Cabin Crew Rest and Fatigue

Talking about money and sleep now will talk about day-offs or your Weekends. Being cabin crew you might not get the privilege to enjoy any Calander Public Holidays, Birthdays, Festivals, or Saturdays & Sundays. Cabin crew needs to work 6 continuous days, then you will be eligible to get 1 day off. Sometimes if you do a long flight you can day 2-3 days off. 
As per government and aviation law, different airlines(domestic and international) have different Flying Time Limitations for their Crew members. The crew is made to fly only that limited hours and their Rest period are scheduled accordingly. The definition of a rest period implies an absence of duty and is intended to provide adequate time for rest following a flight or series of flights. Airlines ensure that the procedures are followed to ensure that Cabin Crew do not exceed their flight time limitations and that adequate controls are in place to ensure that Cabin Crew are not assigned duties during required rest periods. Cabin Crew has a responsibility to ensure that they use their rest periods to rest. 

As a cabin crew, if you fly to different timezones, life from India to the USA, or to Australia, you can suffer from Jet lag. Jet lag can disturb your sleep pattern, leaving you feeling lethargic and lacking in energy. Your internal body clock controls when you need to sleep and when you are alert. It also affects hunger, digestion, bowel habits, urine production, body temperature, and blood pressure. Your biological clock is normally synchronized with your local time so that you feel hungry in the morning and sleepy in the evening. When you travel across time zones, your body needs time to adjust to a new daily routine.

If Crew is not provided with proper rest, and if they fly too much on Long-Range Flights, Crew can suffer from Fatigue as well. It is again a physiological state of reduced mental or physical performance capability resulting from sleep loss or extended wakefulness and/or physical activity that can impair a crew member’s alertness and ability to safely operate an aircraft or perform safety-related duties.

That's it for today, will be back shortly with more writings. Thank you. 

Cabin Crew Life Sleep/Rest

Cabin crew jobs, like many other regular jobs, have their own advantages and disadvantages. As in my previous few writings, I have mentioned the best part about this job, now will speak a bit on the not too good part. As you will be having odd working hours, you will need rest/sleep during odd timings as well.

Imagine you have been awake from 10pm last night, came back home around 7am today, got freshened up, and getting ready to grab some sleep or have a nap. If people living around you or with you do not understand this that More than eating Breakfast your body needs rest and continues to bother you to eat something before you take nap/sleep, you can definitely end up with sleep deprivation.

In this job, except for the alarm clock you also need to make friends with Sleeping. Very few people I have met who really stay calm with such situations where they are tired due to lack of sleep, and keep on trying to explain themselves to people around them. But on the other hand, most people actually get very angry/frustrated in these situations and start screaming and shouting at people so that they can be left alone.

Cabin crew who are Sleep Deprived can become very irritated and frustrated and stay like that for a long time. Due to lack of sleep, it gets very hard for them to concentrate at work, understand things clearly, difficulty to make any decision, and loads other sign and symptoms comes up. It is very important to gain the support of your family and also from your friends. You have to patiently make them understand your actual need. Your parents will definitely show concern if you go to sleep, without having any Food, but you need to make them realize that more than food resting is more important for you at that particular time.
Being a Cabin Crew you need to have a lot of patience, it is one of the skills required for this job. You might not be able to tell anything to your Colleagues or Customers, but no one will stop you to show Yourself to your Family and Friends.

When I started flying, my Mother used to tell me to eat all the time. In not satisfied with that, she used to bother me and ask when will I wake up, what will I eat once I wake up, etc. I used to get very angry and irritated by this sort of behavior. Then, slowly and gradually I realized that she is actually not behaving like that on purpose to disturb me, she was just concerned about me. I made her and my other family members understand my condition and my needs. Slowly but gradually they all understood that. It just needed some patience from my side, as well as from theirs.
So again my personal advice, please keep your family updated and informed about your job requirements and needs.
That's it for today, will be back again with more writings soon. Thank You.