The holidays are stressful; nursing is stressful…but nursing during the holidays? It can all be a lot, and often, your sleeping habits suffer the most. When you’re not getting enough sleep, your body feels it in many ways, including a lack of concentration, moodiness, weakened immune system, and weight gain. These factors will affect your performance at work, as well as your overall quality of life. Sleep is crucially important to your wellness, and not something to let slip through the cracks.
Chances are as a nurse you already have a wacky sleeping schedule, but what can you do to make sure the sleep that you do get is the most restful it can be? Here are five tips to help you get a better night’s sleep, the rest you deserve:
Yes, when that alarm goes off, and the sun is still nowhere to be found, it can be very tempting to hit the snooze button. And then hit it again. And then three more times. This is the worst thing that you can do. You trick your body into going back to sleep and waking up again, over and over. These false starts confuse your brain and body and can throw off your whole day. Instead, set the alarm only once, allow yourself a few minutes to adjust, and actually get up.
The blue light emanating from your devices, such as tablets, phones, computers, and TV’s suppress our bodies’ natural melatonin, the hormone that helps us get to sleep. Electronics make it harder for us to get to sleep because they stimulate brain activity. So instead of falling asleep to a TV show or desperately sending your last texts of the night, try to cut yourself off from electronics for at least an hour before you go to bed.
...in the afternoon or evening. The later in the day that you consume caffeine, the more likely you are to having issues getting to sleep. Caffeine’s effects can remain in your system up to 12 hours after consumption. Switch to water once you’ve gotten your caffeine fix or decaf.
Studies show that those who regularly exercise sleep better than those who don’t. You don’t have to become a gym rat or run a marathon, but do something even if it’s just going for a walk. It’s that simple.
This one is even more important than you think. Take the time every night before sleep to think and to decompress about the day’s events. Try to make sense of everything that happened, of your patients, of your cases, your relationships. Write your thoughts down if it helps, and let the day go, so you’re ready to start fresh in the morning.
Above all, remember that what you do every day as nurses is essential. You need to take care of yourself before you can take care of anyone else.