Things I do to Make Night Shift More Manageable
For those of you who don’t know, I’m a registered nurse (RN), working in a high-risk labor and delivery unit. I started my career as a RN in October of 2022, so I’m still a little baby nurse. The past few months have been full of learning, stress, and growth!
One of the biggest challenges I’ve had to overcome is working from 7pm-730am (night shift), 3 nights a week. And if I’m being honest, this is something I’m still learning how to manage.
As someone who gets tired when the sun goes down and loves the morning time, night shift was a HUGE adjustment for me. As much as I wish it were the case, I was not one of those people who adjusted seamlessly to working in the middle of the night.
Here are some things I’ve done over the past 2 months to help make the adjustment to night shift easier. *All of these tips can be applied if you work day shift too!
I started giving myself grace.
When I first started working night shift, I felt guilty for sleeping in on my days off and sleeping too late after my last shift. I was so exhausted all the time and was so hard on myself for needing to sleep more because I felt like I was sleeping away my days off. I had such a bad mindset and was constantly getting angry at myself. I’ve learned that giving myself grace about the situation works so much better. Night shift is hard. After 3 nights of staying up all night, I’m exhausted. I know the next few days off I’m going to need more sleep and that’s okay! I don’t feel bad sleeping for an extra hour or 2 because I know my body needs it. I know I’ll be much more pleasant to be around and be able to actually fully enjoy my days off if I’m more rested! So please give yourself grace and be kinder to yourself!
I break the shift up into 3 ‘legs’.
This is something my dad taught me. A 12 hours shift is much less daunting when you think of it as 3, 4 hour shifts. 4 hours is a breeze!
I spend my days off outside & in the sunshine (if possible).
After working 3 nights, and sleeping 3 days, it can feel like you’re never outside or seeing the sun. For me, this can get a little depressing, so spending my off days outside is essential. I love feeling the sunshine on my skin and connecting with nature. Some of my favorite outdoor things to do include swimming in the ocean, walking to the park near my house, coloring at the park, and reading by the pool.
I spend my days off not thinking about work.
As a new nurse it can be hard not to bring the stress of the job home with you. I was definitely guilty of this. I’d replay the day over and over in my head wondering if there was something different I could’ve done or something I forgot to do. It would be hard for me to fall asleep because I was worrying so much and even got to the point where I would spend my days off thinking about work and not be able to enjoy my time off. I knew this had to change! I do the best I can for my patients and ask for help when I’m unsure, and at the end of the day, that is all I can do. I show up, give it my all, and go home. I don’t need to bring that home with me. So I stopped. I made it a point not to worry about work when I wasn’t there and instead began filling my days off doing things I love with people I love.
I changed my mindset.
It’s easy to get caught up in the ‘I hate night shift, I’m constantly tired, my stomach always hurts, my sleep schedule is ruined’ mindset. Believe me, those thoughts do cross my mind. However, switching my mindset has made a huge difference. Instead of complaining about it (because let’s be honest the waitlist for day shift is YEARS at my hospital so what does complaining actually do besides put negative thoughts in my head) I look at the positive aspects. Some things I tell myself during my shift are:
I love helping mamas bring babies into the world.
I only have to work 3 nights a week.
This job provides me with abundance to do the things I love.
I have the flexibility to work whenever I want.
Night shift is only temporary.
I’ve worked so hard to get here!
When I have a negative thought slip into my mind, I try to replace it with a positive one. This is all a learning process. Some days are better than others, but I take it one day at a time and try my best to see the bright side of night shift!
While these tips obviously won’t magically give you a day shift position, I hope they give you some motivation to get through the night. Remember why you became a nurse and use that drive to keep going. I would love to hear any tips or tricks you have to get you through the night.