By Nurse First Travel Agency

October 21, 2022

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12 Tips to Survive a Travel Nurse Night Shift

Nurse First Travel Agency provided this article.

Travel nursing has become a great career choice for nurses who want to travel and earn extra income. The job often involves working long hours at night, often in less desirable travel nurse locations. If you’re thinking about becoming a travel nurse, you should know that working nights can be challenging. There are some things you can do to prepare for the transition from day to night shifts.

When you become a travel nurse, you’ll likely spend several weeks or months away from home. This means you’ll miss out on family time and other important events. To cope with these challenges, you’ll want to plan ahead. But it doesn’t have to be miserable. Read on for 12 tips to survive a travel nurse night shift and ensure your success. 

12 tips to survive a travel nurse night shift and ensure your success. 

12 Tips to Survive a Travel Nurse Night Shift

1. Prepare Yourself Beforehand

Before you leave home, plan out your schedule so you know when you’ll be sleeping, eating, showering, etc. Also, pack all of your medications and medical equipment ahead of time.

2. Eat Healthy

During your overnight shift, you’re going to be eating very little. So, eat well before you leave home. Avoid junk food and unhealthy snacks. Instead, pack something like fruit, nuts, granola bars, protein shakes, etc.

3. Stay Hydrated

It’s also important to stay hydrated during your overnight shift. Drinking lots of water will prevent you from feeling thirsty. When you’re thirsty, you tend to drink more fluids. And, when you drink more fluid, you lose weight. So, staying hydrated will help you avoid losing weight.

4. Wear Comfortable Clothes

Wear clothes that are comfortable. You’ll be wearing them for hours at a time. So, choose clothes that fit comfortably but still look professional.

5. Be Prepared

Be prepared for your overnight shift. Have everything you need ready ahead of time. Bring along your uniform, medications, phone charger, etc.

6. Take breaks

Try to take short breaks every hour or so. Get up and stretch your legs. Walk around the room. Do whatever helps you relax.

7. Make Friends With Other Nurses

Nurses are like family. They understand what you go through every day. When you’re having a rough night, you want someone to talk to about it. So, find out where the nurses hang out during the night shift. Maybe there’s a coffee shop nearby. If you don’t know anyone else, start making friends now.

8. Create A Consistent Sleep Pattern

You’ve heard it before: “Sleep when you’re tired.” Well, that’s true. But how do you know when you’re really tired? One way to tell is to wake up naturally. Instead of waking up to an alarm, wake up naturally. Go to bed around the same time each night. Then, wake up naturally again. Once you establish a consistent sleep pattern, you won’t feel tired when you wake up.

9. Stick to your schedule

When you’re on a travel nurse assignment, there’s no way to predict what days you might be called upon to work. So you need to develop a routine that works best for you. For example, some nurses like to wake up early and go straight to bed late, while others prefer to keep their mornings free. Whatever works best for you, make sure you stick to it.

10. Don’t eat before bedtime

The best way to avoid getting sick while traveling is to make sure you don’t eat anything too heavy before bedtime. You’ll want to keep it light and healthy, like fruit, nuts, yogurt, and granola bars. Avoid eating meat, dairy, bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, and sweets.

11. Meal Prep

You might think that meal prepping makes things easier, but it actually makes them more complicated because you won’t know what you’re having for dinner until you’ve already eaten breakfast. When possible, try to cook one day ahead and freeze meals you know you’ll eat later. This will help you save money and space in your suitcase.

12. Keep your room cool. 

When it comes time to sleep, keeping a cooler room may help. A cooler temperature helps regulate your internal body temperature. Try keeping your bedroom around 68 degrees Fahrenheit. You can even add blackout curtains since the light from outside might deter you from falling asleep. 

Conclusion

Travel nursing is a rewarding career choice because you get paid to travel across the country and provide care to patients who need medical attention. In addition to earning a good hourly wage, you also get to experience new places and meet interesting people. The job also offers flexibility and independence. You’ll be working long hours, but you’ll enjoy the benefits of being away from home. 

