Need sleep advice (3rd shift sleep issue)

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impudentputz
impudentputz Posts: 479 Member
in Chit-Chat
Well the title says it all.. I work 10pm - 6am and at first I was having trouble actually getting to sleep, however when I did fall asleep I was out like a damn light for 7-10hrs...was pretty glorious...However the problem I am running into now is that I don't have as much of a problem falling asleep... it is staying asleep that is the issue. I end up with only 3-5 hrs a sleep a "night" and that is clearly not enough for me. I wake up, thinking / feeling like I just got a full nights sleep...but it has really only been a couple hours. And very rarely do I get back to sleep.

For example, today I went to bed at 8am-ish and woke up and thought "Wow! I slept all day, sweet!" and then looked at my phone and saw that it was 12:30pm.... 4 frickan hours? are you s#itting me!

I have been having this issue for a few weeks now, about 2-3 week to be more precise and it is starting to wear on me, I am constantly sleepy and groggy and in a perpetual foul mood.

The worse part is because I am as tired as I am all the time, I have been having lack luster work outs and sometimes none at all! Also my food choices are going out the window because I try to lay in bed as long as possible in hopes that I can fall back asleep. So I end up just picking at things instead of making my meals like I have been over the past couple months. Its really starting to get to me and I would like to figure out what I can do to fix this!

Things that I already have tried / do / have:
Room Darkening curtains and blinds
A fan for white noise and air flow (though sometimes it still gets stuffy in the room)
Ive tried eating before bed and tried not eating before bed
Music on / music off
staying awake until I am dead tired
Going to bed at a set time

I am honestly coming close to wits end with what to do. It is becoming increasingly difficult to deal with this. So any pointers would be appreciated. Thanks ahead of time!

Replies

  • ronit1601
    ronit1601 Posts: 183
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    I noe how bad it feels .. I've also worked night shift for a month and it was like helluva experience for me.changing sleep hours is very tricky and very challenging.all I can say meditate 10-15 mins everyday before sleeping it will help u to calm ur mind.
  • Madame_Goldbricker
    Madame_Goldbricker Posts: 1,625 Member
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    Ah yep it's pants. I've worked 10-8am & 8-8am shifts for the past 3 years. Unfortunately sometimes the body sets a clock & you just have to roll with it. I generally average 4-5hrs on shift days & approx 8hrs sleep when I'm off. Sounds like you've tried most things. I generally stick a film on & hope I drop off again, or read a book for a while. I'm sure there'slots of night shift threads about this issue though so might be worth having a scout around. Good luck :smile:
  • tryclyn
    tryclyn Posts: 2,414 Member
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    Can you change your sleep time? I have to treat night as morning, morning as evening and evening as night. So I sleep 4pm to 10pm, work 1130pm to 10am, and carry on with other things until about 3pm. I tried the sleeping right after work thing, but that never worked for me unless I'd already missed a few days of sleep.
  • impudentputz
    impudentputz Posts: 479 Member
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    I checked out a few threads before posting this, most of what I read suggested doing things I have tried. So i figured I would outline what I have done and hope for responses a bit less common.
    Can you change your sleep time? I have to treat night as morning, morning as evening and evening as night. So I sleep 4pm to 10pm, work 1130pm to 10am, and carry on with other things until about 3pm. I tried the sleeping right after work thing, but that never worked for me unless I'd already missed a few days of sleep.

    I could always try that, i mean, whats the worst that can happen? I dont get sleep? I am dealing with that already so I might as well try it. Thanks for the suggestion. :drinker:
  • FireRuby87
    FireRuby87 Posts: 16
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    Is there any chance of you getting a day shift position with normal hours anytime soon?
  • Madame_Goldbricker
    Madame_Goldbricker Posts: 1,625 Member
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    I've also heard good things about Valerian root. I can't state if it works or not as I've never tried it. Quite a few people seem to swear by it though.
  • impudentputz
    impudentputz Posts: 479 Member
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    Sadly, I really like my job. Everything about it, the hours, the people, the job itself. Everything is great about it. If i cant figure this out that may be a final option. But hopefully it doesnt come to that.

    As for taking something to help sleep, I have tried melatonin and advil pm or tylenol pm, i cant remember which brand anymore. Melatonin worked for the getting to sleep thing at first but does nothing for keeping me asleep...and the "PM" stuff has done nothing... at all for me.
  • Frankie_Felinius
    Frankie_Felinius Posts: 1,398 Member
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    Sadly, I don't have much advice, I'm in the same boat. Went to bed yesterday at about 2pm, awoke at 6pm and never got back to sleep. I go to school and have a three-year old and with my current schedule, two days per week I'm up for 24 or 32 hours at a time...you would think I would have no trouble staying asleep but I think your body gets used to functioning on inadequate sleep...."functioning"...I use that term loosely...it really does effect your eating choices and motivation to exercise.
  • _errata_
    _errata_ Posts: 1,653 Member
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    Give this a shot:
    http://www.amazon.com/Philips-goLITE-BLU-Therapy-Device/dp/B001I45XL8/
  • darkrose20
    darkrose20 Posts: 1,139 Member
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    I have this same issue. I either sleep a handfull of hours and can't get back to sleep or sleep WAY too much to make up for the skimpy "nights". Other "nights" I will be dead tired but unable to sleep right when I get home and sleep during the middle of the day rather in the morning as I'm used to. My favorite was the other day when I ended up sleeping 17 hours and only felt like I'd slept 8. For me, I just have to roll with it. I have found NyQuil is dangerous for me. I sleep like a rock and wake up still sleeping (if that makes any sense). I drove to work just fine and ended up falling dead asleep at the desk when I took it the one time my body refused to sleep. Friends have reccomended that I take an OTC sleep aid that has the lowest dose of the active ingredient available. I haven't tried it because of my horrific experience with the NyQuil. Sorry, I couldn't be of more help, but I feel ya. Keep us posted. I'd love to know what works for you. :drinker:
  • _errata_
    _errata_ Posts: 1,653 Member
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    Stay away from Nyquil. The only sleep-aid you should use is Melatonin, but it should be temporary. I used to work rotating 12-hour swing shifts (days and nights) and I got addicted to nyquil. It took me a few months to get over that stuff.

