Any tips for working nights?

i hate nights ,just cant function properly , the only ones i liked doing was when i was cad waterjetting it was 3 nights a week 6pm untill finish but that was usually 3am so could get a normal sleep.
regular healthy snacking helped me when i was doing continentals at mars ,fruit nuts ect and coffee of course and micro naps on breaks but i was still like a zombie
 
As a fellow doc finishing night number 4 this morning I can recommend:

Blackout blinds and earplugs
Drink loads of water
Watch the caffeine at the end of a shift, you need to time it so you're awake for the drive home but not so wired you can't sleep (half life is about 3hrs iirc)
I use melatonin and it's made nights hugely more tolerable
Try and nap in the afternoon before the first night
Pace yourself as best you can through the night
Take food for the nurses if you're based in one area - I can't stress how much easier your life is if the nurses are on your side
Stay up if you can the day you finish nights, you'll adjust back so much quicker

What job and grade will you be doing?

I've worked a full shift pattern rota for nearly ten years and I still love nights, less so since having a child because sleeping is harder, but still my favourite shift.
 
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[FnG]magnolia;29301184 said:
Don't you have colleagues you can talk to this about? It's very alarming that you have no idea what you're doing.
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Med School teaches nothing about actually surviving life as a junior doctor and as a student you're not really that involved with the foundation doctors as they're too busy doing grunt work to teach/advise.
 
I've been doing nights for 6.5 years - combination of 7 straight, 3/4 in a row and finally 24 hrs shifts the last 18 months. Honestly the first night shift was always rubbish, I found he best way was just to make sure you did very little and don't treat it as free time to go gym/study...etc Otherwise from then on you are so tired it's not a problem.
 
An afternoon nap before starting the first night will help
Eat small meals but more often and plenty of fluids, personally I would not drink coffee but I try to avoid caffeine anyways
Try to keep busy, I don't mean work your socks off but once you relax or get bored the tiredness will creep in, even on breaks
Straight to bed as soon as you're home, no food or drink
Get up at a reasonable time - ensure you get enough rest , I get to sleep around 7am and my alarm is set for 1:30pm , you'll soon figure out what suits you best though
On your last night shift think about the following weeks pattern and either stay up that morning and have an early night or get a few hours sleep first then try and sleep later that evening (this is what works best for me)

My nights usually consist of 5 or 6 x12hr stints , were all different though so you'll find your own methods and patterns to suit you
 
Nights never get easier.

My plan for nights -
Don't try to adjust before your shifts by staying up late. Get a good night sleep and don't set an alarm on the first day. Boozing is a bad idea - starting nights hungover is the worst! Get up at your leisure and go to the gym and do some life admin tasks that you wouldn't get to do normally in the week. I don't usually find it helpful to nap before the shift. A proper dinner and relax before works just as well. Bring food in with you and make sure you eat it and stay well hydrated. Get to bed straight away after you get home.

Once the shifts start I always make sure I don't have any big plans or extra curricular work planned. Rotating between nights and days is hard enough.

The last day either stay up or sleep for a couple of hours to adjust back faster. Do something fun post nights.

Good luck!
 
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I've also been doing nights for the last 13/14 months now, and i tried everything to make sure i could adjust accordingly, i've tried sleeping as soon as i get home so around 8:30am and also later in the afternoon what worked best for me was this.

Wake up around 19:30-20:15
Eat, dress, shower etc etc
Leave for work about 22:15
Finish shift around 7:30-8:00
Gym straight after work, home around 10:00
Kill another hour or so whether its doing odd bits around the house or catching up on GoT (or whatever you're into)
Into bed at Midday

I've been using this routine for about 4 months now and it seems to work quite well in my favour im very alert whilst awake and i still sleep deep enough to make sure im well rested

Diet is very important, due to a gym routine my diet is quite clean but i have the odd craving for sugar in a middle of a shift, so a small chocolate bar or like hard candy wouldn't go amiss. I try to stay away from caffeine but sometimes during the end of the working week i might have a Zero Calorie Redbull for whatever its worth, i dont drink fizzy drinks at all like not even a sip. Water is key here, stay well hydrated, not to the point you're peeing every half hour, but i carry one of them 1.5 Litre bottles of water around with me and gradually work my way through it during the night.

I prepare my meals on my days off so i don't have the hassle of cooking during the week, I get unofficially about 2 hours worth of a break whether its 20 minutes here/there or I sit down for a 45 minute lunch, but I eat well, and snack on fruits.

Sleeping aids, ear plugs, blackout blinds and maybe a eye mask, and nice cool bedroom and you'll sleep fine.