The downside is that you’ll often spend long hours at the hospital or clinic where you work. This means that you’ll miss out on time with family and friends back home. But don’t worry. Following our tips on how to survive a travel nurse night shift can ensure that you enjoy your travels.

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

September 9, 2022

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Surviving Night Shifts as a Travel Nurse

Being a nurse is challenging. With the worldwide nursing shortage, many professionals have turned to travel nursing for a bigger paycheck and increased work flexibility. While there are substantial benefits to travel nursing, it can be exhausting. Night shifts that were already hard can feel almost impossible for many nurses. If you’re a travel nurse scheduled for a midnight rotation, here are some tips to make it easier. 

Stay Nourished

First, you can make your overnight shifts easier by staying nourished. Food is fuel, and your body will need enough to make it overnight. Whether working in the emergency room or a nursing home, you need a good nutrition plan. Don’t leave your temporary housing without a meal packed or a plan to get one. If your body is low on cellular energy, you’ll get sleepy easier, and the hours will stretch. Something as simple as keeping granola bars or protein cookies in your scrub pockets will keep you nourished and awake throughout the night.

job board

If you don’t have the time to grab food, protein shakes, or supplement smoothies will be your best friends. These drinks give you the nutrients your body needs on the go, allowing you to make the most of your time. While a protein shake isn’t an optimal replacement for food, it’s better than skipping meals. Nutrition systems like Thrive include caffeine in their products, which gives you a boost throughout your shift. Thrive reviews are generally positive, with many people seeing an increase in long-lasting energy during their workday. By improving your nutrition, you can make your night shift easier. 

Curate a Sleep Schedule

The second way to make your night shifts easier is by curating a sleep schedule. When your shift ends, it can be tempting to go hang out with work friends or try to get housework done. While there’s nothing wrong with either of those things, having a sleep schedule is vital to your health as a night shift nurse. If you can, try to head for bed as soon as you can following your shift. Your off-duty tasks will still be there when you wake up, but you can’t function at work without proper rest. 

One crucial part of setting a sleep schedule is having a bedtime routine. It can be hard to fall asleep when you’re adjusting your circadian rhythm to a nocturnal schedule. Having a routine before bed can help make winding down after work easier. For instance, drinking the same cup of tea, taking a shower, or listening to white noise every day before bed will help cue your brain that it’s time to sleep. If you know you have difficulty falling asleep after work, try creating a bedtime routine along with your sleep schedule. 

Occupy Your Brain

The third way you can make your night shifts easier is by occupying your brain. Depending on your placement, you may have periods where you have little to no activity during the night. During these slow times, it’s easy to get so relaxed that you start falling asleep. Of course, you can’t exactly take a nap on the clock. Rather than getting in trouble, do things during your shift to keep your mind busy. 

If you’re allowed to use your phone during slow times, play a game that keeps you thinking or listen to a podcast while you do your routine charting. For placements with stricter phone rules, bring a sudoku or crossword book with you to work. Simple additions like these can keep your brain working so you don’t get too sleepy during your shift.

While night shifts will always be challenging, these tips can make them easier. You can survive your midnight shifts by taking care of your body as much as you care for your patients.

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 Ashleigh Kaminski

December 15, 2021

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3 Night Shift Starter Tips

They told you about night shift in nursing school, but they didn’t TEACH you about night shift. Set yourself up for the night shift the RIGHT way!

At least once a week during my senior year of nursing school, the professors would tell everyone about the very high odds of working the night shift as new grads. It’s true that a majority of new grads DO begin their nursing careers on night shift or rotate between days and nights after orientation. However, the professors did not teach us ANYTHING about night shift. What the professors did was create this truly intimidating mentality about night shift, leaving us feeling scared, overwhelmed, and underprepared for what we were about to face.

As that night shift nurse mentor, one of the biggest questions I’m regularly asked is about what you need to know when you begin on night shift. Whether you are a new grad just starting out or you are a seasoned nurse making a career transition, the following 3 starter tips are so important! The sooner you set yourself up for a thriving night shift lifestyle, the better you will feel in the long run.

1- Set up your environment

First and foremost, you have to turn your daytime bedroom into a nighttime one. How you set up your bedroom for sleep is crucial to the quality rest and recovery you need before and after your night shifts. Sleep disturbances occur because our senses detect sound, light, and temperature differences. All the changes made to your bedroom involve decreasing your sensitivity.