    Give the GoLite a try and see if that works.
  • Frankie_Felinius
    Frankie_Felinius Posts: 1,398 Member
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    Melatonin is good for short-term. After awhile it doesn't seem to be effective but you should have "gotten into the swing of things" by that time. No thank-you for any put me to sleep stuff like Nyquil, Benadryl....I "wake up sleeping" too. It is worse than getting little/no/crappy sleep!
  • lacroyx
    lacroyx Posts: 5,754 Member
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    Can you change your sleep time? I have to treat night as morning, morning as evening and evening as night. So I sleep 4pm to 10pm, work 1130pm to 10am, and carry on with other things until about 3pm. I tried the sleeping right after work thing, but that never worked for me unless I'd already missed a few days of sleep.

    This is what I do as well. I work from 11pm to 7am. When I get off work in the mornings I don't go to sleep right away. I stay up, hit the gym, do errands, etc etc until 2-3pm then go to bed and get up at 10:30pm for work all over again. I do flip over to "normal" so to speak on my days off, Mon and Tues. I also had issues with being tired all the time when I started a few years back.

    I tried all differents kinds of sleeping patterns and it wouldn't work for me. I assumed because of my weight at the time, this was before I started on MFP, changing my lifestyle, losing weight etc etc, that I had sleep apnea, thus I struggled with sleep. I found out that it was the type II diabetes I had at the time that would mess up my sleep. Once I got that in check, I slept fine.
  • FireRuby87
    FireRuby87 Posts: 16
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    Sadly, I really like my job. Everything about it, the hours, the people, the job itself. Everything is great about it. If i cant figure this out that may be a final option. But hopefully it doesnt come to that.

    As for taking something to help sleep, I have tried melatonin and advil pm or tylenol pm, i cant remember which brand anymore. Melatonin worked for the getting to sleep thing at first but does nothing for keeping me asleep...and the "PM" stuff has done nothing... at all for me.

    Well I feel for you that sucks!, I've run into a similar type of issue working evening shift 4-12:30 where I don't have trouble falling asleep (I get home at 1 and usually crash by 1:30-2:00), I just always wake up early no matter what. Its funny to hear how most of my coworkers sleep in till 10am, but I'm usually up by 8-8:30 and the latest I've ever been able to sleep in is 9am. But I'd say I usually get 6.5-7 hours of sleep and that's all I need anyways. I've never been one to sleep for 9+ hours.

    I doubt 5 4-5 hours is enough, but instead of worrying oh I didn't sleep 8 hours like I'm supposed to, ask yourself how do you actually feel when you wakeup? Awake and functional? Tired? If you can't sleep anymore stop stressing about it, get up and just go about your normal business. I think the more you dwell on your lack of sleep, the harder it is to actually sleep. I think that's what they say about insomniacs, they are so worried about sleeping "am I asleep yet," that it keeps them up, but if you distract yourself you eventually get tired and conk out. I'm probably not making any sense, but to me it seems going to sleep is very stressful for you. You go to bed thinking will I get enough sleep? Then when you wake up early this stresses you out even more. I think by continually worrying about it it makes it harder to get sleep? Think its not the end of the world that I'm not getting sleep, and maybe you'll be able to sleep better?

    I think the reason I always get up early is just because I'm a morning person, always have been. That's the way my body is. I did have a problem with light flooding my room in the morning when the sun rose, but even when I bought dark out shades which made my room completely black, I still continued to wake up early lol.

    Thankfully though I'm going to the dayshift in a month and I couldn't be happier!
  • Tiernan1212
    Tiernan1212 Posts: 797 Member
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    I worked from 5pm to 5am for almost 2 years, and it is tough. Throw being a single parent and 2 kids in the mix and it's next to impossible. Have you talked to your doctor about your problems staying asleep? He or she might have some ideas that you haven't tried yet. I know for me I was always just so exhausted after staying up til 8 to get the kids to school that I collapsed into bed, and still only got 5-6 hours before I had to get up to get the kids off the bus.
  • Frankie_Felinius
    Frankie_Felinius Posts: 1,398 Member
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    . I do flip over to "normal" so to speak on my days off, Mon and Tues. I also had issues with being tired all the time when I started a few years back.

    I think most of us do. It is the one thing they say NOT to do, but we all pretty much fail at that!

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