The shift will end
Tomorrow
Bet your bottom dollar
That tomorrow
There’ll be sleep!
Just thinkin’ about shift end
Clears away the cobwebs
And the sorrow
’til there’s none!
When I’m stuck in a shift
That’s long
And forever
I just stick out my chin
And grin,
And say,
Oh.
The call will end
Tomorrow
So I’ve got to hang on ’til tomorrow
Come what may!
Tomorrow!
Tomorrow!
I will sleep
Tomorrow!
Sleep’s only a shift away!
Apologies to Martin Shaman and Charles Strouse for co-opting and re-writing their hit “Tomorrow” from the Broadway musical Annie.
As a night shifter, I know that sleep is very important. And some nights we don’t get a lot of it. But that is the nature of the call shift. Sometimes there isn’t a lot of sleep, and sometimes it is a full night of it. You have to be able to roll with the schedule.
The first thing my university advisor asks when she sees me is “How’s the sleep? Are you getting enough of it?” Yes, Dr. Advisor, I am getting enough sleep. I have data points to share if you are interested. Maybe I should make it into a graph for show and tell purposes.
That being said, and knowing that not everyone tracks your own sleep patterns, there are some things that can be done in your sleep environment to prepare yourself for good sleep.
Is the room cool enough? A University of Texas sleep specialist, Dr. Okeanis Vauu, reported that sleeping in a cool dark room is recommended. After all, our brain wants a cooler temperature while we sleep. This information is from a UT article on sleep after the spring forward time change.
But it is definitely appropriate for sleeping after a call shift.
The dark room during the day may be harder to accomplish. I have purchased black out curtains until I am blue in the face but they are never dark enough. Next I found and purchased black out blinds that you cut to size. I cut and installed these after the first month I was on call.
Instant bliss. Not to mention cooler.
In the summer, I also put up heavy curtains in the adjoining bath because of the afternoon sun that 1) heats up the small room, and 2) is blindingly bright.
My husband works afternoons/nights and is glad for the additional window coverings.
We don’t have children to get off to school or children at home. Unless you count the cat, who insists that I get out of bed by 0800 every morning, whether or not I’ve worked the night before. But I have heard that can be a barrier for some.
Sleep when you can. Some people can go right to bed when they get home and this is a good habit to get into.
Because you never know when the next case will pop up. There have been times that I’ve been home and in bed for 15 minutes and the darned pager went off again. And I head back to the hospital for another case.
Thankfully those kind of nights are hopefully far apart. And if it is a string of late nights just remember that day shift will be in a 0700 to relieve you so you can go home and sleep.
No bad pattern lasts forever. Some last longer than most but that’s call life.
I find it best not to focus on the sleep you’re missing but instead focus on the good sleep you will get the next day because you won’t be responsible for day cases. And the hospital won’t be ringing you up with add ons.
Remember, there is always a shift end. There is also a finite amount of time that the case volume can hurt you and stop you from sleeping.
These tips are coming from a call afficionado: make your room as dark as you can, and make your room as cool as you can. Fans are a good help here.
And take the afternoon nap when you are able to. Especially if the house is still and silent because everyone else is away at school or work.
Pay attention to your sleep hygiene and practices while on call. Well, any night really, but especially on call.
Call is only a sleep debt if you want it to be.
Dispatches from the Evening Shift 