Sound– Daytime life can be noisy. Using earplugs, a sound machine, or a fan can significantly reduce your sleep disturbances to outside noise. One of my new favorite items (if you’re looking to invest in something) is the Bose Sleepbuds 2. They function as earplugs, a sound machine, and an alarm… all within your ear!

Light– Of course, blackout curtains are a MUST! The more layers to cover the light, the better. Room darkening curtains are not the same as blackout, as the material isn’t as thick and still allows light to come through. If you have room darkening curtains, you can purchase a pair of blackout liners that can attach behind them to deepen the darkness in your room. A sleep mask is always another good recommendation. Blackout curtains and liners can help to limit outside sound from getting in while also helping with temperature regulation.

Temperature– Speaking of temperature regulation… we don’t get the best quality sleep when we are too hot or too cold. In fact, the best sleep temperature is when you can set your thermostat between 65 and 70 degrees, per the National Sleep Foundation. Our core temperature decreases when we sleep and rises to wake us up. Make sure you have your thermostat set to your comfort level, but pair that temperature with appropriate blankets and pajamas. Don’t forget to account for bedroom temperature changes throughout the day depending on the season as well.

**Something important to note: leave screens out of the bedroom. Watching or listening to the TV is not recommended. The same thing applies to phones. Set your alarm if that’s what you use, and put the screen away. Blue light from the devices inhibits the release of melatonin- our sleep hormone.

2- Set up a routine

Our bodies crave knowing what to do and when to do it! This is called routine. Our body does this naturally through what is known as circadian rhythms and chronotypes. They are what help us meet our basic human needs first before we give away our time and energy to others. Night shift, however, feels super unnatural because we must work against what our body wants to do, which is wake with the sun and sleep when it’s dark. We have to create a totally different lifestyle because of the “backward” hours we work.

The thing about routines: no one routine is the same for everyone! And there are four different night shift “days” that you must plan for in your schedule to provide consistency for your body. Each “day” requires a different yet similar setup so you can prepare and recover from your shift in the best way possible for YOU.

Night on: Your first night on can be identified as the first shift you work when you were off the night before. You slept like a normal human the night before. You use this day to prepare for your shift.

Day off: A full day of normal human life. You wake in the morning and sleep at night.

Back-to-back: You worked the night before, and you’re back again that night. That feeling of “sleep all day, work all night” and do it over again.

Flip day: The day when you get home from work in the morning, but technically it’s your day off, so you want to flip back to a normal schedule.

The essential elements a successful night shift routine must include for preparation and recovery are sleep, nutrition, movement, relaxation, and quality time/socialization. Incorporating these components into the four-night shift “days” will ensure you can maintain your physical, mental, and emotional health so you can be your authentic self personally and professionally.

3- Set up your boundaries

Once you have your routine nailed down, you build your boundaries based off of that. Boundaries are how you maintain your work/life balance with a night shift lifestyle. They help you protect the essential elements previously mentioned. You can get the sleep you need to recover. You can get the quality time you miss without having to feel night-shift-hungover all the time. You say yes and no to extra shifts because you know whether or not you can properly prepare and recover from them to avoid staying up for more than 24 hours.

The thing about boundaries is that we often feel mean when we say no to something, or we get hard on ourselves for feeling like we’re missing out. Being consistent with your boundaries and communicating about them to others will help you feel good in the long run. Others will notice a change in your mood, happiness, and health because you have been able to get the rest your body needs to feel present for what/who is important to you.

In summary, if you can set up your environment, routines, and boundaries soon into your night shift career, you can absolutely THRIVE in the long run.

(I’m adding this below part as a plug for my mentorship services, so feel free to not include it, but I think it would be great to share)

I want you to know you do not have to navigate the night shift alone. If you feel like your current approach to the night shift could use an upgrade, I am here to show you the way through my free community and mentorship opportunities which provide you the education, tools, resources, and accountability you need to design your own balanced, flexible schedule and routine. Night shift nurses deserve a healthy, thriving lifestyle too!

