My Sleep Schedule

[McDreidel09]

It is driving me insane!

So, my store went 24 hours, but only Thursday- Saturday. My availability is pretty much open, but I've been working the early morning shift until late morning/early afternoon shift. Since we went 24 hours, my schedule has been rather screwy. During the weekdays, I will work 4/5 am til 10am/11am/12pm/1pm. On the weekends, I will be working 11pm til 4am/5am/6am. However, I usually don't have a day in between the early morning day and the overnight. I have Sundays or Mondays off and then start all over again.

Since I was put on this schedule, my sleep schedule has been really buck. During the night, I will get around 4 hours sleep, go to work, then take a nap around 5pm because I am so tired by then that I can't stay awake. When it comes to overnight shifts, I will wake up around 8 am, go all day, maybe get an hour or two nap in, work until I am off, sleep for three hours and then go about my day and take a nap at 5 pm.

I know. I know. McD, stop bitching. I can't help but hate this sleep schedule. I find it incredibly sad that I sleep more when I am at school than I do during my summer break. Normally, it's the other way around!

[LadyBarbossa]

This seems to be an issue with most jobs. In my state (FL), OSHA has slapped on a requirement that employees have a minimum of 8 hours between shifts. Not that 8 hours makes leaving at midnight and coming back at 8 in the morning any better though, especially for those of us who live more than 5 minutes away.

I never understood it, because when I and my coworkers get scheduled like this, we come in looking and acting like we're drunk/hungover or sick and can't be worth a flip compared to what we would if we'd gotten proper rest.

[Exaspera]

I thought that this type of scheduling couldn't be done, either as there were too many traffic accidents.

[insertNameHere]

Haha that is why I'm no longer 3rd shift and lost 2 days of work a week because I refused to keep being used. I mean really giving me my day "off" where I get off at 6:30am, or better yet, I get off at 6:30am and work at 3pm!

[blas87]

Welcome to my world, little sis.

Granted, my shift is solid, but I have two days a week where I try to be "normal" and sleep at night again. It doesn't work that well.

Fridays, I try to rely on only a short nap between laundry cycles in the morning, and attempt to stay up all day Friday. Usually sometime between 7-10pm I either crash, or almost crash. I have to stay active and cannot sit for long or lay down at ALL or I'm done. I can sleep at night Friday night, but what happens is after I crash or almost crash, I'm up until at least 1 or 2 at the earliest, then up by 9 or 10 am.

I'm better Saturday, I can usually go all day without feeling too sleepy, and can usually go well into the night before bed.

But that's not healthy and it totally sucks. But what can ya do when you hardly get any time off?

You have every right to be upset and frustrated. We're here with you.

[McDreidel09]

I thought that this type of scheduling couldn't be done, either as there were too many traffic accidents.

In IL, there has to be twelve hours between each shift. Them doing that to my schedule is NOT illegal. Is it evil? Kind of, however over nights are an easy 7 hours a night on my paycheck.

[Plaidman]

Pull up your big girl panties and get over it.


Yeah. Pretty annoying. I've gone through that for plenty of years before. Shifts changing every day, working several extra hours overtime on each, little sleep between shifts, add on family issues, life in general being crap to you, and is it any wonder that people get stressed out or crazed? To the point where they are just depressed and rather not put that on anyone else.
Pretty funny if you ask me. Almost poetic and karmatic.

Just know you aren't the only one that deals with that. Several million do that all the time. Never have time for anything. Hell, there were periods where I was working straight 24 hours, get 8 hours off before reporting for another 12 hour shift, and since it took an hour to get to work, I'd be lucky to get 5 hours of sleep before having to run right on back.

[LadyBarbossa]

My friend in produce got off at 9:30 last night and had to come in this morning at 5. I'm curious to see how he made it through the day, poor guy. Another friend of mine who is a fellow cashier left at midnight once and came in 7 the next morning. It just baffles me why they would want to do this in a store with several hundred employees available. I'm sure these guys were just so well-rested and refreshed when they showed up in the morning, and will do their personal best

[powerboy]

I have been there. I hate it. Get off from work and then have to be back in another 5 hours.