Modern Nurse Magazine Features Helpful Sleeping Tips for Night Shift Nurses

Modern Nurse Magazine, online nursing magazine for the new generation nurse, releases its September issue featuring tips on how to combat sleeping problems. Night shift workers, nurses among them, are especially vulnerable to sleep problems, particularly the inability to sleep during the day.

The article explains that while there are benefits to working the night shift such as more time with the patient and monetary reward, hospitals are aware of the potential for sleep deprivation and the effect it could have on patient care.

Modern Nurse provides the following helpful tips for successful “day sleeping:”
• Keep the room as cool and as dark as possible with blackout shades or heavy drapes – the darker, the better.
• Use a fan, humidifier, or air cleaner to muffle the sounds of the day.
• Wear a sleep mask and use earplugs.
• Maintain a consistent sleep schedule, either immediately after or before work.
• Plan for at least eight hours of sleep.
• Take a warm bath to wind down when you get home.
• Avoid nicotine and caffeine for the last several hours of your shift (easier said than done).
• Avoid heavy meals and spicy foods that might cause heartburn and gas.
• Limit what you drink several hours before your shift ends so you don’t repeatedly have to get up to go to the bathroom.
• Lie still, consciously slow your breathing, systematically relax your muscles from head to toe, and visualize yourself falling deeper and deeper into sleep.
• Use a short-acting sleep medication (if prescribed) as a last resort only.

Ultimately, the article advises adequate rest. Sleep deprivation may lead to mistakes and error in judgment, which carry serious consequences if you are a nurse.

Full copy of the article can be found at www.modrnnurse.com.

About Modern Nurse

MODRN Nurse Magazine is a new cutting edge publication from Assessment Technologies Institute, LLC (ATI). It is published 9 times every year to new nurses and nursing students.
Its goal is to provide relevant and useful information that will help readers be a better and hopefully happier LPN or RN.

For more information about ATI, please visit www.atitesting.com.