Simple Reminders

When I first started out as a new grad, I worked on night shift. This switch from being a "day walker" to living the night life was an incredibly difficult adjustment for me. For one, I had always been an early riser. Every morning I would wake up at approximately 0600. In fact, I loved waking up early so much that I would purposely schedule myself for the 0800 classes in college. As soon as the sun came in through my window in the morning I felt a rush of energy and excitement for the day. I always felt that my brain worked best early in the morning. Now here I was, at the mercy of "doing my time" as a night shift new grad nurse.

The first night I worked, I felt physically ill to my stomach at the end of my shift. I knew I was tired, I felt physically exhausted, but as soon as the sun touched my skin my body wanted to wake up for the day. I could feel my heart racing to try and stay up. There was a battle of exhaustion and fighting the urge to sleep that threw me into confused turmoil. It was the most bizarre feeling I had ever felt.

When I arrived home, I attempted to lay down in my bed. I did all of the "tricks" to help myself fall asleep. I covered my windows with dark curtains, I played white noise, I turned the thermostat down, and I surrounded myself in a cocoon of soft feather down pillows and comforters. None of it worked. My body wanted to be awake and be with the sun! I could feel the anxiety bubbling up. The first night was certainly the hardest but as time went on it got a little easier. It took me approximately 3 months to begin to feel comfortable with the night shift life. However, even though I was adjusting to a new normal, the world was still going on around me. I would still have people knock on my door, call me, text me, etc. The world was still rising and falling with the sun even though I was living the complete opposite. Through this time, I wished that I had something on my front door to keep the disturbances at bay. That is why when I began to add additional item into my shop, I knew one of those items would be something to help my night shifters out. Even though I do not work night shift anymore, I still think it's important to have something within' easy accessibility to slip on the door when a simple reminder is needed to the outside world for peace and quiet.