Sleeping on lunch break

[nursebrandie28]

I was working night shift (12 hr) as an agency nursing half way through my 4-week contract. Around 4:45am in the morning, I told the other nurse I was working with that I was going on break. After that I walked into the chapel in the hospital and rested my head with my eyes closed. I had my phone alarm set from exactly 20 min. After 10 minutes after I got to the chapel, the nursing supervisor told me that they have a no sleeping policy and after my shift I would not be welcomed back. I then preceded to tell her I was on lunch break and she informed that it did not matter.

Is this legal? Could I have said I was praying or meditating? I was in the in between state of relaxing and de-stressing, although it would have appeared to an outsider of sleeping!

Any insight would be helpful

[GM2RN]

If you are talking about residents, they usually are not working a "night shift" but a 36 hour straight shift. Sleep time is actually built into that as a safety precaution, so of course they see no reason to "hide" it. Even then, they are on call, so it's really not even comparable at all to a nurse working a fixed 12 hour night shift.

The docs in my ED are not residents, and they are not on call, but they are allowed to sleep if it's slow. They work 12 hour shifts and make WAY more money than the nurses, yet we would be fired if we tried to nap.

[RNKPCE]

Okay so every place has different policies whether some may or may not be against labor laws who knows, however if you were setting the policy at your facility what would it be?

Allowed to nap on unpaid time or not?

And are you management, staff nurse or neither?

Are you from a unionized facility or not?

[hiddencatRN, BSN, RN]

If I wanted to go out to my car and have a quickie with my husband, I'd dare them to stop me.

Indecent public exposure on your lunch break? I thought you were going for legal things to do during lunch!

[NurseInTexas12]

At my job, we are not paid for our 30 minute lunch break, and the hospital policy is that every 8 hours worked has a 30 minute lunch break. To get paid for 8 hours, you must work 8.5. The policy clarifies that the time is to be uniterrupted, and although of course it doesn't always work that way, technically that time is mine. If they want me to be available to help with a situation that arises during my lunch, they should be paying call pay. As far as I'm concerned, sleeping during your unpaid lunch break is no different than a physician sleeping in a call room when they're on hospital call! In fact, it's better because they're on the clock and you're not. I think you should speak with a lawyer -- not to be sue happy but because a termination will never look good to future employers, and they should at least adjust your records to reflect that you were not in the wrong.

[klone, MSN, RN]

The docs in my ED are not residents, and they are not on call, but they are allowed to sleep if it's slow. They work 12 hour shifts and make WAY more money than the nurses, yet we would be fired if we tried to nap.

Our midwives are the same way.

They're in-house for a 12-hour period, and at night, if it's slow, they go in the sleep room.

Totally okay and accepted.

Some of them will do that even if they have active labor patients. We know their pager number and if we need them, we call them.

[klone, MSN, RN]

Indecent public exposure on your lunch break? I thought you were going for legal things to do during lunch!

:)

Why do you think I keep a blanket in my car?

[Nascar nurse, ASN, RN]

Okay so every place has different policies whether some may or may not be against labor laws who knows, however if you were setting the policy at your facility what would it be?

Allowed to nap on unpaid time or not?

And are you management, staff nurse or neither?

Are you from a unionized facility or not?

I am management (in LTC). If they are not on my clock and I am not paying them then I can not tell them what they can or can not do. If they are scheduled back on the floor in 30 minutes, I expect them there "bright eyed and bushy tailed" ON TIME. I do not work for a unionized facility.

I couldn't do it tho...if I go to sleep, I am out like a light and it would take a force of nature to get me to function in 30 minutes. But, I do have several family members/friends that swear their 20 minute power naps are a life saver.

[MunoRN, RN]

1. What I meant my "medical disability" is one which required a nap during the course of a shift at work. I am not saying that "power naps" may or may not be beneficial to some employees, that's beside the point.

2. The night shift schedule is a choice. If you cannot stay awake during the night-shift schedule for whatever reason, then you should not be taking that shift.

I'm not sure why you would only support a nurse napping while on their break if it was due to a "medical disability". Shift work sleep disorder SWSD is a recognized medical condition, which all night shifter experience some form of, does that meet your requirements? Appeasing your body's circadian rhythms by napping at night, preferably between 0400 and 0600, even when you are not dead tired is one way to limit the effects of shift work. Would we have to wait until SWSD is truly debilitating for you to approve of what someone does on their unpaid break, or are we allowed in your view to make attempts to prevent and manage detrimental health effects? If we aren't talking about "power naps", what are we talking about, do you think we are advocating a nurses right to sleep for 6 hours of a 12 hours shift?

