Nightshift

Re: Nightshift

annaschu — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 01:38:44 GMT

I've been on a 7 on 7 off, 12 hours per shift for a year now and love it! Agree with all Samantha has to say, key is regular fuel intake and sleeping during the day - i'm lucky there I can fall asleep with no difficulty whatsoever. Usually exhausted the morning after my first shift back after a weeks break but then I sleep well that day and easily fall back into the correct pattern. After my last shift I attempt to stay awake (but not driving or operating heavy machinery ) until early evening and have a big sleep. 9 times out of ten i'll then be set back to night sleeping.

I can highly recommend nights if you want some time out from practice politics or to recover from a previously stressful job!

Re: Nightshift

Samantha Davies RVN MBVNA — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 17:12:44 GMT

I have done 7 on, 7 off before, with the shifts being 12hours long (2 hour break). I really enjoyed it! Being a week long did not bother me, and I just stayed awake after my last shift until 10pm at night and got back onto being awake in the day straight away. The key for me was making sure I ate properly and still had 3 meals a day, otherwise I would have struggled. I would also say sleep during the day when its your week of work and black your windows that week if necessary to sleep! Good luck with your decision!

Re: Nightshift

Caro Laithwaite VN — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 08:24:30 GMT

Bad long term so at 11 years l am high risk recommended is 2 years most dangerous is day/night/day etc etc You need to be self motivated like the unknown, would have said not scared of the dark but wrong wording but able to cope with it is better wording,

Re: Nightshift

Caro Laithwaite VN — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 08:21:46 GMT

Yes bad for your body worse set is swapping day/night/day/night etc better to just night.

Re: Nightshift

Caro Laithwaite VN — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 08:19:40 GMT

l do them every shift pattern you can think of recon l could do a phd in blasted things nd thats really mainly nights l have done for the last 11 years. At present on a 7 x 7 x 13hr nights and it is fine not a strain as isnt manic, if it was possibly l would feel different.

Re: Nightshift

emmadilemma — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 06:53:41 GMT

I would also find 7 nights in a row tough......the most i do is 4 but my shifts are 14 hours long. I never have problems falling back into a normal sleep pattern i sleep really well when i`m off!!

I can deffo see how doing nights longterm could be bad for your health but i think if you fancy a wee change it`s a good option even for a year or two. I really enjoy the work it` s a whole different world than daytime practice.....and the time off is great!!

Re: Nightshift

Tracy Windler RVN — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 19:38:38 GMT

I really enjoyed nights, but 7 nights on is quite a long stint. We did 5 nights on, 4 nights off, but did 12 hour shifts. Its quite a personal thing, as I know some people prefer 7 on, 7 off. But I never had a problem switching back to night sleeping, I usually stayed awake after the last night shift and then had a really early night to catch up. Apparently long-term night shifts do have a detrimental effect on your long term health, though. But if there was somewhere close by who had night nurses, I would definitely be interested.