Sleep as a gen surg resident

[amoxicillin_resistant]

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How much sleep on average do you guys get?

 

[LucidSplash]

Generally, more when not on call, than when on call.

Can you clarify a little bit more about what you’re asking because this is a pretty broad question.

 

[amoxicillin_resistant]

was just wondering how many hours of sleep a night gen surg residents or attendings get

i love surgery and am a total night owl but would also like to get at least 5 hours a night if possible

 

[LucidSplash]

was just wondering how many hours of sleep a night gen surg residents or attendings get

i love surgery and am a total night owl but would also like to get at least 5 hours a night if possible

Some nights yes you’ll get 5. Some nights you’ll get none.

 

[HighPriest]

It’s also a relatively short time of your life after which you have a lot of options regarding your lifestyle.

Everyone likes getting a decent amount of sleep, man. That’s not a unique thing.

 

[Smurfette]

GS attending here. I take call from home and go in if something can't wait until morning.
There are many reasons why I don't get enough sleep and most of them actually AREN'T because I'm working or on call.

 

[DOVinciRobot]

I average 7 hours or so. Depends on the service.

 

[amoxicillin_resistant]

I average 7 hours or so. Depends on the service.

wait thats more than i get rn as a med student

honestly i wanna just quit the life of drinking nos during the day and taking copious amounts of melatonin at night - i know surgery isnt a lifestyle residency but i wanna still be healthy if i choose to pursue it

 

[DOVinciRobot]

wait thats more than i get rn as a med student

honestly i wanna just quit the life of drinking nos during the day and taking copious amounts of melatonin at night - i know surgery isnt a lifestyle residency but i wanna still be healthy if i choose to pursue it

Being healthy is a choice unrelated to your specialty. I know surgery residents who run marathons.

 

[LucidSplash]

Being healthy is a choice unrelated to your specialty. I know surgery residents who run marathons.

I would know a lot of people who would argue that running marathons is not really healthy in the longterm. 😂

 

[Gonio5]

i love surgery and am a total night owl but would also like to get at least 5 hours a night if possible

That is not possible as a surgery resident during your on call nights.

I have very reliable reports from a surgery resident who had an attending insist that surgery residents only needed to lift weights and work out more because being tired was solely from lack of working out, not from lack of sleep during frequent on call nights.

 

[LucidSplash]

That is not possible as a surgery resident during your on call nights.

This is overly simplistic. I had plenty of call nights in training, especially as a senior resident and chief, when I got a full night’s sleep. Which for me is 5-7 hours on average. I also had plenty when I had none.

Now as a vascular attending I get a full nights sleep on call more nights than not, and I take call on average 1:3.5, for 3.5 hospitals at a time.

 

[amoxicillin_resistant]

That is not possible as a surgery resident during your on call nights.

I have very reliable reports from a surgery resident who had an attending insist that surgery residents only needed to lift weights and work out more because being tired was solely from lack of working out, not from lack of sleep during frequent on call nights.

thats wild

 

[Dragonite7]

I would know a lot of people who would argue that running marathons is not really healthy in the longterm. 😂

I'm genuinely curious about this. What is the argument that running marathons isn't healthy? Outside of the obvious risk of injury or stuff like severe dehydration, the improved cardiovascular fitness should be really beneficial for health, right? I found the below in a report:

Research indicated that among 26 different kinds of sport, endurance running provides the most favorable health implications9. Regular participation in recreational running was found to positively affect body weight (BW), body fat, blood pressure, blood glucose levels, insulin sensitivity, blood-lipid profile, and musculoskeletal health10,11,12. Additionally, running could favorably influence mood, well-being, and mental status13,14. Other mental feelings, including fear, depression, worries, anxiety, and anger within the context of an adjustment disorder, might be positively affected following regular endurance running14. Distance running contributes to the prevention of chronic diseases by lowering the risks, such as cardiovascular disease (e.g., coronary artery disease, stroke)15,16 and different types of cancer17,18. As a potential link between running and overall mortality, cardiorespiratory fitness is a strong predictor for morbidity and mortality, and further reduces total mortality from cardiovascular disease, cancer, infections, and other causes15,19. Substantial health-related advantages following endurance running are correlated with running exposure in a dose–response association, as the larger effects on health are achieved with increased loads of running8. Moreover, evidence supports more beneficial health effects of regular endurance running on cardiovascular risk factors, particularly artery carotid diameter thickness20 and low-grade inflammation21 compared to irregular endurance running.

Marathon running was found to significantly diminish the risk of coronary plaque prevalence as a result of reducing the relevant risk factors (e.g., hypertension and hyperlipidemia). In addition to a low incidence of cardiovascular disease, marathoners are shown to have an extended longevity compared to the general population.

Health status of recreational runners over 10-km up to ultra-marathon distance based on data of the NURMI Study Step 2 - Scientific Reports

Endurance running is well-documented to affect health beneficially. However, data are still conflicting in terms of which race distance is associated with the maximum health effects to be obtained. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the health status of endurance runners over...

www.nature.com

 

[Dr.LeoSpaceman]

At this point, 24 hour in-house calls are increasingly uncommon. That's where you get hosed as a GS resident. However subspecialties that take busy home call (urology and PRS at a trauma center come to mind) are--in my opinion--worse off than 24-hour in-house ever was.

If I wanted to during residency, I could have averaged 7-8 hours at night. However I didn't feel like going to bed at 9p (but I know people that did). Even taking home call as a senior resident, you'd get called to staff things but less common that you actually had to come into the hospital.

Now as an attending, it's a struggle to sleep past 6:30a on vacation.

 

[DoctwoB]

Do the math. Even if you're working 14 hours x 6 days/week. That leaves 10 hours/day. If you really prioritize your sleep you can get your 8 hours/night, but will have little time for social life/things outside of work and sleep.

I was probably more like 6 or 7 on average.

 

[Gonio5]

Do the math. Even if you're working 14 hours x 6 days/week. That leaves 10 hours/day. If you really prioritize your sleep you can get your 8 hours/night, but will have little time for social life/things outside of work and sleep.

I was probably more like 6 or 7 on average.

Not too long ago, that would be considered a cush schedule. Not too long ago, it might 7 days/week and about 15 hours per day on weekdays and a few hours shorter on weekends plus overnight call which was a 39 hour shift 2-3 times a week (24+15=39 hours) or about 116 hours/week.

 

[dpmd]

Do the math. Even if you're working 14 hours x 6 days/week. That leaves 10 hours/day. If you really prioritize your sleep you can get your 8 hours/night, but will have little time for social life/things outside of work and sleep.

I was probably more like 6 or 7 on average.

I was one that prioritized sleep so I averaged 7-8 during residency. As an attending I average 9-10. I require more sleep than the average person to feel all right though.

 

[dozitgetchahi]

I would know a lot of people who would argue that running marathons is not really healthy in the longterm. 😂

Or that running marathons isn’t necessarily the only (or best) mark of being healthy.

 

[Yhwach]

As a surgical intern there are times so far where I received no sleep.

 

[Apollyon]

As a surgical intern there are times so far where I received no sleep.

Dude, when I was an IM prelim, I didn't even know where was the call room until March. That is God's honest truth. Getting no sleep as an intern is common, regardless of service.

 

[DOVinciRobot]

Dude, when I was an IM prelim, I didn't even know where was the call room until March. That is God's honest truth. Getting no sleep as an intern is common, regardless of service.

This. Our FM residents do 24s when on the inpatient FM service.