Nurses working twelves and sixteens

ntminter

I am a nurse, I work alot of twelves and sixteens. When do I fit in exercise and sleep, both are very important to my mental and physical health. Are there any nurses out there that can give me some tips. This next week I work four days worth of 12 or 16 hour shifts, after that I will be exausted. Let me know what you guys think.

debnu1

I don't work as many twelves as I used to, when I did though I would work in exercise into my day. A few coworkers and I would walk the halls at 3 am when we were getting tired--We also did squats, sit ups and pushups when it was slow. Get a few of your coworkers together and you can get extra motivation to use what works. (I even did stairs for a little while--up 6 flights across the hospital and down 6 flights--we decided it wasn't as safe to leave our patients as our paging system didn't work all that far away but it was fun!)

megbar1979

I work 3 12's (sometimes 4) and I usually workout every day that I don't work. I figure being on my feet all day is good enough on the days I do work.

amandajsp

I work in a busy er every weekend...3-4 12 hr shifts in a row. I may do some stretching stuff on those days, but I leave my cardio and hard workouts for days that i have off...