The Night Nurse Survival Guide

It is said that working night shift is hard on the body.  It certainly can be, unless you take really good care of YOU.

As a RN of 34 years, I have worked a LOT of nights.  In fact as an aging RN, I am working more nights now than ever before in my career.   You have to be able to think quickly on your feet, and be ready to run at a moments notice, when your body is telling you, it is time to sleep.  It is difficult to go against the circadian rhythm.

I work in Long term care and have done so in homes ranging in size from 34 residents to 160.  In every situation, there is only 1 RN scheduled.  It is the time of day when the paperwork is the most intense, and the risk of resident falls, and injury are even greater.  So performance matters.   You may be the only available to calm a frightened resident, or monitor and administer pain medication.   Your team work and relationship with your support staff is most important to ensure comfort and care for your residents.  There are no extra people to support you at that time of day.

So...  after a night of the most intense time of the work day, what can you do to ensure your wellness and vitality are looked after...   Here are some tips that I have come up with.  Not your usual stuff.

1.  Make sure you are well hydrated during your shift.   Drink more water than coffee.  Coffee actually is not good for you.  Water is the key.  Sure have a cup of coffee, but don't make that your major beverage on shift. Caffeine dehydrates you.  The diuretic effect on top of the transepidermal water loss that naturally occurs during the night,  Can be detrimental to yur well being.  Plus if yu drink caffeine all night, you will not settle easily for sleep during the day.

2. Your melatonin, which naturally is manufactured in your body, may be depleted.   It is that feel good hormone that is made every night, when your body sleeps, and in the dark.   Sleeping during the day, with light coming through the windows and working all night with fluorescent lights on will have an effect.  So make sure your room is in darkness, and perhaps consider supplementation.

3. Make sure you are doing some exercise during the day.  Either wind down after your shift with a brisk walk, or go to the gym, or use a piece of in home exercise equipment.   I personally love the rebounder.  It is a gentle way of working your muscles and moving lymphatic fluid (the super highway system in your body to remove debris in your body), and it is a great way to improve your circulation.   You can learn more about rebounding at www.thehealthcirculator.com 

4. Invest in your personal health and wellness.  After being up all night, you are at greater risk of serious health compromise.   All health and wellness occurs at the cell level.   This is a foreign concept to many health care professionals, but it is true.  We have over 70 trillion cells in our body (give or take a billion or so), but when our cells are not functioning in harmony with each other because of the stress of working outside of our natural rhythm, and sitting in front of computer screens, and wi fi, wireless monitors etc, it causes a raucus in our body, and we are not in rhythic harmony with ourself, you really need to bring in PEMF (Pulsed Electro Magnetic Frequency therapy) into your life.  Laying on a mat for just 8 minutes twice a day will calm your cells down into their self regenerating, and self repairing mode, and help to improve circulation and reduce pain.  It will help to reduce your risk of chronic illness, which often plagues health care professionals.  It can also calm down the risks of PTSD in first responders as well. Often in our adrenalin filled lives of dealing with life and death, it can cause increased risk of illness.  Working all three shifts in one week and often not in consecutive order can shorten the life-span of those who hold life in their hands.  You can learn more by visitng my website www.pemfconsultant.com or. joining the PEMF Consultant FB community and keeping abreast of the current science & more    www.facebook.com/groups/359487041056950/

5.Building up your body's own natural immunity.  Shift workers can get run down very easily, and as such it is important to be super vigilent at ways to build up our body's glutathione.  Our medical professionals do not really know much about this master antioxidant that is in EVERY cell in our body.  Yet is greatly depleted.  Medical science does not really look at this key life ingredient, nor are professionals trained as part of their formal schooling.   I know I never heard of it until recently.  This ingredient in life needs replenishing in our body in order to have a fighting chance against the germ warfare that health care professionals live with every shift. A Dr. Herbert Nagasawa discovered how to combine ribose and cystine, which also occur in our body, to help to reduce and chelate heavy metals in our body.  Riboceine technology resulted, and by being able to render fat soluable toxins to a water soluable molecule, which is easily rid of our body, it helps the cells "breathe" so to speak and regenrate to bolster our immunity..   You can learn more about this here   https://bpearcerai.wixsite.com/max4us2   Join us on FB here for more cutting edge info  www.facebook.com/cellserenity/

There is so much more I can talk about, but just incorporating a few of these tips will definitely put you, the RN or healthcare worker, into a healthier state of body, mind and spirit.   And... add years to life, and quality to your career.

