By LeaderStat

April 4, 2023

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6 Tips to Get Better Sleep

LeaderStat provided this article.

Some days are crazy and chaotic, where we feel as if we are being pulled in 20 directions at once. With all of your home and family responsibilities and workplace demands, we may find that we are struggling to get enough good-quality sleep. Sleep that is poor quality and on an erratic schedule can be detrimental to our mental and physical health.  

To be considered healthy sleep, it must encompass these three components: 

  • Quantity – how much sleep we get 
  • Quality – sleep that is uninterrupted and refreshing
  • Consistency – made challenging by irregular or night shift work and chaotic lives

With so many people and responsibilities making demands on our time, something must give, right? So, we make what seems like the necessary decision to sacrifice quality sleep. But attention to these straightforward tips can bring about positive changes that will impact the “health” of your sleep.

1. Stick to a consistent sleep schedule: 

Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. This helps regulate your body’s internal clock and improve the quality of your sleep.

2. Create a sleep-conducive environment: 

Make sure your bedroom is dark, cool, and quiet. Use blackout curtains, earplugs, or a white noise machine if necessary. Also, invest in a comfortable mattress, pillows, and bedding.

3. Limit exposure to screens before bed:

The blue light emitted by electronic devices can interfere with your body’s production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep. Avoid using your smartphone, tablet, or computer for at least an hour before bedtime. 

4. Practice relaxation techniques: 

Activities such as reading, taking a warm bath, or practicing yoga can help you unwind and prepare for sleep. Avoid stimulating activities like watching TV, working on your computer, or exercising right before bed.

5. Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and heavy meals before bedtime: 

These can interfere with your sleep and cause restless nights. Try to avoid consuming them for at least a few hours before bed. Instead, opt for a light snack or a cup of herbal tea to help you relax. 

6. Don’t toss and turn:

If after 20 minutes you can’t fall asleep, don’t allow yourself to become frustrated and begin tossing and turning. Sometimes the harder you try to get some shut-eye, the more stubbornly sleep evades you. Instead, do something calming, such as reading or listening to soft music, until you feel sleepy. 

Consistently getting adequate, quality sleep will enhance every aspect of your life. Make it a priority!

Our job board is a great place to search for your next travel nurse assignment. We have you covered with our housing page if housing is an issue. You can search for what you are looking for.

If you are a new travel nurse or looking into becoming a travel nurse:

Travel Nurse Guide: Step-by-Step (now offered in a PDF Downloadable version!)

By Kevin Devoto

March 26, 2022

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How Travel Nurses Can Improve Their Sleep

Getting quality sleep on a regular basis is essential for maintaining good health. That being said, travel nurses and nurses, in general, can struggle with getting adequate amounts of sleep at night. Between the long hours, night shifts, time zone changes, achieving a restful night of sleep can seem impossible at times. The good news is that there are things you can do to begin improving your sleep quality. The first step to doing this is to make sure that you understand what impacts your ability to fall asleep at night. If you want to get the rest that you and your body need to truly feel regenerated, then here are some things to consider. 

Your Diet and Nutrient Intake

One of the first things you need to think about when you are working to improve your overall sleep quality is what you eat on a daily basis. The foods you eat can impact how much energy you have throughout the day and your overall hormonal balance. These things, in turn, can then impact how easy it is for you to fall asleep. When you eat foods that tend to be high in sugar and carbs, your blood sugar will be more likely to spike and crash. This means that your energy levels will also be spiking and crashing. Ultimately, this can cause you to feel tired all day long and then full of energy at night. 

In addition to paying attention to your blood sugar and how foods impact that, you also need to consider the nutrient density of the foods that you eat and whether or not you might be deficient in some nutrients. Doing things like taking a vitamin d test can help clue you into what nutrients you need more of in your diet. Different deficiencies can hurt sleep in different ways. For example, those with a vitamin B12 deficiency might find that their sleep patterns are disrupted, while those with a vitamin D deficiency might notice that their sleep duration is shorter overall. 

Your Caffeine and Alcohol Intake

The amounts of caffeine and alcohol that you drink can also significantly impact your ability to fall asleep at night. Caffeine can keep you up due to the fact that it is a nervous system stimulant. A nervous system stimulant can be great for getting you up and going early in the morning. However, all of this energy can be detrimental too late in the day. Because caffeine can keep you energized for up to several hours after consuming it, it is important to make sure that you avoid drinking caffeinated beverages too late in the evening. 

