Working Nights

New Information about Sleep and Shift Work

We’ve written extensively about the challenges many shift workers face as a result of not getting enough sleep. A few new studies provide more insight for those with sleep challenges. Continue Reading…

New Research Shift Workers Should Be Aware of…….

Read on if you are interested in identifying whether you might have heart disease, learn about a possible new way to treat sleep apnea, or hear more about sleep disorders…….
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Beware of the Brownies!

Baked World, a company based in Memphis, TN markets a brownie called Lazy Larry, but BEWARE-these are not your mother’s brownies! They are filled with melatonin, a naturally occurring compound often used to treat sleep disorders. As a result, the Food and Drug Administration has sent Baked World a warning letter ordering them to stop marketing Laxy Larry as simply a “brownie”. Dr. Lloyd Sederer reports in the Huffington Post that the misuse of melatonin can result in numerous side effects and serious consequences. To learn more about these brownies, click here.

What is Enough Sleep?

Sleep is an often discussed subject, as most of us say and think we do not get enough. But what is enough and what does happens when we are sleep deprived? A recent New York Times article reports these were some of the questions being looked at by the Hospital of Pennsylvania’s Sleep & Chronobiology Laboratory when conducting the longest sleep restriction study of its kind.

For two weeks, dozens of subjects were assigned to one of 3 groups with each group sleeping for a designated number of hours. Not surprisingly, those subjects who slept 8 hours a day hardly had any attention lapses and no cognitive decline over the course of 14 days. However, those who slept less had significantly different experiences and outcomes . Read this article….

Sleep Critical to Memory Retention

We’ve reported on this in the past……however more information is available. According to a new study in the Feb. 2 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, during sleep the brain preferentially retains the memories that are most relevant. Researchers set up two experiments to test memory retrieval. In the first experiment, people were asked to learn 40 pairs of words and in the second, participants played a card game where they matched pictures of animals and objects. In both groups, half the volunteers were told that they would be tested in 10 hours. However, all participants were tested later on how well they recalled their tasks.

It turned out that the people who slept and knew a test was coming had substantially improved memory recall. Sleep was critical to memory enhancement. There was an increase in brain activity during deep or “slow wave” sleep in those volunteers knew they would be tested for memory recall.

This should interest managers caring that employees retain on the job and other training. Safety, human resource, and facility managers might consider fatigue management training to ensure employees are fully aware of the benefits of sleep for themselves and the workplace.

The researchers think that the brain’s prefrontal cortex focuses on memories viewed as relevant while awake and the hippocampus consolidates these memories during sleep.

This is another study that points to the importance sleep to memory retention – something shift workers and their managers should really care about.

Strategic Implications of Keeping Workers Safe from Harm – The Impact of Bullying at Work

Recently, the topic of bullying has hit the headlines in a big way. Painful stories of persecuted, harassed, and tormented high school and college students who have committed suicide, have shocked educators, parents, students, and the public-at-large. The emotional, verbal, and physical abuse that constitutes bullying is not anything new. But recent attention to adolescents’ cyber-bullying (e.g. harassing others using Facebook, Twitter, or Utube or by cell phone or e-mail) has taken concerns about protecting victims to a new level.

Last month the federal government told educators that civil rights laws obligated schools to prevent bullying. The “Dear Colleague” letter sent by the Department of Education to school administrators puts into clear words the fact that educators have a legal obligation to “protect students from student-on-student racial and national origin harassment, sexual and gender-based harassment, and disability harassment.” As a result, school districts and colleges around the country are cracking down on those students who terrorize and intimidate others who are supposed to be their peers. Society and workplaces change over time (Pynes 2009). Will the recent attention to student bullying have strategic management implications for the workplace? Clearly it will for schools. But, what will be the impact be to other employers?

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Shift Workers Save Each Other – the Chilean Rescue Tale

All around the world people are celebrating the rescue of the 33 Chilean miners trapped underground for ten long weeks. And, at Working Nights we’re celebrating too! Like everyone else, we’re ecstatic that the trapped miners were brought to safety. But we’re also celebrating from a shift worker perspective! This is a story about the good that happens when shift workers join together to help other shift workers. This tale is a collaboration of shift workers – from all walks of life – miners, government workers from multiple countries, small business men from the U.S. and Chile, and others.

In this case, employees from Layne Christianson Co., whose largest business is drilling water wells, and Geotec Boyles, SA, Lane Christianson’s partner in Chile, worked round-the-clock for 33 days to save the trapped miners. The miners were buried nearly 2,300 feet underground after a cave-in. The Layne/Geotec workers drilled a 2,300-foot tunnel that was 28 inches in diameter; it was large enough for the 26-inch rescue capsule to fit through. Others were working 24/7 as well. NASA designers worked with the Chilean Navy to design the 13 foot long, 925 pound rescue capsule which the Chilean’s named Phoenix.

Achieving success took whole-hearted co-operation among all parties involved, starting with the miners themselves. These 33 men lived on rations normally meant to sustain them for no more than two or three days. Under the extraordinary leadership of their foreman, the men shared what little they had. They shared the conviction that each man’s survival depended on all of the others down there surviving too. The miners’ only contact with the outside world was through tiny drill holes used to send down food, water, medicine and games.

Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting, and mining workers have historically worked long hours in difficult conditions. But 33 days straight takes the cake! Hopefully all shift workers that participated in this rescue, and all people working shift work will celebrate this great accomplishment.

