Sleep Patterns & Fatigue

[CamaroB4C]

Brothers, I was just wondering if anyone here works Graves and suffers from first day off fatigue. I work straight 4 Twelve hour shifts with some court time here and there. On my first day off I feel like crap if I wake up too early and usually feel fatigued the entire day. Actually I feel like crap regardless. My first day off is considered "lazy day." I was wondering if anyone else goes through this,or is this something I should expect. I tell ya, the greatest feeling is going back into civilian clothes in the morning when my work week is over. Should I start popping aspirin pills on my first day off? Sleep in? Maybe eat something nutrional? Red Bull? Smoke some Meth??:D Suggestions anyone? :confused:

[Curt581]

Here's an old thread in the Rookie Corner about shift work... Lots of good info in there.

http://forums.officer.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=21387

[Valor55]

I have the same problem. It is tough because you don't want to sleep away your entire day off, you also want to return to sleeping at night with your family. I pretty much expect to get a few hours of sleep just to keep from feeling like I've been hit by a truck. But I know I'm gonna feel tired the rest of the day but I have no trouble returning to sleeping at night...

[ViceSgt]

I spent my first 2 years as a sergeant on graves. I was a wreck. I think it is normal to feel like garbage working those hours.

[irishlad2nv]

I use to get off at 8am off of mids...go to the gym, or run errands, and hit the sack around 12-1pm, get up, 7 or 8 and then eat, etc...but still wouold get tired around 4, 5am...sucks!

[Hawkman]

I have only worked dogwatch for only two months at a time. Maybe 4 times in my career. I could not hack it. I was always happier to work mid shift. I could only sleep 4 hours at a time. At the time I did not have kids. I know that it is the best shift if you have a family and you don't have seniority, but it is tough.

While working mids I used to work a dogwatch detail once a week on an extra duty job. The following day I would tell my wife that it felt like I didn't even exist the following day because I would sleep all day and get up and go to work, come home and go to sleep again.

[swatpup]

Facts of life = Work graveyards and forever walk around blinking at everything and anyone. Everyone goes out of their way to tell you "Boy, you look tired."

When I was single, it was easy to sleep all the time. Now, with a family, coffee and vitamins are my best friends.

[retdetsgt]

There's no easy way. I worked graves for about 8 years as a patrol officer. I put aluminum foil over my bedroom windows and slept with foam earplugs. I loved working that time of night and that was the only reason I stayed.

The shock came when I got promoted and went to days. I was surprised not to feel like crap all the time! The only time I felt good on that shift was when I was working. At some point I got over the 5 a.m. drooziness, I don't know how though. I guess I just got used to the routine. Court was the only real killer.

[CamaroB4C]

Originally posted by retdetsgt
Court was the only real killer.

I think thats what my problem is. My 12 hour shift turns into a 16- 18 hour shift. Lately ive been tape recording every single interview and putting in every single damn unneccesary detail; what they were ordering from the menu, tire pressure or nose hair colors. Hopefully this will work.

Thanks for the responses guys. I just bought a bottles of aspirin, Vitamin C and Centrum. Doubt ill smoke any dope to cure my first day off laziness.:eek:

[Curt581]

Originally posted by CamaroB4C
I think thats what my problem is. My 12 hour shift turns into a 16- 18 hour shift. Lately ive been tape recording every single interview and putting in every single damn unneccesary detail; what they were ordering from the menu, tire pressure or nose hair colors. Hopefully this will work.


It won't. There will always be idiots that insist on going to trial, no matter how much evidence is against them. And attorneys that'll go along with it, cuz they're charging by the hour.

Besides, the extra time you spend writing over-lengthy reports trying to lawyer-proof an arrest will be about even to the time you would have spent in court. And, you'll annoy your sector partners because you'll be taking fewer calls.

Hell, if nothing else, think of the overtime you'll be loosing. :D

[PhilipCal]

Spent 14 years on graveyard.This helped me on the first off-day.Go home,sleep for two,maybe three hours,then get up.The problem is getting back into your sleep routine when you go back to work.No easy answers,and nothing works for everyone.Experiment a little,and try to find something that will work for you.

[knightrider78]

some times on that first day off it is better to stay up all that day,what i did was when i got off go to dennys or go home and make a good breakfeast and coffie and stay active all day then go to sleep at 6 or 8 at night,that way i got an extra day and the day/night i would go back to work i would take naps during the day to get me ready for the night shift again ,that and not doing that much that day would make me more active at night.like most people said u just got to fine your own system.

[pwotr]

some suggestions.
first move your alarm clock. if you can see it easily from your bed thats bad, you will tend to fixate on it when you are tossing and turning and it will make you think about what little time you have to sleep. second realize that you dont need to sleep 12 hrs to live, 8 is great but try to get use to the fact of not sleeping alot. also think about letting go and not ,"thinking". some issues we think about will keep us awake, some will let us sleep. dont ponder on the unresolved, also dont think to yourself, "man i only have blah blah blah hrs to sleep, that wont be enough". it has to be so let it go and dont think about it. its takes time to train your body and mind to execpt what is, may that be sleep or a lack of. in short, when you walk out of work, let it go, it will help you sleep, your relationships and your overall well being. as twisted as we are for doing this job it is just that, a job.

[cleetus0219]

I'm 30 years old. I've been on steady nights 6pm to 6am for 4 years.

I used to be able to stay awake the whole shift, come home, and sleep 4-5 hours. Now, with the addition of a kid, I can't usually stay awake my whole shift, and my sleeping time is cut to 4 hours-tops.

I'm not complaining. I like working nights better than days. You avoid all the brass, the stupid traffic posts, and most of the stupid calls. Even though I have a long list of drawbacks, working nights means staying low on the administration's radar screen. This alone makes those drawbacks worth any aggravation caused by becoming an creature of the night.

But here are the drawbacks I encounter:
-I tend to sleep away my first day off
-I'm often cranky from being tired
-I go to the gym less
-I always look tired, even when I'm not
-I can't work nearly as many side jobs as I'd like because they start within a few hours of my shift ending and I just can't stay awake to do them. This is by far the biggest of all the drawbacks listed.

[ONE TIME]

I hate to say it but I'm glad to see that I am not the only one who feels that way. Damn I was hoping someone had the cure all. But thanks to all for the tips to try.

[g31]

I am an Officer in a crime ridden city, and work the 11pm-7am shift. I have been on this shift for about 2.5yrs and yes I feel like crap,and sleep for about 4hrs at a time. Its interesting to see that Officer that work mids end up having the same habits, and feelings. I end up being constapated every couple of weeks,NOT TO GROSS ANYBODY OUT. But the shift itself effects pretty much everything. I did hear a phrase that makes me proud of my shift; WE PROTECT YOU FROM YOUR NIGHTMARES. Not bad.............