Along with caffeine, alcohol is another beverage that can significantly impact your sleep quality. Even though some may not think that alcohol impacts their sleep much because they are able to fall asleep easily after drinking, the reality is that it can still be hurting sleep quality. While alcohol may not prevent you from falling asleep, the reality is that it can disrupt sleep cycles and lead to short and fragmented sleep. Because of this, you may find yourself waking up frequently throughout the night and feeling exhausted when you do finally get up for the day. To avoid this, it can be a good idea to limit the number of drinks that you consume or to avoid drinking too frequently. 

Your Daily Activity Level

Your daily activity level is something else that can have a noticeable impact on the amount and quality of sleep that you are able to get. Typically, the more active that you are throughout the day, the easier it will be for you to fall asleep at night. This is due in part to the fact that being physically active can wear you out and cause you to feel more tired when it is time for bed. The other reason that it can be beneficial is that physical activity can help to balance out your hormones and can even affect many hormones that are related to sleep quality and duration. 

Something else to keep in mind is that it often doesn’t matter what kind of exercise or movement you are doing throughout the day. As long as you can make sure that you are working out for at least 20 to 30 minutes a day, you can see benefits when it comes to your sleep quality. 

Your Sleeping Environment

Where you sleep is another factor that can have a lot to do with whether or not you are sleeping well at night. If you have a bedroom that is full of light, heat, and noise, you may find it difficult to fall asleep easily or stay asleep throughout the night. While you may not always be able to change all of these things, doing what you can to create a dark, cool and quiet sleeping environment can be important for getting good sleep.

One way to help cool your bedroom down is by using a fan at night, which can also be great for white noise. Additionally, turning your thermostat down by a few extra degrees before bed can be another way to accomplish this. To help reduce noise, using noise-canceling panels on your door or earplugs can be helpful. If you want to make sure that your room is dark enough, then using a sleep mask or trying room-darkening blinds can be a good idea. 

Your Stress Levels

Your stress levels are another thing that can impact your ability to sleep well in a big way. The more stressed that you are, the more stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol you will have coursing through your system. These hormones can cause you to feel wired and can lead to you staying up, even if you are feeling very tired. While it may not be possible to avoid stress in your life altogether, the good news is that there are things you can do to help reduce it. 

One way to help cut down on stress is to try out mindfulness, or meditation. Meditation can not only help you to clear your mind, but it can also help to calm your nervous system as well. Often, aiming for 15 to 20 minutes of meditation is ideal if you want to see results. 

Parting Thoughts

Quality sleep is essential for travel nurses because they have very demanding jobs that require their full energy for extended periods of time. Many don’t get as much rest as they truly need. While it might not always be easy to get enough sleep, the upside is that by being aware of all the factors that can affect your rest, you can help make the right decisions to get better sleep.

We hope this article on ways to improve sleep as a travel nurse was helpful. Have you found any ways to improve sleep as a travel nurse? Comment ways you think will help other travel nurses improve sleep.

Are you looking for your next travel nurse assignment? Click here to view our job board. Do you need housing for an upcoming assignment? Click here to search our housing page.

If you are a new travel nurse or looking into becoming a travel nurse:

Travel Nurse Guide: Step-by-Step (now offered in a PDF Downloadable version!)

By Lirika Hart

March 17, 2022

2624 Views

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8 Secrets to a Good Night’s Sleep When Feeling Fatigued

Without any doubt, sleep has a direct influence on your mental state and physical health. If you fail to get proper sleep, it will make you emotionally imbalanced, lower your daytime energy, reduce productivity, and drastically affect your overall health. Your brain, heart health, mood, creativity, vitality, and immune system can undergo adverse effects due to a poor routine.

Despite understanding the importance of sleep, many people toss and turn all night. Actually, getting a good night’s sleep becomes impossible when you are tired, have unhealthy daytime habits, or if you accidentally awake at 3 a.m. Do you also struggle for a sound and peaceful sleep? Trust me; you can get better control over your sleep quality than you probably realize.

Experiment with the given tips to enjoy better sleep at night, improve your thinking style, and significantly boost your health. These sleep strategies will help you stay energetic all day!

1: Keep Your Room Comfortable

Keep your bedroom comfortable! Please do not keep your television there as it can be a big distraction to your sleep. When you are in bed, put an ultimate effort to avoid responding to phones and emails. The bed needs to be a motivation for sleeping, not for wakefulness.

Furthermore, your room ambiance also affects sleep quality; ensure that you keep it as comfortable and soothing as possible. Ideally, you can go with a quiet, dark, calm environment; these features promote sleep onset.

