r/Firefighting • u/c00kieduster • 4d ago
General Discussion Cannot sleep at the station anymore
15 years in, company officer at a suburb dept of 4 stations, 100ish people, 48/96. We average 4-5 in a 24 hr period, sometimes 1-2, sometimes 12-16.
It’s not all that uncommon for us to get to sleep through the night. However, in the last year or 2, I simply cannot sleep through the night. Even without calls, I’m getting up 2-3 times. Usually it’s a toss and turn, occasionally I’ll get up to go to bathroom but that’s not the reason.
When I’m at home, my head hits the pillow and unless something wakes me up, I sleep like a baby.
Anyone experience this? Got any tips?
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u/Keptthatenergy 3d ago
Get the new guy to read you a bed time story and tuck you in real tight
At least that’s what works for me
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u/-Samg381- 3d ago
no homo obviously
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u/Keptthatenergy 3d ago
If brothers can’t comfort each other, what are we even doing here?
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u/-Samg381- 3d ago
agree. you can't really call yourself a brother until you've read someone to sleep
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u/Express_Note_5776 4d ago
Honestly, when that happened to me I went to therapy. It might not feel like it, but for me my body held everything and I didn’t necessarily consciously realize I was struggling. In the meantime just regular tea helped me, you can do chamomile to help with actually sleeping, but I used to just do jasmine cause I was worried about being groggy
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u/LikeAPhoenixFromAZ 4d ago
Sound machine, light cancelling shades, sleep mask, try and make your room as comfortably cool as you can, and melatonin before bed. Quite any tobacco/nicotine products as well.
Also, I can’t stress this enough. Cut out caffeine. Maybe have a cup of coffee in the morning to get going but that would be it. Cut out soda, coffee, etc. Try drinking different types of tea if you can’t do without caffeine. After two weeks or so you’ll find your body will adjust and you’ll feel a bit more refreshed. Caffeine really just destroys your body’s natural rhythm. For most people it’s fine to have, but in this job it becomes too much of a crutch and ultimately an addiction.
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u/Danny23a 4d ago
The best thing you can do is axe the caffeine. I sleep like a baby without caffeine, head hits the pillow and I am out! But you’ll always hear “caffeine doesn’t affect me”.. people always think it doesnt affect them but in reality they aren’t paying close enough attention to how it does.
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u/st4nkwilliams 4d ago
Magnesium has been helping me a lot with staying asleep, no grogginess either.
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u/Unstablemedic49 FF/Medic 3d ago
2nd the magnesium and a hot shower before bed. I pass tf out every time. Just be advised the dreams on magnesium are intense.
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u/njfish93 NJ Career 3d ago
I was taking zma for a bit and had to stop. The sleep was too deep to be woken up by anything.
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u/Character-Chance4833 4d ago
21 years in, last 15 years of working 24s or 48s. The last couple of years, I've had the same issue. Toss and turn for 3 hours, sleep like shit when I do. Just always wondering when the next one is coming.
Im 48 hours into a 72, I slept like a baby last night after 3 grass fires and a working structure.
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u/Ill-Zookeepergame358 4d ago
You had 4 fires in one tour? I guess it’s nice to hear about other people living your dreams
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u/reddaddiction 4d ago
Welcome to the club.
Whether I run 0 or 6 after midnight I essentially feel the same in the morning. I never sleep normally at the firehouse.
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u/bring_back_3rd FF/ Medic 3d ago
Me neither. I'm always like, half awake and every weird noise coming from our heirloom speakers wakes me up
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u/reddaddiction 3d ago
I sorta trust these types more than the ones who wake up in the morning saying they slept like a baby. Not one thought in their head that at any moment you might get a ripper.
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u/abuffguy 3d ago
I worked overtime at our slowest station and when I walked in the dorm, I was floored. I laughed out loud. The room looked like the cover of Better Homes & Gardens. Like Martha Steward herself lived in that room. Throw pillows, art, fake candles, the works. It was so excessive, I made a mental note to make fun of the guy bid there. That night I had the best sleep I've ever had at a fire station. I just felt comfortable - like I was home. On my very refreshed drive home the next morning, I replaced my previous mental note with a new one: I need to pick up a few things to make my regular dorm room more like that one.
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u/arachnid1110 4d ago
I can’t do melatonin at the station and be functional. 19 in at a big city. I used to make fun of my older brother that worked at a slow, suburban department for this. I was running 20 plus calls a day and he was running maybe 1-2.
Fast forward 15 years, no matter where I work, I sleep like shit, no hitters or busy days. It’s just not home, and nobody was designed to do this forever. We’re 24/48, I think the 48/96 would make this particular issue worse.
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u/c00kieduster 3d ago
So ironically enough, I was the front man for my depts push to 48/96 earlier this year. While 2 restless nights in a row is definitely a things…4 days at home is a game changer.
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u/elfilberto 3d ago
I guarantee you a 48/96 schedule would be way better for your rest and recovery compared to 24/48
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u/jamesweeks 2d ago
Just depends on how you departments staffing is imo. I work for a big department and if we did 48/96 it would be more like 96/48 due to forces. 48/96 is a great schedule if you actually get your days off on a regular basis.
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u/dgreg171 4d ago
Honest question.. if you are taking melatonin to sleep at the station, do you ever have an issue waking up for calls? Are you groggy? Especially if you get a call in the first hour or so after falling asleep?
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u/llama-de-fuego 4d ago
I don't use it myself, but melatonin is helpful in falling asleep, but your body metabolizes it fast and it doesn't help keep you asleep.
