Sleep schedule for bartenders on closing shifts
By the My Circadian Health editorial team. Reviewed by Brandon Korenek, Founder.
If you work closing shifts (5 PM – 2 AM), here is a sample schedule built around one main sleep window on work days and an overlapping window on days off. Closing and cleanup add time after last call, and it can take a while to wind down after a busy night.
- Shift
- 5 PM – 2 AM
- Sleep on work days
- 3:30 AM – 11 AM
- Sleep on days off
- 2 AM – 10 AM
Why this schedule works
Your schedule is late or early but not upside down, so the goal is consistency. Keeping your days-off sleep within an hour or two of your work-day sleep avoids the Monday-morning jet lag that comes from swinging between two schedules.
Tips that make it easier
- Make your bedroom dark, quiet, and cool: blackout curtains, earplugs or white noise, and your phone on do not disturb.
- Keep caffeine to the first half of your shift so it has worn off by the time you sleep.
- Tell the people you live with when you sleep, and treat that window like a work shift.
When it’s more than scheduling
If you still can’t sleep during your sleep window, or feel very sleepy at work even with a steady schedule, you may have shift work disorder. It is common and treatable, and worth raising with a clinician.
This is general information, not medical advice. The times are examples; shift them to fit your commute and household.