Categories: Scrubs

3 ways to break out of the “sleepy nurse” rut

2. Sleep assessment
Maybe you fall asleep quickly, but you wake up many times. It could be that you snore or have sleep apnea, and this wakes you up. It could be that you grind or clench your teeth while you’re sleeping, and this keeps you from having a restful sleep. So you wake up feeling groggy, grumpy, totally unrested and absolutely dreading your shift.

Consider having a sleep assessment. You’ll likely need a referral from your family physician, so talk to him or her about your sleeping issues. Once you’ve been referred to a clinic or center that specializes in sleep disorders, you’ll be tested—essentially monitored while you’re sleeping—to determine if you have any sleep disorders that are preventing you from getting a good night’s sleep. The specialists at the center will then discuss treatment of any disorder they diagnose. For more information, check out the SleepMed website.

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Cynthia Dusseault

Cynthia Dusseault is a professional freelance writer with both a health and an education background. A former medical radiation technologist and elementary school teacher, she realized that no matter what she did, she was drawn to any task that involved writing, so she decided, over a decade ago, to write full-time. Since then, she has written for a variety of magazines and websites including Nursing PRN, National Review of Medicine, University Affairs, Your Health, Education Leaders Today, Today's Parent, Children's Playmate, WeightWatchers.ca and many more. She has written about topics such as asthma, genital herpes, circumcision, teleradiology, body art, learning disabilities and exercise trends, and she absolutely adores the fact that writing—particularly doing the research for the articles she writes—makes her a lifelong learner.