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u/Tough_Ferret8345 4d ago
i take melatonin at the station and it’s never effected me waking up. ive never been groggy from it, if anything i feel pretty good waking up bc it made me fall asleep quickly and i actually get some rest
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u/Educational-Buy9920 4d ago
Seems this is a common issue. I do not sleep well away from my own bed anymore. 16 years of this takes a toll and presents in different ways in people. I developed anxiety and the inability to sleep soundly. The only thing that seems to help me as far as sleep is a dark room and a fan 🤷♂️
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u/fireishot143 4d ago
1mg Melatonin. I’ve had the same issue before. 1mg is enough to get me sleepy enough to fall asleep within 30-60 minutes but it’s not a super high dose where it’ll mess up my body’s own melatonin production. Which very well may be messed up anyways considering I’ve had trouble falling asleep.
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4d ago
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u/Peaches0k Texas FF/EMT/HazMat Tech 3d ago
The nightmares I’ve had on 5mg melatonin are straight horror stories. They’ve gotten so bad I don’t take it anymore unless I have something really important the next day and must fall asleep early
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u/chuckfinley79 27 looooooooooooooong years 4d ago
Cut caffeine later in the day, I don’t have any after 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Sound machine. CPAP.
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u/R1CHARDCRANIUM Firefighter/EMT/Rescue Diver 4d ago
I started wearing earbuds to sleep at the station. With a headband to keep them in place. I just play noise. It’s helped. I also found out I have apnea but I don’t bring my cpap to the station. Some guys do.
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u/reddaddiction 3d ago
That seems so high risk of missing a call to me.
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u/R1CHARDCRANIUM Firefighter/EMT/Rescue Diver 3d ago
The tones are loud and all the fluorescent lights kick on. If someone doesn’t wake up, others will make sure you’re awake in unpleasant ways.
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u/the_falconator Professional Firefighter 3d ago
I started doing an afternoon workout on shift and that seems to help. Also I try not to do coffee in afternoon.
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u/c00kieduster 3d ago
I have my 2 cups in the morning, but never in the afternoon. MAYBE if it’s cold outside. But that’s happens like 5 days out of the year around here
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u/JohnnyBravo011 3d ago
I haven't been able to sleep during the night for 9 years, even with no calls...
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u/McDuke_54 2d ago
You guys need to check out Matt Walker. His podcasts, his books all deal with sleep issues. Issues such as OP is describing can be anything from drinking caffeine too late in the day to being away from your home sleeping which produces lower quality sleep.
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u/flashdurb 4d ago edited 3d ago
Maybe it’s just me, but if my station averaged only 4-5 calls a day, I’d sleep like a baby.
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u/madmoparman 3d ago
Get your testosterone checked.
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u/c00kieduster 3d ago
Been on T for 2 years now. we started testing for it as part of our annual physicals. Mine was around 200. Sitting around 700 now
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u/HeadShotBrent 3d ago
I’ve been taking ashwaganda gummies at home and at the station before I attempt to lay down for sleep. It definitely helps me fall asleep and stay asleep at home and at the station, but if we get calls I’m not dazed completely from them. Been a major help for me but I feel the struggle bro.
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u/Southern-Hearing8904 3d ago
20+ years on and have NEVER slept through the night. Never not once. Similar size department/call volume as yours. Also company officer. I've just never been able to. Even on complete shut out nights. BLS service that goes all night. Our radio traffic is broadcast through all the stations. Some guys even sleep through that. No way for me.
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u/Any_Program_2113 3d ago
I always sleep better in my own bed. At the firehouse unless we had a busy day I never did.
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u/mojored007 3d ago
25 years and done the last 5 was the same..hard to sleep..try white noise or a new mattress ..cooling sheets ?
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u/FiremanSmitty 3d ago
I'd be happy u can sleep at home. it started at the fh for me then hit me at home until I was eventually a insomniac zombie. focus on home is all I can say.
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u/ellihunden 3d ago
Life in the fast lane has a essay series on sleep and performance give that a read
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u/Flashy-Donkey-8326 3d ago
I listen to podcasts with soothing voices , or sleep music. Green noise helps sometimes as well.
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u/fezyfez21 2d ago
Changing my diet and getting a blood panel done helped me a lot I was able to see what my body was deficient in. Also 100% get your T levels checked.
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u/Adventurous_Bike_552 2d ago
Definitely talk to your doctor. Found most of my problems was from caffeine
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u/proofreadre 2d ago
Try yoga nidra meditation. It's what some Navy fighter pilots use to destress/cat nap
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u/Accomplished_Man123 2d ago
Question: Did this happen around the same time as your promotion?
As a firefighter and company officer, I usually slept fine. But I spent a lot of time towards the end of my career as the acting shift Commander, and I felt the same way when I was in the car.
The only thing I can suggest is a sound machine. Our station had a metal roof, and when it was raining, the sound put me to sleep like a baby (even if I was in the car). Since COVID everyone had their own bunkroom and company officers and the shift Commander always did.
Ultimately, I decided it was time for a change. My department was also toxic. Look for jobs in the insurance industry. Our skillset is in demand in the insurance industry. I work from home, have a company SUV (sold my truck), make my own schedule (this past Friday, I took my kids to the beach while I was "working"), and best of all-I am making more money than our chief was.
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u/19TowerGirl89 1d ago
Interesting. I also struggle to sleep on shift. No solutions, just commiserating.
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u/llama-de-fuego 4d ago
I found that contrary to my personal beliefs, chaining zyn all day until I try to go to sleep doesn't help me get any rest.