As a nurse, you’re probably already well aware that managing diabetes is all about sticking to a healthy routine of medication, eating well, getting enough exercise and high-quality sleep. But, when you’re a busy nurse working to varying shift patterns, it can often seem like your life is anything but routine. Although managing diabetes under these conditions can be more difficult, it’s certainly not impossible. Here are a few tips to help you cope.
#1. Get Organized:
First things first; speak to your doctor, dietician or other health professional who usually helps with diabetes-related queries. They will be able to help you come up with a plan for better dealing with the demands of your nursing shift work. You should also let your employer know that you have diabetes so that they can make any reasonable adjustments to your shifts, such as allowing shorter, more regular breaks and a place to store your insulin or any other medicine that you need to take. You should always have some essentials with you at work including your blood sugar meter and supplies, emergency and planned snacks, bottled water, an ice pack, and your medication.
#2. Manage Your Blood Sugar:
When you’re working long shifts, especially if your working hours are constantly changing, it can affect your blood sugar in ways that you might not have expected, even as a nurse. You should be testing your blood sugar every two to three hours – speak to your employer about the importance of this and ensure that a plan is put in place to allow for it. It is also a good idea to keep records of your blood sugar levels, medicine doses and the amount of physical activity and sleep that you are getting. This will make it easier for you and your doctor to find patterns and make better plans to deal with them. And, you might want to think about upgrading your blood sugar meter to a newer model that will do more tracking for you, including trend recording and tracking your average carbohydrates per meal.
#3. Keep Up Your Exercise:
When you’re a busy nurse and your shifts keep changing, it can be difficult to keep up with a regular exercise routine. But there are several things that you can do to make it a part of your routine and ensure that you are getting enough physical activity. Of course, when you are working as a nurse, you’re likely to be on your feet all day, so take advantage of this when it comes to staying active too. Whenever you can, do some stretches to keep your muscles ready for the day.
#4. Get Enough Sleep:
Working various shifts can have a massive impact on your sleep, so it’s important that you take extra steps to ensure that you’re getting enough high-quality sleep, particularly when you have diabetes which can be severely affected by sleep issues. You should avoid any caffeinated drinks at least 4-6 hours before going to bed and plan out your routine week-by-week so you can put together a daily plan that allows you to go to bed at a reasonable time and get enough sleep. This is especially important if you are taking further education at a place like Baylor University Online, for example, when it can be all too easy to stay up into the night studying. Putting together a weekly routine will allow you to work extra commitments around your shift work while still managing to get enough sleep. Don’t forget that you should always monitor your blood sugar before sleeping too; this is especially important if your bedtime tends to change day by day due to shifts.
#5. Plan Your Meals:
Planning healthy snacks and meals to eat while you’re at work will help you keep your diabetes under control and make sure that your body is getting the nutrients that it needs to cope with long, irregular working hours. Planning a weeks’ worth of lunches for work at a time will help you avoid the snack machine or the nearest fast-food restaurant. If you often return home from work too tired to cook, it’s also a good idea to batch cook healthy meals that you can heat up. And, keep some healthy, convenient snacks to hand such as dried fruit, nuts and seeds, sliced vegetables, boiled eggs, hummus, low-sugar yoghurt, fresh fruit, and peanut butter on whole-wheat bread.
As a nurse, you probably regularly help your patients with better ways to manage their own diabetes. Long, busy shifts in the hospital can send diabetes spiraling out of control and as a nurse, you need to be at your best.