Free Night Shift Nurse Network

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We hope you found this article on night shift tips helpful. Do you have any other night shift tips to share with fellow travel nurses? Comment them below.

Are you looking for your next travel nurse assignment? Click here to view our job board. Have the assignment but need to secure housing? 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 Cristina Thorson

October 13, 2021

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Staying Healthy While Working the Night Shift

Working the night shift can be quite draining, in large part because it goes against the human body’s natural circadian rhythm. The circadian system regulates our body to be awake during daylight hours, so working the night shift means you’re fighting one of your body’s ingrained systems. In order to provide the best care as a nurse, you first need to prioritize taking care of yourself. Read on for some tips that will allow you to work the night shift and stay healthy.

Set a sleep schedule

If you haven’t started your night shifts, get a head start by sleeping during the day. You can also train yourself to incorporate quick naps at convenient times.

Consume caffeine in moderation

Caffeine can be a lifesaver, especially during the night shift. Many depend on it to get their minds and bodies moving during work hours. However, try not to drink too much, because you don’t want to crash during work. You also want to be able to fall asleep when you get home.  

Eat healthy foods

Getting through the night shift will be harder if you have to deal with the ups and downs of blood sugar. Lack of sleep can throw off your body’s cravings. It can be difficult to reach for something that will give your body fuel, especially when you’re tired. Meal prepping is a great way to eat nutritious, inexpensive food without having to cook every night.

Stay hydrated

Keeping your body properly hydrated regulates your digestive system and helps you stay energized. Try to drink a bottle of water before you begin your shift, so you can get a head start on hydration. 

Exercise regularly

It might feel draining to motivate yourself, but exercise will give you more energy in the long term. Try something small and simple—it doesn’t have to be hardcore weightlifting. Just make sure you’re properly fueling your workouts and getting enough sleep to feel good! 

Schedule night shifts close together

It can be hard to get used to the odd hours, so try to schedule them back-to-back. It’ll give you an opportunity to take advantage of your time off.

Create a routine

Routines will help you plan your days off, so you can maximize your free time. A routine can also help you regulate your sleep schedule. As a travel nurse, it can be hard to set a routine. However, trying to do something as simple as brushing your teeth at the same time every day can help your body feel soothed and ready to relax.

Avoid alcohol

Alcohol might help you fall asleep, but it actually decreases the quality of your sleep and makes you feel less energized when you wake up. To avoid brain fog, try to avoid alcohol 24 hours before your next shift.

Use free time wisely

If you have free time to do something fun, you should do it! Just try to stay consistent with the sleep schedule and routines you’ve created for yourself. 

Keep your household in the loop

Allowing your household access to your schedule will enable them to respect your resting hours and make plans with you when you’re free. It can be difficult to coordinate, so try sharing a calendar (whether it’s virtual or hanging on the wall) to make it a little easier for them to see what you’re up to. 

Take nap breaks

If you have breaks and are tired enough, use them for naps. Naps are a great way to rejuvenate your energy levels. The best time to nap is around 20-30 minutes. 

Prioritize self-care

Self-care is so important, and many of the items on this list can actually work as self-care. When it comes down to it, self-care is about checking in with yourself and making sure your mental health is at its best.  

Design a sleep-friendly bedroom

It helps to adjust your sleeping environment so that it simulates nighttime, so if that means getting blackout curtains, go for it. Try to avoid loud noises or distractions.

Limit blue light

Limiting blue light before bed is one of the ways to make your bedroom more sleep-friendly. Try to get off your phone right before you go to sleep. If you have time to unwind and watch TV, try to do it a couple of hours before you go to bed. 

Nurses are essential workers, and we’ve recognized that more than ever in the past year. Because nurses are so important, it’s often a necessity for nurses to work the night shift. Do your best to prioritize your physical and mental health—if you need to take some time off, do it! Above all, you want to stay healthy so you can take on your shifts safely and successfully.

We hope you found these tips for staying healthy while working the night shift helpful. If you have any tips for working the night shift and staying healthy, comment them below.

