Comments on: Nurses and Shiftwork: Sleep Well to Be Well, by Dr. Carolyn Gotay https://www.nnpbc.com/nurses-and-shiftwork-sleep-well-to-be-well-by-dr-carolyn-gotay/ Wed, 18 Feb 2026 19:01:47 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.5 By: Julia Baratto, RN https://www.nnpbc.com/nurses-and-shiftwork-sleep-well-to-be-well-by-dr-carolyn-gotay/#comment-37462 Sat, 26 Sep 2015 00:10:34 +0000 https://www.nnpbc.com/blog/?p=1177#comment-37462 What an important point to make! Is it not ironic that a profession centered around health has one of the unhealthiest schedules. I suffer from shift work sleep disorder despite only being six months into the job. All the recommendations made around proper sleep hygiene to minimize the effects of shift work are ones that are impossible to implement. I work full-time, mostly two days, two nights and four off. It is recommended that you stick to one schedule. For example, if one works nights it is recommended they keep the same schedule on ones days off. That can only be applied to the one individual that owns a nights-only line on my unit. The second recommendation is that if you have to work a variety of shifts is to slowly transition. I know I have colleagues in other provinces that work a set of days, have some days off and then work a set of nights. For these colleagues, the recommendation to slowly transition from days to nights over the days off would likely work. However, my schedule forces me to switch from 12 hours days to 12 hour nights within the same set. I spend all four of my days off struggling with a mix of insomnia and hypersomnia, depending on what my body feels like doing that week. I do not want to end up spending my career relying on caffeine and sleep aids so I do hope to see scheduling changes in the future that allows for healthier sleep hygiene, and well-rested nurses!

]]> By: Leeza Robinson https://www.nnpbc.com/nurses-and-shiftwork-sleep-well-to-be-well-by-dr-carolyn-gotay/#comment-37461 Wed, 05 Aug 2015 03:54:57 +0000 https://www.nnpbc.com/blog/?p=1177#comment-37461 Wow this is just great. I am so interested in learning more about how sleep patterns are impacted by shift work, but also how shift work impacts sleep patterns. This is something nurses have been dealing with for decades, and we're only now starting to understand how bad it is for our health long-term. There is so much to learn. Thank you Dr. Gotay - I will follow your work and give thought to how I can take your words to heart.

]]> By: Lori Campbell https://www.nnpbc.com/nurses-and-shiftwork-sleep-well-to-be-well-by-dr-carolyn-gotay/#comment-37460 Wed, 05 Aug 2015 01:00:51 +0000 https://www.nnpbc.com/blog/?p=1177#comment-37460 Fascinating! I participated in a sleep study a couple years ago when I was working in ICU, the wrist sleep monitor showed me that I woke up a LOT more often than I thought that I did, especially during my day sleep! Really was a wake up call (haha, pun intended) that my sleep was impacted more than I thought, so after that I implemented ear plugs and a sleep mask which helped a bit!

I'm really glad to see that you are researching solutions, rather than just more that is confirming that nurses have significant sleep disruption! Thanks for sharing!

]]>