anybody work nights?

kaay16

i'm a nurse and i work the night shift and the thought of it....is exhausting. I usually have a good amount of coffee thoughout the nights to get me through, then pop a benadryl when I get home because I can't sleep during the day....how am i going to survive?! haha I have to work tonight and I'm ready to go to bed every night by 9pm....any others out there with a wacky schedule?? how are you doing with it?? Thanks!!

Braidstar6

I am in the same boat... and I haven't figured it out yet. I use to rely on coffee as well. I was doing well for awhile actually. I use to be a pro at day sleeping until these past few shifts. Like right now.. I worked last night and going back in tonight and I'm awake. Hopefully your body will adjust and you will be so exhausted by the time you get home you will start to sleep better during the day. A lot of the nurses on my unit have worked night shift through their entire pregnancies and somehow survived- we can do it! haha.

tripletmom

I work nights as a nurse, now and was working full time when i was pregnant with my triplets, just make sure to sleep as much as you can during the day, and take naps before you go to work.

kaay16

tripletmom:

I work nights as a nurse, now and was working full time when i was pregnant with my triplets, just make sure to sleep as much as you can during the day, and take naps before you go to work.

Wow....god bless you!!! now i feel bad for even complaining

justadogmommy

Me me! I am a night nurse too and am dreading it. i too am addicted to coffee! I will drink 1 cup only and see how i feel. Good luck.

amandaooooo

I am an RRT working 12hour nights too. It has become really painfull during the 3-5am time when I can barely function! The only way I survive is by sleeping as much as I can before I go back. I agree lack of caffene makes the night much more difficult so I now only work every other night so I can catch extra ZZZZZ's.

Jessesgirl43

You read my mind...I was planning to start a thread on this subject today, after struggling through working nights on the weekend. I work as a nurse and up until getting PG I would drink a lot of coffee at the start of the night to help me stay awake and then take melatonin to help me sleep during the day and to help me reset my sleep/wake cycle after nights. Now I can't really do either. Before my first night shift I slept a ton and then did not too badly with staying awake. I slept decently during the day (7 hours), but then I still could barely stay awake on my second night. It was painful... I don't really have any good solutions, except I think I am going to make sleep a priority and go into my shifts as rested as I can, and I am going to hope that I am not so tired in my second trimester. Also, I try to stay well hydrated and I eat small meals every few hours through the night (whereas before if I didn't feel like eating I wouldn't). Anyone else have ideas? Oh, and is benadryl OK to take during pregnancy? If so, that might be good for helping to sleep during the day.