Working Nights & Not Gaining Weight

Beginner Joined: Jun 17 2008 Posts: 21

It looks like nothing ever happened with the HCP closed forum, so I'll post this open. I've been hired to an RN night job. I really wanted days, but when you're a new grad, beggars can't be choosers so it has to be this way, at least for the time being. (Hey, there is a $6000 differential, but is it really worth it?)There are so many overweight nurses altogether, and night ones especially. Does anyone have any eitzos on how to not gain weight when your circadian rhythm gets so messed up? Does anybody have any eitzos altogether how to work night shift on flex, (3) 12 hour shifts per week, while functioning in a world that works by day, and not sacrificing physical and mental health?

Platinum Member Joined: Mar 24 2008 Posts: 6528

Don't know if this helps but I have a friend who works the night shift on the same schedule that you describe with 2 kids. When she comes home she goes straight to sleep and sleeps straight for 6 - 7 hours. Her kids go to a babysitter from 8:30 - 2:30. Her husband gets the kids up, dressed and takes them to the babysitter as if she was not home so she can sleep. She picks them up from the babysitter and from 2:30 until she starts her shift she is up. Her sleeping in the morning is similar to somebody who works p/t in the morning and then has the afternoon to get stuff done.
I have no clue though how she switches from her shift days to her off days. I do know she is very strict about always sleeping the same time in the morning without any interruptions.

Executive Member Joined: Apr 21 2006 Posts: 394

I rotate, so I switch back and forth between weeks of night shift and day shift. My advice to you is to cover the windows and make your room as dark as possible when you sleep during the day, get a pair of ear plugs and try to get a good 6-7 hours of sleep as soon as you get home from your shift. If you have to adjust to the switch like I do, attempt to go to sleep later and wake up later the 2 days before your shift starts so you're not utterly exhausted at 3AM during your first night shift back on. I drink coffee right before I leave for my shift, and sometimes there will be a 10:30 PM run to Starbucks by our CNA if our unit needs a boost. In the past, I've had to run down to the cafeteria and grab a coffee at 3AM, but I have found that I've gotten better at adjusting to nights over the last year.
I have a six month old baby, so when I went back to work and she was so dependent on nursing, my DH would bring her in when she got hungry and she would sleep with me for her morning nap. That was stressful because my REM was constantly interrupted - but then, which parent's of a new baby isn't? Now she still nurses, but she also goes longer without nursing and is taking baby food, so there aren't as many breaks in my sleep as there were the last couple of months.
It does get very stressful - I find myself grumpier and more agitated when my sleep is interrupted at about 4 hours and I can't go back to sleep. If this happens to you - get up. Try to take a nap later in the day before your next shift. This works for my mother who works an 8 hour night shift 5x a week. She'll sleep 5-6 hours when she gets home, goes out and has her day, and then naps for another 2 hours before her shift.
One thing I do like about night shift is that its so much calmer than day shift. I have a chance to sit down and eat most of the time. When I do day shift, there are days where I don't even get a chance to take a bite - my breaks are strictly for going to breast pump in the lactation room. Night shift, I have the luxury to meal plan, cook food and actually eat it. I eat better on night shift than on day shift.
Good luck on switching over. It does take time and there is stress, but it'll get easier as your body adjusts.
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Unattended children will be given an espresso and a free puppy

Active Poster Joined: May 18 2007 Posts: 81

I work nights too and definately have put on some weight since doing nights. I find that the main cause for that is the additional meals/ snack I eat since I sometimes am awake for long periods and during weird hours. I find that I tend to eat more at work in order to stay awake. Its been a number of years already and I can feel the toll night shift takes on your body. I am not trying to discourage you in any way- as I am still doing nights for so many reasons. My main reason is the children- I am able to spend more time w/ them and they spend less time at a babysitter. Also my kids get some qaulity alone time w/ their daddy during the nights I work. They have a special relationship with him and I think its great. I love the peace and quiet of the nights. I usually work 2-3 nights a week. I think as a new grad you will be better off on nights so you will have more time to learn and obviously the patients are asleep most of the time ( actually depends on the unit.) Some advice- get some earplugs and a eye shield ( I got it from Target). Don't eat before going to bed in the morning. Go to bed right when you come home. I don't drink coffee past midnight. Good Luck on your new job!

When I did only night shifts, for around 13 months, I relied on coffee and benadryl to aid my awake - sleep cycle. Not a great solution, but it helped, especially at the beginning.

Lots of luck

Active Poster Joined: May 18 2007 Posts: 81

Yeah! I definately use Benedryl from time to time. Especially on Motzei Shabbas b/c I sometimes take long shabbas naps and then my body thinks that I am working the night shift and I would not fall asleep until 3 AM naturally- so now I take benedryl and I will go to sleep at 12.

I dont know how helpful my hints are, but lets just say I slept days between call nights thanks to lots of benadryl. I also took ambien before my pregnancy alot Sad

lots of coffee kept me awake- I drank those starbucks double shot expresso things. I always had an "extra" in my pocket. the more I drank, I found, the less I ate.
avoid lounges. true, lots of the free food in there left by others was treif, but there were sometimes bags of tortilla chips, soda from a party, entemanns, etc. if I was sitting on a couch during some downtime and it was there, I ate it.

Senior Member Joined: Feb 18 2008 Posts: 199

Hey bobbe! I am too a new grad nurse who's gonna work nights soon!
While I don't actually have experience with working nights yet, I have some input regarding snacks, caus I've been successfully losing weight for the past year.
As it turns out, there are tons of great snacks that are low-calorie and good for you! My favorites are baby carrots, sweet peppers, cucumbers, cut-up apples, oranges, and whatever other fruit/vegetable works for you. Nuts are also great, all kinds - and they do keep you awake!
These snacks take some effort to buy and wash/cut up/pack before you come to work, but IMO its definitely worth it.

Beginner Joined: Jun 17 2008 Posts: 21

I'm actually one of the few people in America (can you even count them on 1 hand?) who don't drink coffee or anything caffeinated. I made it through nursing school like that, even with a Starbucks on the corner (it's not cholov Yisroel anyway), and don't want to start now! I have read that apples are a good wake-up food. I also lost weight, have a real tendency to put it on, and really don't want to gain it back. Besides, don't we nurses have to be good examples to our patients about healthy lifestyles? Though there is nothing healthy about the night shift.