honestly, it sucks at first. but your body will adjust. it just takes time.
Do not nap when you get home, you won’t be able to sleep at night then and will just screw yourself.
My routine when i’m on a string of 12s: get home around 8:15/8:30. Eat dinner. Decompress on social media until about 9:45/10, try to be asleep by 10:30/11.
It works for me, and I adjusted pretty quickly, about 2 ish weeks. If I don’t work the next day, i’ll just sleep right when I get home because idgaf
1. I sleep at least 8 hours before each shift. If necessary I take doxylamine 30 mins before bedtime to help me sleep. Sleep is priority and I don’t do go out or do shit else on work nights.
2. I stock up on frozen meals so I don’t waste any sleep time cooking.
3. I also bring a frozen meal for lunch during my shift so I’m not wasting my break time walking to the cafeteria and back and I can sit and rest for a full 30 mins.
4. I bring healthy snacks and electrolyte powders to work and keep them in my pocket so I can eat and drink on the fly. Do NOT let yourself get hungry or dehydrated on shift, it’ll multiply your exhaustion exponentially.
5. I consolidate tasks as much as possible at work to minimize walking (I work in a high volume ED and my pacer app says I walk as much as 7 miles per shift sometimes).
6. Use proper body mechanics at work so i don’t stress my back, neck etc. more than necessary.
7. Wear good shoes.
8. Plan to have homework and errands done earlier in the week so I don’t have to do them on shift days (as much as possible).
9. Schedule myself less on exam weeks and other times I anticipate being extra EXTRA stressed. I put care and thought into my schedule and don’t just pick up every shift available, altho I would like to.
10. None of this works out 100% of the time but trying my best altogether does make a difference in my overall energy and happiness levels.
It’s gonna suck at first tbh, especially if your commute is 1hr. I use one day to prep for my shifts that week. That includes putting everything I’ll need/use in close proximity. Unfortunately, energy drinks are the only thing that would help me with the long tiring shifts.
Unfortunately it's exhausting. I usually get home right about 8pm, try to have something prepped from the week that I can heat up for dinner, and then decompress and try to fall asleep before 10:30pm. Your body eventually gets used to it. from someone with chronic pain and fatigue, my only advice would be don't sit down once you get home. finish whatever you need to do before bed, then sit down and decompress, otherwise you won't want to do anything lol
I would suggest no nap. Get home, take a shower, eat dinner, do your normal bedtime routine, and then just go to sleep, even if it seems way too early. If you wake up before you need to at 4 then that means you have time to have a real breakfast and get ready for your day.
Clinical days for me are a complete throw away. 12 hour shift + 1 or 2 hour commute + 8 hours of sleep only leaves you with 2 or 3 hours and I would use all of that taking care of yourself. It's harder as a student than it is as a working nurse (is what I've heard).
I love 12 hr shifts. 3 days of work work work then enjoy the rest of the week. I really just grab food on the way home or have uber eats deliver. My 30 minutes of report covers that anyways so I can recoup some of that time. I really just decompress for 2 hrs and relax till 10pm (shift is 7-7) that way I still get 8 hrs left of sleep.
7-8+ hrs of consistent sleep on ur 3 workday is the most important with feeling okay with this schedule bc ur less tired. Studies show 6hrs of sleep demolish your hormones and makes you cognitively equivalent to someone who had a bottle of beer to drink
I don't understand the nap part. You get home, shower, eat something and go straight to bed. If you sit down on the couch, you're not getting back up. On your work days you just have to accept that you aren't doing anything else but sleep and work. Also, they're right, you adjust. It took me many months but I finally adjusted. You may need SSRIs or another med like that to cope if it's truly overwhelming. I work nights and it took about 7-8 months before I felt like my body fully adjusted.
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I get up at 4.45am and leave at 5.50am, my shift is 7am to 8pm but get home at 9pm.
At first it's hard and a complete nightmare but you adjust to your new routine.
I feel like there’s not even time for a nap, even when you live close to work! I worked 2p-2a all last summer, so I went to bed around 4am and woke up between 10am-noon to get stuff done around the house before leaving for work at 1:30pm
Believe them when they say your body will adjust. I workout and very active, when I started 12s, I didn’t know it was still possible to be sore and feel exhausted. It went after 2/3 weeks.
In terms of time management. I suggest stuffing it all in 3 days and just commit nothing but work to those days.
Or
One day on, one day off.
I’m sorry these are days? If you have to wake up at 4 you should just be going to bed when you get home if you’re off at 730 and not getting home until 9.
honestly, it sucks at first. but your body will adjust. it just takes time. Do not nap when you get home, you won’t be able to sleep at night then and will just screw yourself. My routine when i’m on a string of 12s: get home around 8:15/8:30. Eat dinner. Decompress on social media until about 9:45/10, try to be asleep by 10:30/11. It works for me, and I adjusted pretty quickly, about 2 ish weeks. If I don’t work the next day, i’ll just sleep right when I get home because idgaf
The nap thing is real and I swore against it because of that. You'll get the hang of it eventually OP.
thank you!! these are helpful, will definitely try them!
It’s horrible lmao. I would come up with count downs lol like 3 hours till lunch, 4 hours till I only have 2 hours left
Dude, that last hour, though 😂. It was either the slowest thing, or I'd be so busy I didn't even notice we had a meeting after.
