Overnight Call Sleep Routine

[thebadger]

I have an overnight call coming up and I'm trying to figure out how to do it without messing up my sleep too much. It starts at 5pm and finishes at 7am, with the rest of the day off. I need to be at the hospital at 6:30am the day after. I won't be able to sleep during call.

How did you guys typically do this? I thought about just sleeping throughout the post-call day, but then I wouldn't be able to sleep at night and my body would be completely out of whack for the next morning.

Any thoughts?

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[wannabeOBGYN]

I have an overnight call coming up and I'm trying to figure out how to do it without messing up my sleep too much. It starts at 5pm and finishes at 7am, with the rest of the day off. I need to be at the hospital at 6:30am the day after. I won't be able to sleep during call.

How did you guys typically do this? I thought about just sleeping throughout the post-call day, but then I wouldn't be able to sleep at night and my body would be completely out of whack for the next morning.

Any thoughts?

The night before, stay up as late as you possibly can and then go to sleep around 5am. The day after, go home, sleep for 3-4 hours, then get up and do stuff until your normal bedtime.

 

[peppy]

I agree with the idea of napping for maybe 3-4 hours on the post-call day. If you try not to sleep at all, you'll be miserable and the day will be wasted, but a little nap will help you feel human again.
For me, post-call was always about getting a shower and a nap ASAP.

 

[werd]

i'd try to take a nap the afternoon before your shift, then sleep like 3-4 hours after the shift, stay up for a while, and go to bed on the early side that night. that's sort of what i did following my overnight calls.