Work sleep into your schedule: Irregular at-home hours can push rest to the back burner

In a world economy that increasingly runs 24/7, Americans’ work schedules vary far and wide and, for some, change regularly. Add in a worldwide pandemic, where your workstation is always a few

feet away and all of a sudden, we’re working crazy hours. “I’ll start at 7 a.m. sometimes, work until 6 or 7 in the evening and then do an hour or two before I go to bed,” says Chicago resident Brian Tennison, 44. “You end up working 12-hour days and then some.”

Tennison, who works as a freelance copywriter, says he felt his health slipping last year so he decided that he would make sleep a priority. “When I looked

up some of the issues I had, everything pointed to lack of sleep,” he says. “So, the first thing I did was get more sleep.”

And it worked, Tennison says. “I feel like myself again,” he says. “Not like I’m sleep-walking through the day.”

Today, nearly 25 percent of employed Americans work most of their hours in the evening or night, or have a rotating or highly variable schedule, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. About one-third of employed Americans work Saturday, Sunday or both weekend days. All together, about two-fifths of employed Americans work nonstandard schedules.

Such demanding work schedules coupled with a struggling economy and skyrocketing stress levels are sure to take a toll on emotional and physical health, says Darrel Drobnich, chief program officer of the National Sleep Foundation.

“With Americans working such long hours — on top of their other

responsibilities such as childcare and household maintenance — something has to give,” Drobnich says. “Unfortunately, that something is usually nighttime sleep. People tend to give up sleep, when getting a good night’s sleep should be at the top of everyone’s list to ensure maximum performance both at work and home.”