This works really well for me, but as its a permanent thing i think its easier to get settle in, i couldnt go back to shift swapping between days and nights again i did that for 2 years and that was painfull, hopefully this maybe of some help to you.
 
As a medic sadly still doing nights I would reiterate the importance of pacing yourself. Key to a good night shift is prioritising. You'll be bleeped so often for the smallest and most stupid jobs but don't rush around like a headless chicken. Make best use of nurses. Make sure that by the time you arrive to review a patient for example they've completed their obs assessment, got an ECG, sent bloods, got prescription charts ready etc etc. Don't be afraid to call the reg. Too often I still see juniors trying to do too much. Sleep before your first night and stay awake after your last. 3 nights will go pretty quickly to be honest and isn't that bad. Make sure you get a break, even just 15 or 20 mins with some food will feel amazing. Don't get collared into doing the post take ward round if you don't have too, hand over jobs and go home.

Are you working as an FY1?
 
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Off to start night number 5 tonight, busy as always on NICU. Wife is bad tempered because I haven't done enough round the house in the 8 hours I have between shifts and commuting. Managed about 4 hours sleep, not had a proper meal for a week, probably be Drive-Thru on the way to work.

Loving the night shift life :D

I remember FY1 nights - felt so busy, wouldn't do 3/4 of the rubbish they wanted if I did it now I'm a bit more seasoned/cynical.
 
TL;DR

Working nights isn't a problem. You will get used to it.

Rotating shifts ARE a problem Do not do it!

........

I would think that you would get used to it (and fairly quickly too) provided you were doing it all the time.

It is rotating shifts that are the killer, nobody ever gets used to that!

Do not do that! Pick your shift and insist on sticking to it. ;)
 
in on this thread, started a new career as a steel worker and start nights soon also dont want to hijack the thread but the worst part for me is its 12 hr shifts and can be one day nights the next days and alternate no set routine.. RIP Sleep pattern, wish you all the best with this though Dr House and please report back your findings lol.
 
Dr House said:
I will have 3 nights in a row, the day off the next day and back onto days agin after that.
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So you finish at (for example) 8am Tuesday, have Tuesday off then have to be back at work at 8am Wed? That's nuts.

I did nights for 5yrs. It's flippin' awful and I'm glad to see the back of it.

Contrary to what some are saying, I wouldn't try to stay up on the night before your first shift. Your body will get confused and find it hard to go to sleep at 3-4am. I just went to bed normal time, didn't set an alarm and slept for as long as physically possible. At the beginning of a week I could usually manage a good 12-13hrs :p I also kept my meals at the same time. I would have dinner at 8pm with my girlfriend, then go to work at 10pm. I'd have a sandwich or salad in the night when I got hungry (3-5am ish) and then try to get home and in bed before hunger arised again. Occasionally had a bit of toast before bed. I'd be in bed before 9am so up at 2-4pm. I'd have a light breakfast and then dinner again with the girlfriend at 8pm ish. Seemed to work for me. By going to bed as soon as you get in you can have a bit of an afternoon before work. I used to just go out and mooch round the park and get some sunshine. You don't want to do that before bed at 10am!
 
I did

week 1: 6am-6pm
week 2: 6pm-6am
week 3: 6am-6pm
week 4: 6pm-6am

I was lucky as I am a heavy sleeper. eat well and plenty of water and sleep as much as you can after your shift if you are like me you won't have a problem as I can sleep happily for 10-11 hours So finished work went home slept all the way through to the next shift. yes I had no social life at all for that month outside of work but the shifts did not effect me apart from eating a lot more.

i live in a quiet area and have full black out curtains and blind so my room is pitch black when closed, if your room lets light in you will struggle sleeping in my eyes! can be worth putting cardboard up looks horrid yes but it will help you sleep.

my tips are:
1. Prep your room for maximum sleep
2. get some good lunches/break food in
3. take snacks I found a bag of healthy nuts to be awesome can be constantly nibbling away stops you feeling hungry
4. drink loads of water!
 
Minstadave said:
Just survived my 5 nights, now can't sleep.

Think I've slept 4 hrs since Saturday.
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Welcome to the rest of your life :p Seriously though, after doing 5yrs of nights -- now I'm working 9-6pm days if I sleep through the night without waking then I'm over the moon. I'm very firmly in the camp of it's unnatural and has severe consequences on a person. Not to be a doom-monger or anything!

kaptainmarc said:
I did

week 1: 6am-6pm
week 2: 6pm-6am
week 3: 6am-6pm
week 4: 6pm-6am
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That's pretty hideous. When I did my shifts I was swapping with one other person. We agreed rather than swapping every week we'd swap every 3 weeks so you could get into the routine a bit. By week 2-3 on either shift you could almost be classed as a normal functioning human being :p
 
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