When Your Man Works Night Shifts
Nights - UGH! Am I right?
Throughout our 13 years of marriage we have done quite a few stints on nights; or I guess I shouldn't say WE, more like Jeremy lol but whether we're both on the night shift or it's just him,
it's H A R D. Add in a few kiddos? and it's SUPER tough!
Through the years we've settled on a few things that have helped us out a ton when it comes to getting through those dark days -see what I did there? 🤣
Here's a list of 6 things we personally tried that I hope you can try for yourself if you're finding yourself in a bit of a rut due to the dreaded night shifts-->
1) Find a rhythm: One of the things that was the hardest for us when he was on nights was the lack of TIME together. It felt like he was always gone or working because even on his days off he still had to sleep, so he wasn't around any more than work days. But over time we worked out a system that allowed us to maximize our time together. We had to be very intentional about finding it and protecting it, but it helped us a lot.
2) Communicate: Another thing we realized was that we weren't talking to each other as much; mainly because it felt weird to send him a text when I knew he was sleeping and he didn't want to risk waking me at 3am. But when we talked it through we both agreed we would rather silence our phones and wake up to reminder texts than continue to feel like we were missing one another.
3) Black out curtains: need I say more?
4) Sound Machine: Although this wasn't a perfect fix, it did help me to feel like I didn't have to hush the kids all the time. We would turn it up pretty loud and let it roar all day while he slept and we'd just go on with life.
5) Sleepessence: We didn't find this natural supplement until his most recent stint on nights but it changed things drastically for him and helped him get much better sleep especially on those days he said his mind was racing. Besides Sleepessence, Jeremy has found a lot of oils that also help calm his mind, check out my HonestlyEssentials page if you think you or your man could appreciate some of these products too!
6) End your day with a call: I found that when I took 15 minutes to chat with him before I went to bed at night it helped me stay connected and feel like we were on the same page. It didn't make up for the fact he wasn't home, but it helped.
Remember it's just a season:
Nothing last forever. Hang in there!
Happy Sleeping,