2: Consider Exercise An Important Part Of Your Routine

Going for a walk will not just cut your weight down; it will also support you for a good sleep at night. Regular exercise activates the hormones that help in natural sleep, such as melatonin. Exercising close to bedtime can be more effective and hormone-stimulating. However, morning exercises that expose you to shining daylight can improve your natural circadian rhythm.

So, workout helps you in every way!

3: Follow Sleep Rituals

Bedtime rituals that you used to follow in your childhood can contribute to adulthood and late age.

Our mother used to tuck us in a bed and read a story for us; this pacifying ritual helped us quickly fall asleep. This sleep ritual signals the mind and body that it is sleep time. So, continue these rituals and read a book, drink a warm glass of water, take a bath, and listen to calming music to welcome a peaceful sleep time.

4: Eat—But Not Too Much

An empty stomach is distracting enough and keeps you awake, and the same is the case with an overly full belly. Do not eat a heavy meal before two to three hours of bedtime. If you feel hungry, eat small healthy snacks to satisfy yourself till breakfast.

5: Avoid Alcohol And Caffeine

It is okay to have snacks before bed but do not make wine and chocolate the part of them. Chocolate and alcohol act as stimulants, make you less sleepy and disrupt sleep during the night.

6: Buy Some Sleep Supporting Products

Another secret to peaceful sleep is using CBD capsules, drops, or products for better and faster sleep. If you’re wondering where to get these kinds of items, then try researching online CBD stores. There are many sleep supplements, goods that offer tinctures, pain relief, and vapes that are manufactured with natural ingredients to make it possible for you to sleep longer and better. These sleep-tight solutions also help you in several other ways, such as maintaining your beauty, skin repairing, workout recovery, and multiple other ways.

7: Don’t Overthink Or Stress

The bills, your to-do list, and other daytime worries can bubble up in your mind at night. Wind down yourself before bed because such thoughts can give stress and anxiety. Stress is a stimulus that boosts up fight-or-flight hormones that act as a sleep barrier.

Learning relaxation activities can promote good sleep and reduce daytime anxiety. You can practice deep breathing exercises to calm and relax promptly.

8: Get Your Check-ups

Snoring, an urge to move your leg moving, a burning pain in your chest, stomach, or throat are sleep disruptors. If these symptoms prolong—make you sleepy during the day or keep you up at night, visit your doctor for a check-up.

Our Summary

A night with a tight sleep can give you a happy and blissful morning, but we all know that falling asleep earlier and longer is not something easy.

Well, instead of getting worried or using sleep pills, you can try the above eight secrets to get a better night’s sleep.

We hope you found this article on 8 secrets to a good night’s sleep when feeling fatigued helpful. Have you found ways to get a good night’s sleep as a travel nurse? Comment them below.

Are you looking for your next travel nurse assignment? Click here to view our job board. Do you need housing for an upcoming assignment? Click here to search our housing page.

If you are a new travel nurse or looking into becoming a travel nurse:

Travel Nurse Guide: Step-by-Step (now offered in a PDF Downloadable version!)

By Kevin Devoto

August 12, 2021

5744 Views

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3 Ways to Get High-Quality Sleep as a Travel Nurse

Being a nurse can be an incredibly difficult yet rewarding profession. Nurses are credited for being instrumental in providing good care for patients in hospitals, nursing facilities, and more. There are many perks to this profession, one of them being that they can be very flexible. Nurses are needed seven days a week, 24 hours a day, so nurses can choose to work night shifts or weekends if that is better for their schedule. Nurses are also needed in all areas, so they can move to a desired location and likely find a nursing position wherever. Some nurses choose to be travel nurses, which is when they take short-term contracts in various parts of the country. 

Travel nursing is a great opportunity for you to explore different parts of the country for shorter amounts of time. Most assignments are only a few months long, so if you don’t like where you are, you know you can move in just a few months. With constant moving and getting adjusted to new environments, you may find that getting quality sleep is difficult. There are a few things you can do to get high-quality sleep no matter where your travel nursing contract takes you. 

Tips for getting high-quality sleep

1. Purchase Good Bedding

Your living accommodations while being a travel nurse may include fully-furnished homes, but you may want to be pickier with your bed than with your kitchen table. It can be advantageous to purchase your own travel mattress, pillows and sheets so you can have peace of mind knowing that your bedding is not only clean but comfortable. Different people like different types of bedding, but some mattress shopping tips are to have a budget in mind before you start shopping and test out a variety, so you are less likely to have to return it in the future. This is the same with pillows: know how much you are willing to spend on them and test out a few different kinds so that you are happy and comfortable when sleeping. You can also research different sheets and decide if you like cotton sheets, jersey sheets, or flannel sheets, among other options. 

