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?

John400

OP, you need to have at least eight hours sleep before you get up for work.

Whatever time you usually get up at before you go off to work on your shift, you'll have to subtract eight hours from this to give you a ballpark time at which you should be going to bed.

Also, sounds to me that you should be sleeping on your own. It is imperative that you go to bed at the same time daily so that your body gets used to this. Also, if there are others in your house etc, you'll have to explain to them that this is the time you go to bed and to refrain from making noise etc.

Also a bath before bed is usually a good idea to get you to nod off. Also insure that your room is properly darkened before you go to sleep, heavier curtains may be an idea.

little_dorrit

Thanks for the advice John. I am working 3 12 hour shifts and my mother is very sick so trying to fit in a visit before work. I had hoped to be able to change back to sleeping night on my days off to help my father out with my mam but perhaps that just won't be possible. I have been staying up as late a possible but I feel exhausted but when I go to bed just wake up. Perhaps you are right If I have go to bed after 8am when I finish my shift so perhaps on my days off I should wait until 8 as well I have been staying up until 4 am and do feel very tired but just not sleeping so staying up till 8 may be the best option. Thanks you!

tenchi-fan

Op,

This thread was locked in the Psychology forum and you wrote "Thank for the post reply Odysseus. I am going to go back to the doctor on Tuesday to see what my options are." Does your doctor use this forum?

anyway, i'll leave the moderating to the mods... have you considered taking a week off work, even as a holiday?

Ickle Magoo

If you are having continuing sleep issues to the point your health is endangered and you are endangering the lives of others while driving - you must go back to your doctor and find out what the issue is.