We have both worked as employed student nurses (ESNs) during the past two years of our degree. We have worked numerous night shifts + will be working many more in the upcoming months during our preceptorship. It took us a little while to figure out how to make shift work more manageable. We are in NO ways experts, but after talking with other nurses + trying different things out, we have finally figured out what works for us. We want to share our most valuable tips with YOU! Read along to learn how we conquer night shifts!
1. RELAX
The day of your night shift, try to relax + engage in low-energy activities. We find it helpful to save our energy for the long upcoming shift! We love going to yoga, watching Netflix, or going for brunch. We love using our Muse meditation devices too. We have used Muse for a couple months + absolutely LOVE it! It makes meditation easy, as it connects directly to your phone + allows you to customize your meditation sessions + set personal goals.
2. COMFORT IS KEY
We always wear our comfiest scrubs for night shifts. We wear scrubs that are non-restricting + free of zippers. Our go-to comfort scrubs are the Jaanuu cargo joggers because they literally feel like PJs! We also tend to get cold on night shifts as they usually are less busy than day shifts + we are not moving around as frequently. We like wearing our Jaanuu underscrubs to keep us extra warm! Plus these tops are SO soft + cozy! If you want to get your hands on some of these scrubs, be sure to use our code BSNBLONDIES25 at checkout. We also love our Karina runners from Shoes for Crews - these slip on shoes keep our feet comfy all night long.
3. USE CAFFEINE WISELY
We like to start off our shift with a cup of coffee. This helps give us an extra boost of energy to last through assessments + other tasks. We may have more caffeine depending on how tired we are (sometimes necessary when on night #2 or 3!). However, we do not have any caffeine after 3am. We don't like to risk jeopardizing the quality of our sleep when we get off at 7am. Another thing we have tried during night shift is Night Revive. We mix these powder packs in a venti lemon water. They are packed with tons of vitamins + minerals to help boost energy.
4. HYDRATE
It's easy to forget to drink water! Make sure to drink LOTS of water during your shift. This will help you fight off the midnight munchies. We love snacking + for some reason our cravings seem to hit us extra hard on night shifts. Keeping yourself full of water helps to prevent this. Also, drinking lots of water will help keep your skin looking bright - we all know our skin needs some TLC after staying up all night. We LOVE our Healthish water bottles! The time prompts keep us on track + hydrated throughout the night! These bottles hold a full litre of water so if we stay on top of the prompts, we will have drank 2 litres by the end of our shift!
5. SNACKS ARE LIFE
As mentioned in the previous tip, midnight munchies are really a thing! Along with drinking water, we pack snacks that are healthy + give us energy throughout the night. Some of our fave night shift snacks include: Trail mix, fruit, popcorn, oatmeal, + yogurt with granola. We also have personal blenders that we like bringing to work + blending up a yummy fruit smoothie before the end of our shift. This way, when we get home, our stomachs will be content + we can hop in to our beds.
6. NETFLIX + NAPS
Depending on where you work, some facilities allow nurses to sleep during breaks. Napping is not for everyone as some people find it makes them more tired + groggy when they wake up. Personally, we both love napping on our breaks. We set our alarm to wake us up 10 minutes before our break ends, to allow us to wake up + become alert. A lot of nurses also love relaxing + watching netflix on their breaks. We have the Netflix app on our phones + have shows downloaded in case we do ever feel like watching netflix instead of sleeping.
NOTE: Before our break, we plan out the tasks we need to complete before the end of our shift. This way, when we wake up, we are organized + ready to go. These tasks include meds, emptying catheters, chart checks, changing IV bags, updating shift reports, etc.
7. STAY ACTIVE
Some hours of the night tend to drag on. This is often when your body is fighting you to stay awake. When we start feeling overly tired, we like to move around to wake up our bodies. You might find us doing lunges down the hall at 3am! Or else if we are lucky, we might be able go for a break at this time + fit in a power nap!
8. NEXT STOP: BED
At the end of a 12 hour shift, all we are thinking about are our beds. We tend to be exhausted at this point, so it is important to be SAFE. Driving home after a night shift can be dangerous. We tend to drive with our window open to help keep us awake with the cool air flow. When our shifts line up, we love carpooling as it feels safer with two of us in the car to be more alert. Once we are home, we want to have a GOOD sleep without disturbances. There's a few things you can do to help prevent yourself from waking up. Make sure your stomach is full (ours usually is, as we tend to eat near the end of our shift) + don't forget to empty your bladder!