2. Maintain a Sleep Routine

One of the best things to do to get high-quality sleep, along with having a comfortable bed, is having a regular sleep schedule. This means that you go to bed and wake up around the same time every day. This can be difficult when you have to wake up early for work every day and love sleeping in, but it can throw off your body’s routine and make you feel more tired and not sleep as well if you don’t abide somewhat by the schedule. It can also be difficult if you work the night shift, but if you can go to sleep and wake up within a few hours on days you are working or not working, it can help you sleep better throughout the week. It is also beneficial to try to keep your night shift work regular, meaning that you do not frequently change from working days to nights. 

3. Take Care of Your Body

What you eat, drink and do during the day can have a big impact on your sleep. Trying to sleep when you are too hungry or too full can impact your sleep quality. Additionally, drinking caffeine or alcohol close to when you are going to sleep can negatively impact your sleep. Though you probably walk around and move a lot while working, engaging in physical activity on your days off is important too. While you probably work long days indoors, spending some time outside every day can help your body feel better as well. If you have any breaks during the day, consider spending 15-20 minutes outside. Taking good care of your body can not only help you perform better at work but also help you get high-quality sleep each and every night. 

We hope you found these tips for getting high-quality sleep helpful. Are you a travel nurse who has found ways to get high-quality sleep, even on nights? Have some tips to share with fellow travel nurses? Comment them below.

Are you a travel nurse looking for your next assignment? Click here to visit our job board. Do you have your assignment secured but need housing? Click here to view our housing page.

If you are a new travel nurse or looking into becoming a travel nurse:

Travel Nurse Guide: Step-by-Step (now offered in a PDF Downloadable version!)

By Dr. Dee (Amanda Richardson)

February 24, 2021

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5 Ways Lack of Sleep Affects Your Health

The world is stressful, and it can be hard to get a good night’s sleep. Here’s a stressful thought for you: lack of sleep causes many serious health problems, in addition to causing vehicle and workplace accidents.

Our bodies mostly heal and rehabilitate themselves while we sleep, producing the hormones and chemical processes we’ll need during our waking hours. Work and family stress cause many people sleepless nights; others experience insomnia from overuse of a stimulant like caffeine.

Here are five ways that lack of sleep affects your health.

1. Heart Health and Sleep

The human heart is under immense stress, even on an average day. Sleep is when our hearts heal themselves from inflammation and other damage, allowing blood to flow more easily through our vessels.

Sleep issues can increase your risk or even cause strokes, heart attacks, and hypertension. The CDC recommends at least seven hours of sleep per night to combat high blood pressure, obesity, and other strains on your heart.

2. Lack of Sleep Affects Your Brain Functions

Your brain’s performance affects your health in countless ways: your energy level, mood, and memory all diminish when you sleep fewer than 7-9 hours.

Everyone is familiar with “brain fog”: the mornings and afternoons where you “just can’t seem to get it together.” Lack of sleep is the primary cause of this mental haze.

Sleep opens your brain’s neuron pathways, improving your long-term memory. Without sufficient sleep, your concentration and mood can fluctuate wildly throughout the day. Prolonged insomnia can cause mood disorders like anxiety, paranoia, and depression.

3. Lack of Sleep Can Make You Sick

Much like your brain responds to insomnia, your immune system is not operating at full-power. Failing to get enough sleep, the immune system does not produce the cytokines that attack bacteria, fungi, and viruses throughout the day.

Insomnia lowers your immune system’s ability to fight infections. Seniors and other groups with existing immune system issues need optimal sleep, urgently. Untreated insomnia is a serious condition, and a huge potential risk during the COVID pandemic.

4. Digestion and Healthy Sleep

Dietary health, or “regularity,” is one of the keys to overall health. Many people, even athletes, don’t know that their sleep schedule is what is sabotaging their weight-loss and fitness goals.

Lack of sleep affects your body’s hormone production. When you don’t sleep enough, the body won’t produce sufficient leptin and ghrelin–the hormones that tell your brain to stop eating, and tell your body it is full, respectively. This is detailed further in Healing Hands Chiropractic’s article about sleep health.

5. Poor Sleep and Hormone Deficiencies

Sleep problems affect everyone from school-age to retirement, and hormone imbalances are some of the most common. Poor sleep can stunt children’s growth and physical maturation; later in life, insomnia can cause low testosterone in men and early menopause in women.

