Merry, Merry Shift Work: Reducing Holiday Stress
Holidays, and the stress they bring, can be difficult to integrate into a shift work schedule. Even if you manage to pencil in Fun between two eight- or ten-hour shifts, stress and holiday errands can quickly override your best laid plans. There’s a lot to look forward to in holidays, but also a lot to worry about, and people can sometimes feel the need to make sure everything is absolutely perfect before taking any time for themselves. It’s important to balance family obligations with relaxation and to prioritize things you really want to do on your time off work.
Most people approach the holidays anticipating fun and excitement. There is the shopping, the cooking, and the company of family and friends. And, the holidays are a time to celebrate religion and spirituality. But for some, the holidays are a reminder of past loved ones. Also, the expectations leading up to the holidays are often not met, leading to disappointment. And, the busyness of the holidays can take over so that before you know it, the holidays have passed with little time for real enjoyment.
The holidays can be especially hard on shift workers and their families, given unusual shift schedule demands. Shift workers may miss important events because they have to work; they may have more trouble coordinating holiday activities than day time workers, in light of their work schedules.
Everyone is stressed around the holidays. The added challenges of working shift work can exponentially add to holiday stress. But, a little planning and leaving some time for relaxation can improve holiday period satisfaction and significantly reduce stress.
Here are some good planning ideas to share with your work associates:
1. Try to think about what rituals are important during the holidays; write up a short list.
2. Make an effort to decide who to spend time with in order to focus the short holiday time on
seeing those who are most important.
3. Hold a family planning session; prioritize what each member of the family wants to do over the
holidays and see where there are common interests. Focus on doing things that will make
everyone happy, whenever possible.
4. Develop a holiday “fun” schedule in advance; manage around other time commitments like
work, school and other regular events.
5. Plan gift giving in advance deciding who to buy gifts for and how much to spend; avoid
impulse buying.
6. Mail holiday cards and packages early; don’t choose the holiday season to automate your mailing list!
7. Focus some time on those in need; giving to others who have less than you will make you and
your family all feel good.
Also, make sure you leave some time to relax; it sounds crazy given all the activities but it is important:
1. Try to begin and end the day with 10-20 minutes of relaxation. Harvard Medical School, in 1975, was the first to describe the relaxation response. Researcher Herbert Benson, M.D. recommended an approach that has two steps. First, close your eyes and focus on breathing.
Second, choose a word, a prayer or a phrase and repeat it over and over to relax and stay in the moment.
2. During the day if you feel stress, stay calm, breathe deeply, hold your breath for a short period of time and exhale slowly. Try and focus on what bothers you; observe it and think about it, but don’t react without a lot of forethought about what your reaction will mean to others and to yourself.
3. At bedtime or after awakening, using the relaxation response can help quiet the mind, turn off negative thoughts and relax the body.
4. People who practice the relaxation response usually fall back to sleep faster, sleep longer and have a better quality of sleep (shift workers generally sleep less than daytime workers).
Everyone tells you to eat moderately during the holidays so we will too. But also, keep moving! Regular exercise will reduce body fat and release endorphins, a natural chemical our bodies produce to create a sense of well-being. Even a half an hour a day of exercise will reduce insomnia which adds to stress and creates stress at the same time.
Tags: circadian rhythms, family, friends, relaxation
