Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Your roommate needs ear plugs and white noise. What you don't say is if she makes noise and wakes everyone else up when she gets home. If so, that should be part of the discussion. She probably needs to either live by herself or get roommates with a schedule like hers.
I'm betting 'Melinda' doesn't even HAVE to work if she's only working 2 stinkin' hours a day... midnight to 2am...
I served as a contractor in Iraq and I worked 1300-0100 (1p-1a) 7 days a week.
My roommate (was a complete bonehead - opposite end of a horses head) -
When I got off work (0100) I'd go eat, exercise, socialize - and then go to the CHU (containerized housing unit) - at about 0400... I'd be quiet as a church mouse. I'd never turn the lights on - or the tv - I'd play my music with headphones and fall asleep... When he woke up... he'd turn on the lights, blast the radio - sing (way off key) and be totally disruptive.
I'd wake up (after only 2 hours of sleep - ask him to turn it down and he said that he needed that to prepare for his day.
After the 3rd day of him doing that, I prepared him with a fat lip and a black eye - 2 days later he moved to another unit, and if I ever saw him on base, he'd turn and walk away from me. My next roommate was a lot more compassionate as he understood the value of sleep, and we got along fine, despite our different hours of work...
Talk to her, tell her that she must either conform or move as it's way too much to ask several adults to conform to her needs when she's not conforming to yours...
I work third shift. I don't think it's unreasonable of her to stay up for a few more hours after getting home because I think most people do that regardless of their shift, but I do think she is unreasonable to expect 100% quiet from you guys. I also think you have all been very accommodating. I have lived in apartments working these hours and I still found a way to get rest. Nothing like having screaming children outside your window all day...ugh bad memories. Simple housemates-getting-ready-for-work noises would have been a dream for me!
Actually if she is that sensitive to noise she probably just needs to live by herself or with someone who's at work when she goes to bed/works her shift.
You might consider a new room mate who works normal(er) hours.
How do you guys feel about her watching TV in the wee hours of the morning? That kind of thing would drive me batty. And I know if I were the lone oddball out I'd do my best to be mindful of the majority.
Tell her that normal waking hours are what they are, and that people can make noise from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. (or whatever you set) so that people working normal, but extended, business hours (which I'll describe as 7 a.m. until 6 p.m.) can live that schedule.
Melinda's schedule really only works if everyone has those hours, or if there are unemployed or "self-employed" people of the night sharing the residence.
I live with several other adults. One of these, let's call her Melinda, works late on 2nd shift (midnight-2am), and then stays up until the wee hours of the morning watching TV. She complains if people are making noise around the house in the morning because it interrupts her sleep. We're all sensitive to the fact that she has to work late, and to the fact that you can't just fall asleep the second you get home at night, so we try to stay quiet until late morning. That means no housework or yardwork (outside her window) until it's close to noon.
Lately Melinda's been a little ridiculous about it. She says she's been having trouble sleeping, and complains when we make the slightest noises before noon. Walking around while you get ready for work at 8am? Shame on you. Trying to do a load of laundry at 10am before you go to work the night shift yourself? Don't even think about it. Melinda can hear you, and she'll let you know it. "I heard a door slamming at 7:30 this morning. How can I get any sleep around here with you people?!" I recommended turning on a white noise machine or a fan or something to block out any outside noise (including the noise of the highway and rest of neighborhood, which we can't help!). I also suggested her trying to change her routine to going to bed sooner and waking up sooner so she's up closer to the time the rest of us are.
I'm trying to be sympathetic, but at the same time I also think it's unreasonable to expect the whole house to shut down until the afternoon to accommodate one person's sleep schedule. One of the people here has already stopped trying to please her at all, and will make noise all morning out of spite. Has this situation happened to any of you? How did you handle it?
If she is really annoying to all, why not allow her to 'break' her lease and move on! She needs to find roomies with the same sleep habits. I worked 'nights' my whole Nursing career, but I bought a 'sound machine' (white noise) early on and could sleep through weekend lawn mowers, etc without any issues. I never expected others to go waaay out of their way to accommodate my sleep patterns. If you aren't up to letting her break her lease, then deal with her til the lease is up and make sure she knows she needs to move on.
Melinda is in the minority. You have been more than accommodating. If she doesn't like it, she needs to either live alone or find other people on her schedule to live with.
I agree.
BTW, my husband is a real night owl. He generally goes to bed at 4 AM and sleeps until noon or so. I have a normal schedule and go to bed about 10:30 PM and get up either 5:45 AM or 6:45 AM (depends on the day).
We live in a fairly small condo. Neither of us ever wake up the other one. We can vacuum, do the laundry, shower, watch TV or music, basically anything that we want to do. Our secret? A white noise machine works wonders. My husband also uses ear plugs but I don't.
Readjusts your sleep schedule with no hangover affect. Excellent for folks on night shift. Much better than melatonin in pill form. Whole Foods carries it. Very safe. Saved my sanity.
Sleeping pill and in bed at midnight. She should retrain herself to sleep or live alone.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