The night shift schedule is a choice in the same way that having or not having a job is a choice. Night shifts are a necessary evil that someone has to do. If we just said: anybody who has any difficulty with working nights you can just switch to days, then we'd have 5 nurses on at night for the whole hospital. If you can't understand why it is often beneficial for a night nurse to take a 20 minute nap during their break, then you should consider coming to nights, you sound perfect for it, then us "lazy bones" on nights could finally switch to days.

I'm mainly confused why you would even care how someone spends their break; eating, watching tv, surfing the internet, what difference does it make to you? If somebody on your baseball team takes a fastball in the back to move a runner up, would you then criticize their character for using the jacuzzi after the game? Working nights isn't optimal, but somebody has to do it and you're fortunate that it's not you, so even if you can't appreciate that, you're welcome.

[fawnsternurse]

http://www.naturalnews.com/031429_power_naps_energy.html#ixzz1EbeF1u5p

(NaturalNews) Power naps are one of the best kept secrets of successful people. These short naps (usually thirty minutes or less) are surprisingly refreshing and leave you with increased energy and improved productivity. These miniature naps are usually taken during the afternoon, but can be used whenever you need a boost. Power naps rarely involve dreaming. They are more of a meditative state that allows the mind to process information and start fresh.

There have been many studies on napping in recent years. According to the Salk Institute, napping improves heart function, hormonal maintenance, and cell repair. In another study done by NASA researchers, power naps were also shown to improve memory. Other studies indicate that those who nap enjoy productivity boosts, lower stress levels, improved learning ability, and better overall moods.

Anyone who needs to maintain a clear mind can benefit from taking a power nap. A short nap will allow a person to concentrate better and more efficiently process information. The energy boost from a power nap is much more substantial than you might expect from such short period of sleep.

How to Power Nap

- In order to reap all the benefits of a power nap, it`s important to be comfortable. That means finding a comfy place to catch those few minutes of sleep--not just physically comfortable but mentally comfortable as well. This means choosing a private place such as an office or car.

- The lighting should be as low as possible, and the area should be quiet (white noise or relaxing music might be helpful). Try to find a place where you can lie down or at least recline, as this facilitates relaxation.

- It is also important to quiet the mind, avoiding intrusive thoughts but not fighting the thoughts that do occur to you. The trick is not to focus on whatever comes into the mind, but allow it to come and then let it go. This is the mind`s way of refreshing itself. Focus on taking deep, slow breaths to help you relax.

- Be sure to set an alarm so you nap for no more than thirty minutes. Any more than this and you could slip into a deep sleep that will leave you feeling groggy rather than refreshed. After the alarm goes off, spend another minute or two breathing deeply and doing some light stretching. At this point, full awareness should return and you should be ready to jump back into your day feeling better than ever.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/031429_power_naps_energy.html#ixzz1Ebhj4Q9l

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

This has nothing to do with my thoughts on napping or no, but with the exception of new grads, almost everyone I know on night shift has had the opportunity over the years to take a day shift position, and has chosen not to for whatever reason. It is a choice for MANY to work night shift.

If it's not against facility policy to nap, go for it. If it is against policy, this should be communicated clearly at the beginning of employment to all employees, contract employees included.

[nightengalegoddess]

I have not read all the responses yet...(addicted to this site but got to get going)....but I was wondering about it too...When I was going through a divorce and a death of a good friend a while back...wasn't getting much sleep at night..Lunch break one day I had to slip into the chapel , set my watch for 20 minutes and closed my eyes. A supervisor saw me there (was I snoring?), and asked "what is going on here!"...I opened my eyes, bolted upright, made sure I looked straight into her eyes so she could see my normal size pupils, got close enough so she could smell my breath and assess for whatever....and said....I'm getting a divorce and just watched my good friend die...I just needed a little nap on my break...." Nothing more was ever said. I do believe we ought to promote power naps...hasn't it been proven they improve performance.?...thought I read it somewhere....but can't say I haven't been a little paranoid since then about it...about what people assume just because you take care of yourself...try just doing a nice stretch sometime....someone is always around to ask "are you allright?"...Nurses sometimes act as if you are a wierdo if you take care of yourself...geez....