Image copyright Bertil Videt
Sleep is fantastic. I love it - which is why I'm always in two minds about working nights. Sleep is a natural process that everybody does, and many other organisms do it too. It's needed to "recharge our batteries", and we spend a third of our lives doing it. Sleep has five different levels, four non-REM and one REM; the whole process is cyclic and lasts about 90 minutes, which is why 90 minutes is a good length of time to have a nap.
Without enough sleep, executive functions decrease affecting language, memory, planning, rapid judgement and change, and reduced awareness of sense of time. 17 hours of being awake is equivalent to two glasses of wine, the legal limit for drink driving in the UK.
Our natural circadian rhythm is maintained by melatonin, secreted by the pineal gland. This rises and falls and controls lots of body processes that speed up during the day and slow down during the night. If you're working a night shift, it's important to eat well and maintain a proper sense of time. Those who work lots of nights, or even permanent nights, can often end up losing track of weeks, months and years due to never seeing the day time properly.
As for the ward on a night shift, well - as most people will testify - it's completely different in comparison. The pace can be slower, and more time is provided for individual patient care. There's also often a lot of good staff banter that goes on that there isn't time for on a busy day shift. Patients' confusion often increases, and a lot of people pass away at night; often more so than during the day.
Old Florry herself reportedly only got four hours a night, the same as Margaret Thatcher, I certainly can't cope with that much.
I think it's time I had a nap...
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