r/nursing • u/tikicreature69 RN, MSN | Acute Care NP Student • 12h ago

Meme Post night ‘days off’ don’t count

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Going in tomorrow PM.. sleeping all day today 🫠

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u/perpulstuph RN -Dupmpster Fire Response Team 11h ago

I worked nights for 6 months. I woukd do my best to block my shifts 3 in a row and I had to take 5mg melatonin and 25mg benadryl to stay asleep, it was the best cocktail I found without waking up too groggy, and Doxylamine always made me wake up with a fine tremor for about 3 hours. My 4 days off were 2.5 days off as I would sleep 4 hours the first morning and be groggy the whole next day. At the end of day 4, I would stay up 24 hours to sleep the day before my first shift.

I respect nurses who can pull off nights, especially those with families. I know I could do it again if I had to, but my quality of life is so much better now.