RN working night shift

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bugaic
bugaic Posts: 2 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hey! My name is Crystal and I'm a nurse who recently switched to working 12 hour nights. On my nights where I need to stay awake I constantly eat snacks to keep me awake and I started drinking coffee. I have been feeling gross and I'm heading down a destructive path to gaining unwanted lbs.
When I get home from work in the mornings I am exhausted and have no motivation to work out. Anyone else in the same boat??? I would love to hear from you!

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  • deviboy1592
    deviboy1592 Posts: 989 Member
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    I was just like you, 6 cups of coffee a day, getting barely any sleep and eating whatever I could get my hands on hoping that I could stay awake. I switched to better eating choices, cut the coffee back to 1-2 cups a day, and felt a lot better. I now switched to days so my problems basically have gone away. But I have noticed, ( maybe you have as well) the more coffee I drank the more exhausted I've felt. How about you?
  • jshepl
    jshepl Posts: 5 Member
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    Hey me too. I am a RN in a busy PICU. 12 hr shifts. Feel free to add me as a friend. I have been doing this for many years and only now am I in the best shape of my life. I would love to help make it easier for my midnight friends.
  • WSOX37
    WSOX37 Posts: 1,611 Member
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    Midnights take a toll on the body just try to stick to your sleep patterns and force yourself to the gym in the morning
  • DakotaEasbey
    DakotaEasbey Posts: 6 Member
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    Yep! Pre-Med here. I was staying up all night, drinking a ridiculous amount of coffee, and snacking like there's no tomorrow haha. It's funny that so much of what I did for "energy" just drained me. I heard eating a large apple is more energizing than a cup of coffee. Who knows if that's true but I'm willing to try haha.
  • bugaic
    bugaic Posts: 2 Member
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    I would love to stop drinking coffee in general because it makes me feel jittery and not too mention all the extra calories and sugar from creamer. I started drinking a cup of tea these past couple of nights shifts and seems to have helped.
    Maybe I'll try eating more apples too lol
  • margie_2015
    margie_2015 Posts: 23 Member
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    Hi Crystal.. I'm a nurse as well.. I use to work the night shift in the ER and gained about 20lbs from loading up on coffee with extra cream & sugar as well as snacking on sweets. I would recommend packing healthy snacks to munch on and to try to drink more water rather than coffee.. Most of all try to avoid energy drinks.. Working the night shift is hard on our bodies, try to switch to healthier choices when eating.. Your body will thank you.. I hope this helped and good luck..
  • scoady382
    scoady382 Posts: 30 Member
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    You sound exactly like my girlfriend. Definitely commit to that healthy lifestyle and the benefits will follow. The hardest part about working out for me, is just getting to the gym. It's always great once you're mid routine. But I hear ya. On my feet all day and the last thing I want to do is go to the gym and exert more energy. Adding ya- best of luck!

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