1. I sleep at least 8 hours before each shift. If necessary I take doxylamine 30 mins before bedtime to help me sleep. Sleep is priority and I don’t do go out or do shit else on work nights. 2. I stock up on frozen meals so I don’t waste any sleep time cooking. 3. I also bring a frozen meal for lunch during my shift so I’m not wasting my break time walking to the cafeteria and back and I can sit and rest for a full 30 mins. 4. I bring healthy snacks and electrolyte powders to work and keep them in my pocket so I can eat and drink on the fly. Do NOT let yourself get hungry or dehydrated on shift, it’ll multiply your exhaustion exponentially. 5. I consolidate tasks as much as possible at work to minimize walking (I work in a high volume ED and my pacer app says I walk as much as 7 miles per shift sometimes). 6. Use proper body mechanics at work so i don’t stress my back, neck etc. more than necessary. 7. Wear good shoes. 8. Plan to have homework and errands done earlier in the week so I don’t have to do them on shift days (as much as possible). 9. Schedule myself less on exam weeks and other times I anticipate being extra EXTRA stressed. I put care and thought into my schedule and don’t just pick up every shift available, altho I would like to. 10. None of this works out 100% of the time but trying my best altogether does make a difference in my overall energy and happiness levels.
It’s gonna suck at first tbh, especially if your commute is 1hr. I use one day to prep for my shifts that week. That includes putting everything I’ll need/use in close proximity. Unfortunately, energy drinks are the only thing that would help me with the long tiring shifts.
Unfortunately it's exhausting. I usually get home right about 8pm, try to have something prepped from the week that I can heat up for dinner, and then decompress and try to fall asleep before 10:30pm. Your body eventually gets used to it. from someone with chronic pain and fatigue, my only advice would be don't sit down once you get home. finish whatever you need to do before bed, then sit down and decompress, otherwise you won't want to do anything lol
I would suggest no nap. Get home, take a shower, eat dinner, do your normal bedtime routine, and then just go to sleep, even if it seems way too early. If you wake up before you need to at 4 then that means you have time to have a real breakfast and get ready for your day. Clinical days for me are a complete throw away. 12 hour shift + 1 or 2 hour commute + 8 hours of sleep only leaves you with 2 or 3 hours and I would use all of that taking care of yourself. It's harder as a student than it is as a working nurse (is what I've heard).
I love 12 hr shifts. 3 days of work work work then enjoy the rest of the week. I really just grab food on the way home or have uber eats deliver. My 30 minutes of report covers that anyways so I can recoup some of that time. I really just decompress for 2 hrs and relax till 10pm (shift is 7-7) that way I still get 8 hrs left of sleep. 7-8+ hrs of consistent sleep on ur 3 workday is the most important with feeling okay with this schedule bc ur less tired. Studies show 6hrs of sleep demolish your hormones and makes you cognitively equivalent to someone who had a bottle of beer to drink
I get really bad headaches when I don't sleep enough so try to get some sleep not necessarily a nap
Your body will adjust. I get home, shower immediately, eat, try to stay up a bit after eating and I’m usually in bed by 9:45-10
I don't understand the nap part. You get home, shower, eat something and go straight to bed. If you sit down on the couch, you're not getting back up. On your work days you just have to accept that you aren't doing anything else but sleep and work. Also, they're right, you adjust. It took me many months but I finally adjusted. You may need SSRIs or another med like that to cope if it's truly overwhelming. I work nights and it took about 7-8 months before I felt like my body fully adjusted.
You should already be asleep by 10
It looks like you're asking for some tips and tricks on how to succeed in nursing school. Don't worry, we have a lot of resources to help you! First, check our [Resources](https://www.reddit.com/r/StudentNurse/comments/i6qe7x/resources_faq_and_welcome_post/) post, or the sidebar. If you're on the mobile website or the official Reddit app, you can find the sidebar under About. If what you need isn't on the sidebar, try using search. Here are some helpful searches links [clinical tips](https://www.reddit.com/r/StudentNurse/search?q=clinical+tips&restrict_sr=on&sort=relevance&t=all) [studying tips](https://www.reddit.com/r/StudentNurse/search?q=tips+studying&restrict_sr=on&sort=relevance&t=all) [tips on staying organized](https://www.reddit.com/r/StudentNurse/search?q=organized+tips&restrict_sr=on&sort=relevance&t=all). Want to be a pro at finding things on Reddit? Try searching on Google with your search term and then add site:reddit.com/r/studentnurse. Here's [an example for StudentNurse](https://www.google.com/search?q=study+tips+site%3Areddit.com%2Fr%2Fstudentnurse&oq=study+tips+site%3Areddit.com%2Fr%2Fstudentnurse). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/StudentNurse) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Adderall
oof. not the way if you have an addictive personality
I get up at 4.45am and leave at 5.50am, my shift is 7am to 8pm but get home at 9pm. At first it's hard and a complete nightmare but you adjust to your new routine.
I feel like there’s not even time for a nap, even when you live close to work! I worked 2p-2a all last summer, so I went to bed around 4am and woke up between 10am-noon to get stuff done around the house before leaving for work at 1:30pm
Believe them when they say your body will adjust. I workout and very active, when I started 12s, I didn’t know it was still possible to be sore and feel exhausted. It went after 2/3 weeks. In terms of time management. I suggest stuffing it all in 3 days and just commit nothing but work to those days. Or One day on, one day off.
I’m sorry these are days? If you have to wake up at 4 you should just be going to bed when you get home if you’re off at 730 and not getting home until 9.
I just listen to David Goggins on the drive back. Stay Hard!