Below you will find an infographic with some more information.

the night shift

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 Paula Rouse

June 6, 2021

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Thriving on the Night Shift: Survival Tips and Sleep Schedule Strategies for Nurses

Why is it that the 12-hour shift from 7 am to 7 pm is the shift that nobody really wants to work, and those of us that choose to work the night shift because we love it are just seen as psychotic? Night shift is certainly not for everyone, and when you ask nurses why they work the night shift, most of them are obligated due to their facility not having openings on days.  

You will find that there are usually more needs posted for the night shift for an assignment in terms of the travel nurse world. There are always day positions as well. I’m just pointing out that the needs for the night shift are always greater. Why is this? Mainly because the night shift goes against your body’s natural wake-sleep cycle. With this in mind, here are my 5  tips to help you survive the night shift.  

night shift

1. Sleep during the day

For those that sleep during the day, this process is an art form that you have to master if you’re going to survive on the night shift. I need complete darkness and silence in my room, including blackout blinds or shades, blackout curtains, and an eye mask. For the silence because the wonderful thing about sleeping during the day is that everyone else is awake and someone is always doing yard work. For silence, I either use a white noise machine or earplugs, sometimes both, depending on how much I need to drown out. Make sure you’re getting enough sleep between your shifts, at least 6-8 hours.  Before your first night shift, try and get eight hours of sleep or sleep in super late that day. I usually stay up till 4 or 5 am and sleep in for as long as I can. For me waking up early and doing a lot before my shift, and trying to take a nap before work makes me more tired and groggy, but some nurses prefer this approach.

2. Establish a bedtime routine

If you’re working your night shifts in a row, which I recommend making it easier on yourself and getting back to a normal sleep schedule once your workweek is over, then creating a bedtime routine is huge. Your routine should include anything that helps you relax or unwind after work and gets your body ready for rest. My routine includes getting home, taking a shower having a cup of hot tea, or a glass of wine, depending on how good or bad the night was. I either read or journal for about twenty to thirty minutes to decompress from everything that happened during my shift and during my commute home because this can also be stressful. No one wants to sit in traffic for thirty minutes after working 12 hours, but sometimes, depending on where you live, that’s your life.

night shift

3. Do not eat before bed

Not everyone agrees with this, but I mean, do not eat right before you get into bed when I say this. Of course, after work, you’re going to be hungry, and nothing makes you feel better after a rough night, like some good comfort food to wash all that stress away. This is not good for you, though try to eat at least two hours before you go to sleep. Eating right before you lay down leads to weight gain and feeling bloated. Also, you’ll find you will not sleep as well if you eat super heavy right before you sleep. I usually eat on my way home from work. I make up some instant oatmeal after  I clock out and eat it during my commute home. If you are going to eat right before sleep, try something light, like a small salad or fruit.

4. Healthy habits during your shift

Getting through the shift is a struggle on its own for most of us. It’s super busy in the beginning, then settles, then picks back up, then hits a wall around 0300/0400 while trying to stay awake during your shift to avoid crazy amounts of caffeine or sugar. Crazy, I know, considering those are the things you want most at 3 am when you’re trying to stay awake. Consider making some healthier substitutions such as green tea, drinks with fresh juices, or yerba mate.  Snack wise chooses healthier options that boost energy like nuts and dried fruits, apples and peanut butter, veggies, and hummus.  These will give you a nice little boost and keep you from gaining that night shift weight; secondly, if you find yourself getting tired, go for a walk around your unit or climb a flight of stairs anything to get your heart rate up and get you through the rest of your shift.

5. Enjoy your days off

Try to give yourself at least three to five days off between your night shift stretches if you can, especially if you have to flip back to a day shift schedule. On your days off, get plenty of rest, hydrate, exercise, and try and maintain a healthy lifestyle. This will help you so much. When you take care of yourself when your body is functioning on a normal sleep schedule, it will be easier to maintain when it’s not on one.  Relax and treat yourself when you can try and get a massage, do yoga, go for a hike, whatever you do to relax, do that. Lastly, spend time with your loved ones with your crazy vampire schedule. You probably haven’t seen them, and sometimes comfort and affection from the people we love are what we need most after working.

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

Check out our travel nurse jobs!