I work 12 hour night shifts. Since doing so it seems my body doesn't know when it's suppose to sleep anymore. I am completely exhausted all the time and am a single mom with four kids. I need some ideas. I don't want to take pills.

How long have you been working these shifts?

My husband works split shift, 2 weeks days, 2 weeks nights. It took him a long time to adjust to the schedule .

Maybe time is all you need.

I hear you! I work 12 hour nights as well. Melatonin is a naturally occurring substance in our bodies and the supplements work wonders for us night shifters. There are no groggy effects upon waking and you wake feeling well rested.

I take them every morning when I get home from work.

Five years.

Is melatonine addictive? I don't want to go down that road or become dependent on anything of that nature.

I've been doing it 5 years as well. Try the melatonin.

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=melatonin&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&sqi=2&ved=0CDEQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FMelaton in&ei=4SfdUNS9I6bNiwLV_oHwCg&usg=AFQjCNFThI1NbR2sGrxWbADzyHd4FOmNjA

"Melatonin appears to cause very few side-effects in the short term, up to three months, when healthy people take it at low doses. A systematic review[70] in 2006 looked specifically at efficacy and safety in two categories of melatonin usage: first, for sleep disturbances that are secondary to other diagnoses and, second, for sleep disorders such as jet lag and shift work that accompany sleep restriction.[70]

The study concluded that There is no evidence that melatonin is effective in treating secondary sleep disorders or sleep disorders accompanying sleep restriction, such as jet lag and shiftwork disorder. There is evidence that melatonin is safe with short term use.[70]

A similar analysis[71] by the same team a year earlier on the efficacy and safety of exogenous melatonin in the management of primary sleep disorders found that: There is evidence to suggest that melatonin is safe with short-term use (3 months or less).

Unwanted effects in some people especially at high doses (~3 mg/day or more) may include headaches, nausea, next-day grogginess, irritability, hormone fluctuations, vivid dreams, nightmares,[111] reduced blood flow and hypothermia.[112]

While no large, long-term studies that might reveal side-effects have been conducted, there do exist case reports about patients having taken melatonin for months.[113]

Melatonin can cause somnolence (drowsiness), and, therefore, caution should be shown when driving, operating machinery, etc.

In individuals with auto-immune disorders, there is conflicting evidence whether melatonin supplementation may either ameliorate or exacerbate symptoms due to immunomodulation.[114][115]

Individuals experiencing orthostatic intolerance, a cardiovascular condition that results in reduced blood pressure and blood flow to the brain when a person stands, may experience a worsening of symptoms when taking melatonin supplements, a study at Penn State College of Medicine's Milton S. Hershey Medical Center suggests. Melatonin can exacerbate symptoms by reducing nerve activity in those experiencing the condition, the study found.[116]

A research team in Italy has found that melatonin supplementation in the evening in perimenopausal women produces an improvement in thyroid function and gonadotropin levels, as well as restoring fertility and menstruation and preventing the depression associated with the menopause.[117] One study reported that melatonin taken in the evening raised prolactin levels in six out of seven women.[118] Melatonin has been found to lower FSH levels.[119] Effects of the hormone on human reproduction remain unclear,[120] although it was with some effect tried as a contraceptive in the 1990s.[121]

Melatonin was thought to have a very low maternal toxicity in rats.[122] Newer studies, though, have found that it is toxic to photoreceptor cells in rats' retinas[123] and increases tumours in white mice."

DR. OZ SHOW - MELATONIN DANGERS - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72Jzn9eH9y8)

I know many people that use it, but I have to say, after reading up on it, and especially after seeing the Dr. Oz show about melatonin, I won't use it. But it's up to you. I do suggest you watch the link above.

I don't necessarily agree with Dr Oz on everything, and this is one of the few I disagree with. I have been taking it for 5 years with no ill effects. Same goes for all of the other darksiders I work with.

No, it is not addictive. I only take it in the mornings after I work. No need to take it on my days off. It is also frequently given to geriatric patients in nursing homes who suffer from Sundowners Syndrome.

The safe dosage is one 5 milligram tablet. Do not go over 5 Mg.

I took melatonin for 4 years when I worked nights, stopped it when I went to days, and no one effect what so ever.

Also.
I put foil in all the windows to make it completely dark. I switched my eating, I ate breakfast when I got up at night, and dinner in the morning when I went to bed.

The phone was turned off so that day people would not be calling me.

I made everyone understand that this was sleep time, not day time to do trips for people and other work.

A few friends who felt like bothering me too much, I started calling them about 2 or 3 am, and wake them up to ask them to do something for me, about the second call they understood