Sleep issues

little_dorrit

Hi Folks,
I have recently changed to the night shift at work and I am finding it really hard to sleep. For the first three weeks it was fine and I was able to sleep with no difficulty with the transition from nights to days but for the past few weeks I have had very few full nights sleep. The problem started when my boyfriend, who I have been seeing for over a year now stayed a mine for a few night in a row. In the entire time we have been together I have been unable to sleep when we share a bed. We both know where we stand so there are no trust issues but I just can’t sleep. He stayed when I had just come off the night shift and I slept very little over a 3 night period and since that I have been unable to get good nights sleep. I have always been a great sleeper and am finding this very hard to deal with. There are a few stressful factors in my life at the moment with a very sick parent which has probably added to the problem. I am getting concerned that I may end up having permanent sleep issues and am afraid that I may end up getting sick myself, which at the point of my life I really cannot afford. Most nights for the past month I have had around 3-4 hours sleep. There have been nights where I have had no sleep at all and it is getting to the stage where I am so concerned about loosing sleep that even when I start to fall asleep I get excited at the prospect and my heart rate increases which causes me to become more alert and wakes me up. I was driving on the wrong side of the road without realizing last week due to exhaustion. If I thought it was just the night shift that was causing the problem and it would sort itself out in time then I would feel more at ease. I have been to the doctor who gave me light sleeping tablets which so far have not helped at all. I have taken them on the nights when I just couldn’t sleep and they had no affect and I stayed awake the whole night. Can anyone offer advice on this? Has anyone changed shift and had this problem? How long does it generally take to adjust to a night shift, I know it depends on the person but just a rough idea would help?

Odysseus

little_dorrit wrote: »

Hi Folks,
I have recently changed to the night shift at work and I am finding it really hard to sleep. For the first three weeks it was fine and I was able to sleep with no difficulty with the transition from nights to days but for the past few weeks I have had very few full nights sleep. The problem started when my boyfriend, who I have been seeing for over a year now stayed a mine for a few night in a row. In the entire time we have been together I have been unable to sleep when we share a bed. We both know where we stand so there are no trust issues but I just can’t sleep. He stayed when I had just come off the night shift and I slept very little over a 3 night period and since that I have been unable to get good nights sleep. I have always been a great sleeper and am finding this very hard to deal with. There are a few stressful factors in my life at the moment with a very sick parent which has probably added to the problem. I am getting concerned that I may end up having permanent sleep issues and am afraid that I may end up getting sick myself, which at the point of my life I really cannot afford. Most nights for the past month I have had around 3-4 hours sleep. There have been nights where I have had no sleep at all and it is getting to the stage where I am so concerned about loosing sleep that even when I start to fall asleep I get excited at the prospect and my heart rate increases which causes me to become more alert and wakes me up. I was driving on the wrong side of the road without realizing last week due to exhaustion. If I thought it was just the night shift that was causing the problem and it would sort itself out in time then I would feel more at ease. I have been to the doctor who gave me light sleeping tablets which so far have not helped at all. I have taken them on the nights when I just couldn’t sleep and they had no affect and I stayed awake the whole night. Can anyone offer advice on this? Has anyone changed shift and had this problem? How long does it generally take to adjust to a night shift, I know it depends on the person but just a rough idea would help?

We cannot give out psychological or medical advice here. Get yourselve to you, gp, that 's the nost imoart thing too do at the moment.

little_dorrit

Thank for the post reply Odysseus. I am going to go back to the doctor on Tuesday to see what my options are.