💤💤💤💤 Wake up at 7:00am. Do normal daytime activities. Stay awake until 2:00pm. Attempt to lay down for a day time nap until 4:00pm. Get back up and head into work at 6:00pm. Work until 7:15am the next day. Lay down for bed at by 8:30am. Get back up for the day running on four hours of sleep at 12:30pm. Walk around feeling like a zombie all day and then go to bed at 10:00pm.
This is usually my schedule when I do a 12 hour night and have the next day off. Some night shifters won’t lay down for a nap before they come in for a night shift. Others lay down for a nap only to toss and turn regretting ever even laying down for a nap to begin with. Some won’t sleep at all after they get off that morning staying up for 36 + hours. Some sleep all day (mind you all day being a NORMAL eight hours of sleep which is recommended) and then can’t go back to sleep that night to get back on a “regular schedule”. There is really no good way to do it in my opinion and I’ve tried all of the above scenarios.
Did you know their is a show on Netflix called “Awake”? It’s where individuals count quarters all night long and then after being awake for 24 hours straight they compete in various challenges while dealing with sleep deprivation. Its comical to see these people struggle with little to no sleep try to do these tasks.
Did you know that my #1 priority at my job is making sure the moms and babies I take care of are safe? I have to be able to react quickly if my mom or baby are in danger. I sit and stare at a computer screen a majority of my night. I analyze fetal heart rate tracings all the while I’m working on next to no sleep. I have to be able to resuscitate babies in the wee hours of the morning while again working on next to no sleep.
What exactly does no sleep look like? Lack of patience, irritability, anxious, depressed, mood swings, trouble concentrating, fatigue, binge eating, over caffeinating. Yep pretty much. Sleep deprivation isn’t just nurses working nights. It’s overnight truck drivers, factory workers, farmers, and ANY occupation that requires a person to stay awake at night when we should be SLEEPING.
This is not a sympathy post. It’s just hoping that at least ONE other night shifter out there can relate.
Sincerely,
Modern Day Mom 101
Modern Day Mom 101 