# Sleep Deprived?



## lightsandsirens5 (Mar 7, 2011)

So? How tired are you? This seems to be a pretty good article on the subject. I know I routinely (and unfortunately) work 24 hours on 4 hours of sleep. 

What kind of sleep time do you all get? Does your company have any specific policy on how long you can work without sleep?


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## TransportJockey (Mar 7, 2011)

between work, work, work, and work, and clinicals, and class... yep routinley sleep deprived... but I sleep pretty much whenever I can to try and offset that.


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## Emma (Mar 7, 2011)

I don't know how you all do it, seriously.  All those interrupted sleep patterns, eek.

I'm totally incapable of going on less than 5hrs.  I get up at 4:30 am every day and if I'm not in bed by 9pm, there's no hope for the next day.  Even when I was in college, I couldn't pull all nighters.  

Now I'm pretty lame and don't last past 10pm, even if I don't have to get up early.


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## John E (Mar 9, 2011)

*Anyone who sleeps...*

and works needs to watch the documentary, "Who needs sleep ?" by acclaimed cinematographer and director Haskell Wexler.

About his experiences in the film industry, it has implications for anyone and everyone.


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## Veneficus (Mar 9, 2011)

I'll sleep when I'm dead.

Sleeping and meals are random events of opportunity for me. Most often between surgeries or as i walk up the steps to a different department.

On average I get about 4 hours per 24, but I like to get 6-8 hours saturday.


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## abckidsmom (Mar 9, 2011)

I worry every time my husband walks out the door for work about his sleep.  He's on a busy medic unit for a 24 hour shift, and leaves at 3:30 in the morning.  He averages about 5 or maybe 6 hours a night.  He sometimes sleeps in at work before he comes home, but other than that, that's all the naps he gets.

I worry about the cardiac risk with all that, so he's working out now, and I'm trying to feed us better.


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## shfd739 (Mar 9, 2011)

We ask our medics to get 6+ hours of sleep prior to a shift. Most of our shifts are 12hrs. No more than 24hrs straight on a 12hr unit and no more than 36hrs straight on a 24hr unit.if a medic does the 24 or 36 they are mandatoried down for at least 6hrs before working again. 

Personally I try to get 5-7 hours sleep before shifts but having to sleep in the daytime is hard sometimes with all the disturbances. We do keep the bedroom phone ringer off, have blackout shades on the windows and the house cool. 

It's much easier to get back into sleeping nights than sleeping days.


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## 8jimi8 (Mar 9, 2011)

usually 4-6 hours is what i'm running on for days or weeks on end.


sometimes i like to test it out by staying awake for an entire 24 before going in for 12.




Usually if i pull something like that i'll sleep for at least 6... although last time, i woke up right after 4.


My big fear is falling asleep while commuting.


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## 46Young (Mar 9, 2011)

When I used to work nights, and now doing 24's, the body can never set it's rhythms. I always hit a wall right after noon (I wake at 0400 and leave the house at 0430), and my body "comes alive" from around 1800 to 0100. This means that I'm dragging during the early to mid afternoon every day, and I can't seem to fall asleep before 2300-0100 in most cases, unless I'm really shot. I try and get some sleep in the afternoon at the station. Some have made comments about that. I point out that on the ambulance, I can be up several times a night, typically for an hour and a half each time, unlike them who either run two calls a day on the truck, or are back in bed in a half hour or less when on the engine. My time spent up is certainly more than 16 of the 24 hours I'm at work; if I need to get some sleep earlier in the day, provided all the FD stuff gets done first, I'm going to do it.

After pulling an all-nighter on a 24, some say to just stay up all day after coming home, and just go to bed early. It doesn't work. You're just miserable and useless all day, and your weekly sleep totals still run in a deficit.


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## byoung57 (Mar 9, 2011)

In 2005, a study of over 1400 participants showed that participants who habitually slept few hours were more likely to have associations with diabetes type 2


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## firetender (Mar 10, 2011)

Genius types like Einstein and Edison and many many others would sleep 20 minutes every two or so hours. The name of the game is cat naps with a high proportion of REM (Random Eye Movement) as part. That probably mimics the sleeping patterns of the Cave Man/Woman whose environment demanded constant alertness.


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## EMS49393 (Mar 10, 2011)

I have horrendous insomnia.  I can go days without sleeping and when I finally fall asleep, I'm lucky to get 4 hours before I wake up again.  It has steadily gotten worse the older I've gotten.  Apparently, insomnia is not good for you and my Doctor has prescribed every non-addicting drug out there to try to get me to sleep.  Nothing helps.  I'm pretty sure my brain never shuts up shop.

I've worked 24 and 48 hour shifts on a pretty busy truck, we'd get 2-4 hours of downtime a shift spread out.  The longest shift I ever worked was 72 straight on no sleep.  Surprisingly, it never phased me.  

My insomnia streak stands at little over 130 hours awake.  I only know this because it freaked out my Mom and she brings it up at family gatherings, etc.   I generally do not pay attention to how long I've been awake.  I figure I'll sleep when I'm tired.

My insomnia doesn't bother me, my husband harping about it bothers me.  I'll go to bed when I'm damn good and ready and not a minute before! B)


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## terrible one (Mar 16, 2011)

I'd be lucky to get 4-6hours, more like 1-2 spread out over a 24hour shift. I take naps often though


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