Night shift nurses

paiger0410

Hey everyone- I am a nurse and I am starting a new position working nights! I will be doing two 12s (7p to 7a) and one 8 (11p to 7a) per week. Any advice for eating/sleeping/workout schedules would be appreciated! Also, if anyone wants to be accountability buddies I'd love that too!!

ashenk224

I just saw this post. I'm a RN that works 7p to 7a. I usually eat my biggest meal before I go in, a lighter one around 11, then just snack on healthy foods and drink a protein shake made with almond milk at some point through the night. Doing it that way makes me less tired through my shift (I always feel tired after big meals) and I can sleep better when I get home. I try to work out after my shift. I drive right by the gym so I keep a gym bag in my car. I'll drink some pre-workout and then go hard at the gym. That doesn't work for everyone though because pre-workout can keep some people awake. On really hectic nights at work, I won't go to the gym afterwards because I'm too tired. I've never been one to sleep more than 6 hours a night, so I wake up around 3 or so if I have to go back to work again (I try to do all my 12s in a row) and I'll work out then. If it's a day I have off after working night shift, and if I don't do the gym before coming home, I try to only sleep til 1 or 2 at the latest and workout then. I try not to sleep in those days so I can go to bed by 11-12 at night and get up early. Night shift is tough to get used to and it's hard to get a good routine, especially for me because I'm a morning person and am up early on my days off. I hate the sleep schedule of night shift, but I love the vibe of night shift and the extra money is always an added plus.

RodaRose

You could eat more calories on days that you work those long hours and fewer calories on days that you do not work as much. In other words, you could do an average over the course of the week.

JackieMarie1989jgw

I'm on day shift now but I did nights for 4 years, I used to just work out on my days off and focus on sleep on my working days (I only did three 12's a week). My eating habits were much the same as the above poster. Except on my first day off I would often sleep so late that I would wake up late afternoon with all my days calories left and binge on Chipotle..haha maybe not the healthiest option but I still lost weight by staying within my goals.
Drink lots of water that is super important. Healthy snacks for your shift. Focus on sleep when you can and save your workouts for days off. Getting sleep is the hardest thing.

JackieMarie1989jgw

For those that go to the gym right afer work, power to you! I have coworkers that do this and it always amazes me. Even afer four years I could barely keep myself from falling asleep at the wheel after a shift, much less go to the gym. But I am very much a morning person, hence why I finally moved to days (that and having a kid)
I do miss that night shift money thoo

terbusha

My wife is a night-shift nurse and deals with this a lot. What she does is eat a normal day before her first shift of the week. Her meal at work counts as the next day's lunch. She comes home to sleep and gets up at ~2ish. She'll eat breakfast when she wakes up and the dinner before her shift that night. That completes that day (lunch, breakfast, dinner). Then her mid-shift meal is the next days lunch. When she's coming off of her shifts, she'll get up at 2 and have breakfast and then dinner with us at a normal time. At that point, she's caught back up to a normal day schedule for eating. That seems to work the best for her with tracking her calories and macros. The key is to just find a system and be consistent.

As for exercising, the best time is when you can be most consistent. Whether that is before your shift when you wake up or after your shift before you go to sleep, that's up to you. Just find when you can get it done!