Our endocrine systems need sleep to produce hormones that keep us healthy. The primary male reproductive hormone, testosterone, is only produced when a man gets at least three hours of deep sleep.

Tools to Address Your Sleep Issues

Not everybody needs, or should use, medication to deal with their sleep issues.

Insomnia can be caused by many factors, so it’s a good idea to seek a medical professional’s opinion regarding any sleep problems. The following are some tried-and-true techniques to improve sleep, as well as to protect you from the health issues listed above:

  • Artificial light tricks your body into being awake. Turn off your phone, television, and any other screens an hour before you sleep. If this isn’t feasible, use a night-mode setting that eliminates blue light.
  • Go to bed the same time each night–the earlier,, the better. Our bodies begin to produce melatonin and other hormones each night and stop producing them around 7 in the morning. The Sleep Foundation has an excellent guide to melatonin here.
  • Try an herbal tea or supplement; valerian root and passion fruit extract are two popular over-the-counter remedies (consult a doctor before using either).

To anyone suffering from sleep-related health issues: there is help available. Don’t wait to reach out.

If you are a new travel nurse or looking into becoming a travel nurse:

Travel Nurse Guide: Step-by-Step (now offered in a PDF Downloadable version!)

By Gifted Healthcare

February 18, 2020

5990 Views

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Better Sleep Health: Tips for Travel Nurses

This article provided by: Gifted Healthcare

For many travel nurses, sleep is merely a luxury. Long hours and night shifts make sleep precious and hard to find.

However, getting enough shut-eye is an essential part of maintaining a healthy, productive lifestyle. Studies have shown that insufficient sleep can significantly affect one’s well-being.

But don’t worry, there’s hope! Read on for a list of tips to help travel nurses improve their sleep health.

Stick to a Schedule

While it can be difficult for shift workers to maintain a stable sleeping schedule, try to be as consistent as possible. This will make falling asleep and waking up much easier, and reduce your chance of crashing while you’re awake.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, maintaining a consistent schedule trains your body’s internal clock. This internal clock, or circadian rhythm, determines your cycles of sleepiness and alertness.

If you fall asleep and wake up at the same time each day, you’ll be less likely to feel the changes of your internal clock.

Take Time to Decompress

Engaging in stressful activities before bedtime can cause anxiety, which makes it harder to fall asleep and sleep soundly. Your body needs time to transition into “sleep mode.”

Try a calming activity like reading, meditation, or taking a bath. Once you’ve found a reliable way to decompress, try to incorporate it into your daily routine.

Avoid Electronics & Bright Lights

The type of light emitted from modern electronics can activate your brain in a way that makes it harder for you to sleep. Try to avoid screens at least an hour before your bedtime.

In addition, other kinds of light can disrupt your body’s natural sleep/wake cycle. If you work nights, do your best to avoid sunlight and make your home as dark as possible when it’s time to go to bed.

Exercise

Exercising is a great way to ensure that you sleep soundly, especially if you struggle with anxiety. Physical activity is a natural stress reliever and has been shown to improve sleep quality and increase sleep duration.

According to Sleep.org, “as little as 10 minutes of aerobic exercises, such as walking or cycling, can dramatically improve the quality of your sleep.”

Save Your Bedroom for Sleeping

Do you use your bedroom for activities other than sleeping? If you’re someone that has trouble falling or staying asleep, you might need to find a new room for working, watching television, or using your laptop.

By using your bedroom exclusively for sleeping, you strengthen your brain’s association between “bedroom” and “sleep.” If you find yourself lying awake and struggling to fall asleep, try moving to another room and doing something else until you feel tired enough to try again.

Avoid Stimulants & Large Meals Before Bedtime

Stimulants like nicotine and caffeine can significantly affect your body’s ability to wind down and fall asleep. Large meals can cause indigestion, which can keep you awake or cause you to wake up in the middle of the night.

Try to avoid stimulants and large meals at least two hours before bedtime.

Make Sure You’re Comfortable

Nobody looks forward to sleeping in an uncomfortable place. That’s why it’s so important to view your bedroom as a sleeping sanctuary.

Having a mattress and pillows that encourage a good night’s sleep is a worthwhile investment. It’s also essential to organize your bedroom in a way that eliminates stress and clutter.

Start Improving Your Sleep Health Today

Getting enough sleep is an important part of living your best nurse life! Use our list of tips to improve your sleep health today.

Finished the travel nursing guide and are ready to look for an assignment?

Check out our travel nurse jobs!