Brenda Pearce RN, is the "Empowered Nurse".  She triages body, mind and spirit through her TV program, Oxford Empowered, on the Rogers Cable TV system.  She is a best-selling contributing author to 4 books.  You can learn more about her blogs, books, and more at www.amazon.com/Brenda-Pearce/e/B00KPQGFVW

What's Next...  When You Have Exhausted Every Avenue
By:  Brenda Pearce

As a broadcaster on our local Rogers 13 TV Network, I have been privileged to interview many people doing extraordinary things in our area to better our lives.  Oxford Empowered strives to bring to light the people, places and stories that will empower people to learn more about integrative approaches to living well and to our fullest potential.
As a health care professional, I became empowered when I realized that I could make choices that made my life better, while going through the life experience.  As such I share many of these on the show. 
Through my experience of interviewing, I have come across many people sharing their devastating life events and how they turned them around to create a new life experience, and bringing hope to others.   The stories of PTSD, Post Trauatic Stress Disorder, through being a First Responder, or having survived a traumatic life experience, are the most riveting.  In any one moment in time, life can, and does, change.  It is those defining moments, whether watching trauma happening, or being traumatized, that we recoil physically, mentally, or spiritually.  Often in all areas. 
Our health care system tends to focus on one element or the other, but not often on all levels at once.   Bones can mend, or when they do, other elements may not mend at the same time, or at their own speed.  Often, however, it is the emotional and spiritual levels that are reluctant to release the trauma.  The memories last the longest.   The processing takes a different route.  Talk therapy may help, but in the rehashing, it makes it as real as at the time of the event.  Often people do not want to speak of these things.  Or, people cannot describe the event or the depth of the emotions felt and experienced.   These experiences touch the core of our soul, and challenge our core beliefs, and essence of our being. 
Sometimes, we are lucky and find just the element that is the key to release healing and create a response that leads to a new being-ness and functionality.  Sometimes people turn to self medication to numb the pain.  Sometimes people will hear of, or be pointed to a new direction of release.  Equine Supported Environment centres are here in our area and I am putting forth the awareness for your further exploration and experience.
I have experienced and witnessed amazing changes  in the emotional-mental-physical realm through the non-judgmental presence of horse supported healing.   That is right.   Horses live only in the moment.  These gentle creatures of all sizes are more than labourious steeds pulling carts, carriages, and wagons.  They are not just the trained creatures to do our biding, they are also masters of healing in a supportive environment and when given reign to do so.    They can sense emotional, mental and physical pain.   Their soul-filled eyes see beyond the status, role, sex, and age.   They see only you.   They sense you.  They know you in ways that no diagnostic tool can.   They only want to help you to be better.  They mirror us, our anxieties, pain, and stress, and call us on our stuff.   They draw from us, and release us through their deep knowing, healing and understanding.  I have been privileged to see people release pain and issues so deeply held.   I have seen people physically traumatized and having issues of ambulation, balance and limitations in ability, resolve.  Pain subside through the workings of these gentle giants.   When medical science has exhausted its abilities or inabilities, the horses are here to help.
When it is just you and a presence of a horse, there is a communication that goes beyond words.   No words are needed.  They help us to release, relax, and heal in a way that is none other.   Any one of any age can experience the beauty of this one on one healing, that does not require a prescription pad, procedure, or prep.   It only ask that you be willing to experience.
In our area, there are amazing places within driving distance such as SonFlower Stables, which works as  a not for profit  Equine Supported Environment.  Mary Howe and her team of healing horses can be reached through www.sonflowerstables.com .  Charitable donations to contine the work that is making a difference to so many are greatly welcome to keep the soul-filled work and mission going.  Stay tuned in January, 2018 to watch Oxford Empowered at SonFlower Stables and learn more about this healing place with heart.

Holistic Hot Talk On Thermography With Pat Kennedy RN

Be informed, empowered and enriched with information about  Thermography as the safe, non-radiating, painless way of assessing your inner body health over time.  Thermography can monitor for body changes over time to assess for subtle changes signalling imbalance.  Catch events early in their development and make the changes necessary to safe-guard your health, which may be affected by som many things such as the ionizing radiation through EMF smog.  Become aware and awakened and make choices that will give you more vibrant health and wellness.  Not only for yourself, but those whom you love.



Bliss, & Blessings,



Brenda

PEMF TV episode 1

Bliss is more than being in a state of euphoria....  It is also about being aware.   Awakened living is looking at what is happening on a cellular level, body, mind and spirit.  Watch this candid conversation with Allie Ochs, and myself.



Bliss & Blessings,



Brenda

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