9. KEEP YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM STRONG
Your immune system can get run down after being up all night, especially after a few nights! To help keep our immunity strong, we make sure to get lots of rest, take our personalized care/of vitamins, + stay hydrated!
10. TIME FOR ZZZ
We have come across a few things that help our sleep immensely. In general, it is harder to sleep in the day when it is light out + most of the world is awake. To help combat this, here are a few things that help us get amazing sleeps:
WARM SHOWER: When we get home, we take off our scrubs + hop in the shower. The warmth instantly relaxes us.
COMFY BED: Make your bed COZY. Have freshly washed linens + lots of comfy blankets + pillows. This ALWAYS help to have a better sleep!
SLEEP CROWN: We recently discovered Sleep Crown + fell in love! This over-the-head-pillow was created to provide three main benefits: Gentle pressure to the scalp gives a feeling of security + comfort; The large size of the pillow allows light to be blocked out; Sounds are muffled to promote relaxation. When we discovered these pillows, we were hesitant to purchase them as they are quite expensive. But let us tell you, after owning this for a a couple months, we are IN LOVE. This pillow is literally the softest + squishiest pillow we have ever come upon. It is shaped like a giant eye mask, so your mouth + nose are not blocked in any way (our picture above is not accurate lol). It also comes with an essential oil pillow mist that we spray on the pillow before sleeping. We use this pillow every day but it is even better after working a night shift. It's crazy how fast we fall asleep from it. This is honestly a MUST - worth every penny!! Use our code BSNBLONDIES to save $15 + get free shipping!
DARKNESS: Have blinds to prevent natural daylight from entering your bedroom. As mentioned above, the Sleep Crown does a great job blocking out light. We personally prefer it over an eye mask as it is less restrictive + SO SOFT.
TURN OFF YOUR PHONE: Prevent unnecessary disturbances including your phone. Either turn it off or put it on airplane or sleep mode.
SLEEP MEDITATION: We love using sleep meditation podcasts (with our phone on sleep mode). We personally love Sleep Meditation Oasis. If you know of any other sleep podcasts that you recommend, we would love you to share them with us!
ESSENTIAL OILS: As mentioned earlier, we love using essential oil pillow sprays. We also love running our diffusers when we sleep.
EARPLUGS: Depending on how sensitive you are to sounds, earplugs may be beneficial to you. We generally do not have troubles falling asleep, but if you are a light sleeper, earplugs are probably a good idea!
SOM SLEEP: Som Sleep drinks contain active ingredients to promote a restful sleep including Magnesium, Vitamin B6, L-Theanine, GABA, + Melatonin.
DODOW: Dodow is great when trying to reset you sleep cycle. It uses a rhythmic blue light that helps to rid your mind of distractions, slow down breathing, + overall relaxes you.
WHAT DO WE KEEP IN OUR BAGS FOR NIGHT SHIFTS?
Seen as people loved our "clinical essentials" post, we thought we would also share our night shift essentials, so here is a list of what you will find in our bags on nights!
-Eye mask + ear plugs: We love napping on our breaks + these items are small enough that they aren't a hassle to keep in our bags!
-Toothbrush & toothpaste to stay fresh!
-Face wipes help us feel awake + refreshed after a nap! Our personal fave are Kirkland face wipes from Costco!
-GarmaGaurd to keep us germ free before entering our car + home! Use code: BSN15 for 15% off!
-Bento Box to stock up lots of snacks + tumbler to make tea to keep us warm. We love our bento boxes + tumblers from Utillife. Order your tumbler here + the bento boxes will be available to order in March!
-BunHead will always be our ride or die scrunchies! We always have one of these on hand!
-We like to keep our Jaanuu Zip-Up in our bag to throw on when we get chilled (Discount: BSNBLONDIES25)
-PhoneSoap: We LOVE carrying our PhoneSoap in our bag. This handy little device allows us to pop our phone in at any time + sanitizes it using UV-C lights. (Pictured above on the bottom right)
-ID badge with Scrub Pocket badge buddy!
THANKS for reading along! We hope these tips help you adapt to night shifts! If you have any other tips that work for you, please feel free to share!
xx
Sydney + Tara
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