell all on how to survive night shift.
Work 3 shifts in a ROW (if you can). Your circadian rhythm will thank you. And you’ll love having 4 days off in a row every week. It’s truly life changing.
Sleep hacks: take 3 mg of melatonin on the days you work and need to get sleep for your shift. Do NOT take anything for sleep the other 4 days off. This is crucial. Your body will build a tolerance to the melatonin if you take it daily.
Blackout curtains, good ones. Mine were 50$ from amazon. Black out curtains- Amazon
Communicate with whoever you live with. You need 8 hours just as much as them even if your bedtime is at 9 AM.
Do your full bedtime routine after work to go to bed. I’m talking skincare, hot shower etc. Your body needs to really feel like it’s bed time.
1-2 cups of caffeine max per day. I know the memes say we run off caffeine (which is partly true) but your health matters. Drink a cup of coffee before work and then a energy drink if you need to from like 1-3 AM (I love Alani Nu).
Eating. Okay this has been my hardest feat. It’s so difficult to maintain a healthy nutritious meal plan while on nights. For me I can never get hungry or eat close to enough as my body still doesn’t register that I need to eat at 2 AM. I usually will eat 1 meal before work and then around 12-2 AM I will eat a sandwich, popcorn, a granola bar, fruit etc. Something light that’s easy to get down. This is different from everyone but really be conscious and try to meal prep something. I personally can not eat when l get off before I go to bed but if you do eat something light.
Water consumption. Drink 1-2 L of water a day / night. For some reason body temperature regulation and hydration is super unpredictable at night and sometimes I leave feeling so depleted. Drink up!
Do SOMETHING before work. Do not just roll out of bed at 6 PM and rush to work. Have a routine. For me I wake up around 4:30, go for a short walk, stretch, listen to music, read a little bit, scroll through my email and socials and eat a proper “breakfast”. This will force your body to realize it’s time to wake up and start your day.
At work… make a “schedule” and try to stick to it. Example: |7-10 meds, assessments, temps, blood sugars |11-12 chart |12-2 labs, meds | 2-2:30 break | 3:30-5 baths, replace labs | 5-7 end of shift leftover tasks. Obviously this is not going to happen every night as patients are unpredictable and emergencies arise but it’s helpful to have some sort of structure.
The night before your 1st shift out of 3 try to stay up until 2/3 AM and sleep in until 12 PM the next day of your shift.
OR if you do not like that sleep routine above go to bed at a normal time, wake up around 8 AM and then take a 3 hour nap before work!
Depending on the person but I personally after my 3rd shift stay awake all day and go to bed early that night (7/8 PM) to ensure I switch back to a day sleeping schedule
Exercise 3/4x a week and go for walks daily.
ENJOY YOUR DAYS OFF. Truly I mean that first day off yes sleep chill watch Netflix etc. but really try to find joy in your days off and plan and do things that fulfill you! Get drinks with friends, call your family and friends, have a hobby.
Make friends with co-workers, night shift is a family and due to the lesser amount of resources on night you’ll need some team members in your corner, (and someone to vent to).
If you have downtime at work get things done! Do not scroll through socials. Answer an email you’ve been putting off, study for an upcoming cert, pay your bills or make your grocery list. The key to night shift is staying stimulated so you don’t crash. Some people also take walks! I personally get anxious wandering around and walking but its totally a personal choice.
Realize and accept that your daily routine is going to be the opposite of the rest of the worlds. This means you will need to plan for important phone calls you need to make, schedule appointments accordingly etc. I suggest a good planner. I use a digital planner on my ipad and color code everything.
Have fun with it. You’ll be making a larger amount of money than on days. Treat yourself a bit. Budget to ensure your bills and loans and investments are secured away but don’t forget to travel, visit your parents, take your partner on a nice date (or yourself!) and treat yourself and the people you care about kindly. Nursing is a truly tough career to be in right now, be kind.
Understand that you’ll feel drained. Mentally and physically night shift is not comfortable for most. The body is not accustomed to functioning at these hours. Allow for ample self care, alone time and sleep. I have a entire self care routine I do on my first day off to set me up for success the rest of my week I will share at some point on here or my Instagram.
Find a hobby, passion or something outside of nursing. Nursing is exhausting and you are more than a nurse, you are human and deserve to fill your own cup before others.
Okay this is all I can really think of at the moment. I know it’s a lot and overwhelming but these are all simply tips that I found helped ME. Try them out and be flexible the first month or so. It will take your body and mind about a month to fully adjust to this new lifestyle. Night shift is not for everyone and if you find after a few months of trying you simply can not function the same discuss it with management. I have friends who have switched to days after a few months because it was better for them and although you may receive push back initially management will want you to be on your best mental and physical baseline to care for these patients and do not forget to remind them of that.
I hope this helped a bit and good luck!
