Why does this happen on my day off?

[WitchesCoffee]

I work around 10 hours a day, half hour commute, 5 days a week. In retail, so on my feet all day. Dont really get a break so survive on protein bars for lunch!
I take vitamins religiously - a general multi vit, vit d, vit c, iron and a calcium/magnesium/zinc combo.
But on my days off, I literally cannot not fall asleep. If I have things to do I am up and about, but if it is a day with nothing planned I could sit down and be asleep within minutes, often for hours! Today for example, all I have to do is the groceries. So I got up with the teenagers, got them off to school, had a coffee and boom...I've just woken up from the deepest sleep. You know the type where your body is all heavy? That.
I slept 11-7 last night!
I am usually up at around 5.30 or 6am. And usually asleep by about 11. So its not like I am not getting enough sleep!
But this happens every day off, like my body needs a reset?
I am fine at work, dont feel tired at all. Can work 6 days on the run (days off change) and be totally fine! Did an 11 day run recently and was absolutely ok. Wake up not tired at all and ready to go. Including the days into in early for 6.30 or 7 am and still work till my usual 6/6.30 no problems.
Any ideas?

If you are working for 10 hours a day you are legally entitled to a lunch break plus tea breaks.
You must take this and eat something proper for lunch.
You should not be surviving on protein bars.
Take a lunch. Sit down eat it.

I suspect you are more tired during the working week than you think and your body is running on adrenaline. You are then shattered when you stop.

Never worked in retail have you? Not as simple as just ‘taking a break’ unfortunately unless the management are on board with it. Besides even legally it’s just a 20 minute unpaid break

Uh huh. If you are the designated manager of the day and there are no other managers present you
are not allowed leave the building. So. And no managers take a break. There is the odd occasion I will order in some food
or bring some from home and sit in the office and eat but that is literally throw the food down. If you work in retail you understand you cant just leave the shop floor to run itself for half an hour. It's just the way retail works! And the schedule technically says 9 hours haha

@WitchesCoffee @Coffeellama I worked 20 years in retail. Always had a break. The manager on duty always had a break.

The staff always get breaks, it's just management if there is no one else there. Even then if there are two of us it is usually for five minutes to do a coffee run then back on the floor as so much to do.

But you still don’t no legal break entitlement so you are not more knowledgeable than the OP here. Also she doesn’t work where you work, not all places operate properly and fairly.

If you don’t own the place, you are staff OP! It’s still unfair to you that you don’t get a break. But I appreciate it’s not always realistic.

Who did the till calls? Deterred the shop lifters? I was on a call with the big boss and hung up on them as had to run to the floor to stop a theft. Only management are allowed to stop thieves. And we work in a location where there are many! We have to wear body cameras!

Anyway, this is beside the point. I was talking about sleeping.

From the government website. 20 minutes is enough time to sit down, eat something and have a drink.
Managers do not have to be on the shop floor all the time. You don't need to "do a coffee run" - use a kettle.

Uninterrupted! <laughs in retail management>

Anyway OP I recon you are probably more tired than you expect, and maybe the change in diet on your days off makes a difference too? I’d try swapping protein bars for a different type of on the go snack and see if it makes any difference.

@WitchesCoffee I obviously don't know the size of the shop you work in but we had the manager (usually not on the shop floor), assistant manager (usually the one on the shop floor), supervisors (sales assistants who can do answer till calls, do refunds etc) and regular staff.
We also had a permanent person in the stockroom who could 'cover the floor' if needed.
The way you are working is terrible for your health.

@WitchesCoffee sorry but I have never ever known a manager who didn't take an at least 10 minute break. And I had dozens of managers over the years.

Sounds like an issue with staff, if they can't cope for 20 mins without calling you.

@WitchesCoffee Poor diet and terrible working conditions will be what's affecting your sleep.

If your store is so badly attacked by shoplifters (and violence?) that managers are wearing body cameras, why aren't there dedicated security staff? Poor policies are leading to your burnout.

Way too many issues in this store by the sounds of it - you're surely functioning on adrenaline at work if it's this bad which will be why you collapse when you stop.

If the issues can't be resolved, you need to look for a new job tbh.

