Tired officers are more likely to be irritable and fearful, he says. As a result, they are more apt to react strongly in a threatening confrontation, and to use unwarranted or excessive physical aggression than they might if they were calmer and less anxious. Many police agencies still rotate shifts weekly, the hardest schedule for the body to handle. Workers barely adapt before they must shift again. Moreover, police officers, like shiftworkers in general, typically revert to daytime schedules on days off to enjoy a more normal family and social life.
Many police officers work overtime to meet their department's needs.
Some voluntarily moonlight to earn extra income. There are no national and few local standards specifying how many hours officers may work in a day, week, month, or year, yet many work more hours than people in less-challenging jobs. Vila urges police departments to adopt new technology to enhance fitness on duty. The Army's Sleep Management System, for example, uses a wrist-worn monitor to assess the timing and amount of soldiers' activity and sleep and thus their general level of functioning. They have to be.