Keeping the quality of patient care at top of mind, there are steps you can take to make the transition to night shift as easy as possible. Adjusting your sleep and fueling your body with healthy foods and drinks will work the best to support your night shift schedule.
As much as it may feel like you’re the only one awake, you’re not alone on the night shift. It is best to have a schedule and stick to it. Drinking water, eating healthy, and taking cool showers are some ways that help others wake up at unconventional hours. They also avoid caffeine until later in the day, if at all, nap for a couple of hours after their shift, and then opt for a bedtime that accounts for sleep needs. While you may need five hours, others may need the recommended 7-9 hours. It takes listening to your body to make the adjustment when you’re working the night shift, but it’s also rewarding.
Night Shift vs. Day Shift
Our bodies aren’t made to be awake during the night but there are jobs, like travel nursing, which may require this. Our circadian rhythms affect how we feel and function. Our bodies are designed to be on a 24-hour schedule. For many, this is a sunlight or farmer schedule. We wake at dawn (ish) and sleep at sundown (ish) but for night shift workers, you’ve got to switch this schedule. Not having a schedule, whether a sunlight or sundown schedule, can impact hormones, eating habits, digestion, and body temperature.
When thinking about night shift vs. day shift, we recommend slight changes, so it isn’t a shock to your system. Go to bed an hour earlier each day leading up to the schedule change. Within a week, you will be ready to wake in the night and go to work. Keeping a consistent sleep schedule will help you adjust to your new schedule. Instead of going to bed at 10 PM, flip the clock and head to bed at 10 AM so you get your needed 7-9 hours of rest.
To create a healthy sleep environment, find what works for you. Taking a warm bath and having a hot cup of tea, wearing a sleep mask, listening to soothing music, and black out curtains can all be helpful ways to relax at bedtime. Turn off the ringer and notifications on your phone so sleep is uninterrupted. Make appointments according to your night shift schedule. Even on days off, keep this sleep schedule so your body can adjust.
This might all sound challenging, and to an extent, it is, especially if your family is keeping a daytime schedule, but there are also benefits to working the night shift.
Benefits of Working the Night Shift
Our travel nurses tell us that working the night shift is a love-hate relationship. As you might imagine, being on a non-traditional schedule can mean less time for socializing but it also has benefits. They report fewer interruptions from management, fewer meetings, and more mentoring and team bonding. They’re better able to care for patients because they have focused time for care.
- Bonding among coworkers. Nights can feel long. Get to know your coworkers. You may mentor someone or find a mentor for yourself because it is a slower pace. You may also have time to talk to fellow healthcare workers in other professions which is beneficial for professional growth.
- Healthy living. Despite being on this schedule, there is an opportunity for developing healthy habits. Taking a 10-minute walk can make you more alert. Packing meals and snacks is often needed because the cafeteria is closed. Drinking water will keep you hydrated and awake, not to mention the health benefits.
- Less traffic and crowds. Since you will be asleep when others are awake, when you do wake up to drive, run errands, and schedule appointments, it will be less busy in public.
- Fewer procedures or changes to patient care. For you, that means less documentation, changes in medications, meal plans, etc.
If there is time to rest, take advantage of it as you may not have time later. This will also help you fight fatigue. Be careful about how much caffeine you drink as, over the course of a night shift, the rollercoaster of the caffeine crash can impact how you’re feeling. It can also affect your sleep schedule when you’re done working. Instead, opt for water, electrolytes, and protein-filled snacks.
At the end of your shift, have a plan to communicate to your relief nurse during a hand-off. Be sure to effectively report instructions and patient status to the nurse that is relieving you in the morning.
As always, utilize your recruiter for questions about working the night shift and stay in touch with loved ones. While you may have to adjust when you socialize or make appointments, there are benefits like bonding with coworkers and extra time to run errands that may be enticing to you. Research and prepare ahead of time so you’re ready for your first shift!