Ok, there are loads of our stores that wear body cameras. It's a thing. We are in a sector that is prone to gang thefts.
The company wont provide security, that's not a thing. Thefts are deterred by customer service. While I haven't seen physical violence, I have had people throw things at me. Usually they leave when they realise they are being watched and followed. We are not allowed to touch them, grab the stock or whatever as the company wants to keep us safe. A few managers have been pushed but usually they just get verbally aggressive and threatening. That why management deal with it. Why would I put my staff in that position so I can have a sandwich?
We have a budget to follow for the number of hours we can use. It is based on how much money the store takes. There are two people until around lunchtime, then a third comes in. They cover each others breaks. It is a risk to the store and the staff to only have one person on the floor. I will not put my staff at risk. Plus there are areas of the store that need covering all the time to deter theft between certain hours. If I have one on till, one on the area then there is just me. And in delivery days there are 6/7/8 cages of delivery to unpack.
All this is not unusual. It is the norm in all of our stores up and down the country.
It sounds bad, but the fact is I have some of the best and most experienced staff. They are brilliant what they do. We have an absolute ball and laugh all day long. I love my job. The till calls are for functions their login will not allow them to do, that's a company thing, not a shit staff thing.

Ah true, i do eat different. Any suggestions on on the go snacks? The protein bars are actually quite nice! They are like the meal supplement ones?

I used to have something similar. A few years back I was working in the Philippines for an IT company, doing 12 hour + days regularly to get the projects in on time. I also traveled for work in Asia and the ME. I usually only managed to get back to UK at Christmas and one other week at some point through the year. And I was ill on those holidays, every single time, and this went on for years. Started almost the minute I landed and lifted once I’d got back to work. Low level, vague symptoms, nothing obvious or diagnosable. I’ve always thought it was something to do with adrenaline and cortisol - exactly as you say ‘a body reset’. And I loved my job too, but no question there must have been a lot of stress even if I didn’t realise it at the time. Sounds like you, and you’re job, even though you love it, also sounds like there’s a fair amount of stress.

You may love your job, but your working conditions are appalling and your health is being affected.

No job is worth ruining your health for. Health is everything.

If they were to close the branch for any reason, the company would not hesitate to put you out on your ear with the barest minimum pay off. Loyalty only goes one way - they are not loyal to you.

If you are not prepared to leave this job in the immediate future, have a good long think about how long you will allow yourself to put up with being treated like shit by this company.
Another three years?
Five years?
Ten years?
More?

@WitchesCoffee to be honest if I was you I would stand (or sit in a chair) on the shop floor and eat a sandwich. One of the shops I worked in had a little cubby at the back (where the price ticket machines etc lived). One of my managers would sit in there all the time to eat his lunch.
You've got to eat.
I have known far to many friends, family and fellow workers who have become very ill due to not eating/drinking during long working hours.
This is why your sleep is messed up.
Seriously....your health is so important.

I am usually up at around 5.30 or 6am. And usually asleep by about 11. So its not like I am not getting enough sleep!

That's only 6.5 - 7 hours a night, so maybe you aren't getting enough sleep. Your body is trying to tell you something. You are running on adrenalin the rest of the time, which is why you crash out on your day off.

Sorry, why are my working conditions appalling?
Retail is dealing with thefts.
Retails is dealing with shitty customers.
Retail is working delivery.

But it's also,
Having a great team to work with that you crack jokes with every day.
Fantastic support from area/regional managers.
A paid trip away every year to celebrate
Bonuses based on store performance that are achievable.
Having your regular customers come in and you can literally pick their medications and little bits up for them as they walk in the door.
Competitions that get money for your store so the team can go out for dinner .
Treat baskets delivered for the team on special occasions.
Yearly pay increases.
When we travel it's all paid, and over the hmrc prescribed amount if by car, all expenses paid and booked for you if by rail, hotels and dinners paid.
If the branches close, then we are transferred as management. Sadly we lose some assistants if they are on weekend contracts, but even during covid, management were working in whatever store they could again, expenses paid.

I would never swap to clothing retail (too boring) or supermarkets (just no) so this IS my career.

Yeah, this.

The fact is, OP, you are exhausted on your days off because you're spending the majority of your week exceeding your body and mind's capacity for healthy functioning. That's it. No matter how much you go back to hours/shop floor/thefts/retail manager life, your body doesn't give a shit about that. It has needs that aren't being met and capacities that are being exceeded, and therefore you are dog tired on those days you have free.

I am so bloody sick of our work culture. Not your fault OP, but the work life you are describing is horrendous, and many people simply can't live like that. In fact no one can for very long. It's a fantasy that we can grit our teeth through work lives like this. Our bodies take the toll and it comes out somehow.