©Circadian Age, Inc. ‘Working Nights’

Getting on the Right Team

So much of work these days is team–based, requiring groups of diverse people to work together on complex or risky initiatives. Consider the challenges that shift working groups face – like workers overseeing our nuclear power safety, emergency medical teams, miners working deep underground, shift workers on oil rigs around the world…..How can work be any more complex or risky than in these environments?

A recent study co-authored by MIT, Carnegie Mellon University, and Union College researchers, and published Sept. 30, in the advance online issue of the journal Science, addresses the cognitive capabilities of a team, as opposed to the intelligence of individuals. The study found that collective intelligence among groups of people who cooperate well is linked to the number of women in the group. The researchers reported that groups whose members had higher levels of “social sensitivity” were more collectively intelligent. The teams containing more women demonstrated greater social sensitivity and in turn greater collective intelligence.

So what is meant by the term socially sensitive? In the case of this study, it meant discerning emotions from looking at people’s faces. For an excellent book that will help you to improve your ability to read people’s faces, look up Emotions Revealed by psychologist Paul Ekman. The book shows how the following emotions are revealed through facial expression (including photos!).
1. Grief, sadness
2. Anger
3. Surprise
4. Contentment, Enjoyment, sensory pleasures
5. Fear
6. Disgust, contempt

Interestingly, the average and maximum intelligence of individual group members did not significantly predict the performance of their groups overall. Having a lot of smart people in the group didn’t automatically cause the group to rise to the top. In the study, 699 people were placed in groups with two to five members. The groups worked together on tasks ranging from puzzles to negotiations, brainstorming, games and complex rule-based assignments. Only later, when analyzing the data, did the researchers notice that the number of women in a group seemed to predict higher functioning teams.

Obviously, many men are also socially sensitive. The study researchers stated that they believed that having group members with higher social sensitivity is better regardless of whether they are male or female. Perhaps it would be good to study the social sensitivity of shift workers. After adjusting for the impact of sleep deprivation, shift workers are probably a pretty socially sensitive group. After all, it takes a certain amount of social smarts to work 24/7 and stay safe and healthy and connected with family and friends. And, these jobs do require a heightened amount of teamwork for success.

©2010 Circadian Age, Inc. ‘Working Nights’

It’s Important to Talk with your Doctor about Working Shift Work

If you’ve read much of the material on this blog, you know that working shift work contributes to many challenging, but manageable, health and lifestyle issues.  One way to make sure you manage your own unique circumstances is by talking with your health practitioner about the fact you work shifts and raising any concerns you have about shift work.  A recent study by the University of Illinois at Chicago and the VA Center for Management of Complex Chronic Care found that physicians tend to follow a fairly standard approach to care for most health conditions.  Physicians do not generally take into account  a particular patient’s situation or life context, so the fact that a patient works shift work is not likely to enter the doctor’s radar screen.  But, it’s critical for shift workers to have doctors who understand the unique challenges of working shift work.

Some of the special issues shift workers can face include:

1.  Sleep disturbances from work schedules distrupting sleep schedules.

2. Lower levels of Vitamin D resulting from lack of exposure to sunlight.

3. Overweight due to lack of nutritional food when working nights.

4. Higher rates of divorce due to lifestyle challenges of working shifts.

5. Increased risk for depression arising from lower levels of seratonin.

Read other posts throughout this blog for more areas of risk when working shifts. 

Next time you go to your health practitioner, bring a list of your concerns and be vocal about them with your provider.  Make sure your doctor or nurse practitioner knows you work shift work.  The University of Illinois at Chicago and the VA Center for Management of Complex Chronic Care study found that doctors were more likely to respond to biomedical facts – e.g. test results - than to contextual red flags - such as I work  shift work and I’m concerned about my increased risk for cardiac problems even though I don’t have any family members with heart health issues.  Both biomedical facts and contextual red flags are equally important to planning appropriate care, according to the study researchers.  By planning care with your provider you can prevent shift work challenges from impacting your health and lifestyle.

©2010 Circadian Age, Inc. ‘Working Nights’

What’s Green and Beige and Eaten All Over?

Pistachios! 

Researchers report that up to 95% of people do not get enough potassium.  Failing to meet the standard recommended daily intake levels can lead muscular cramps, twitching, and weakness, poor reflexes, fatigue, kidney failure, lung failure, and cardiac arrest. Also, too little potassium can result in insomnia, cognitive processing delays, and depression.  Getting enough potassium is important for shift workers who are already susceptible to sleep disorders, such as insomnia and restless leg syndrome, as well as fatigue.  When working shift work, it’s important to pay attention to eating nutritiously, which isn’t always easy to do.  Planning meals ahead is often the only way to guarantee a balanced diet when working nights, in particular.

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Restorative Sleep Improves Memory and Creativity

Johah Lehrer has written  a terrific summary pointing to what we gain and what we lose when we don’t get enough sleep.  Watching his wife sleep comfortably and soundly, while he lies awake with insomnia, Lehrer reviews the literature, touching on how the brain replays our own experiences over and over again, sketching them deeply into the neural networks of our brains.  This cements our long term memories.  Lehrer also points out that REM sleep helps make us more creative and lets us integrate new information into our problem solving. 

To read the entire article, click here.  

Jonah Lehrer is a contributing editor at Wired Magazine. He’s the author of “How We Decide” and “Proust Was A Neuroscientist” and blogs at The Frontal Cortex.

Feeling Grouchy and Touchy? Read This!

We learn from a very young age that when we don’t get enough sleep, we get cranky.  Since shift workers only get 5-6 hours of sleep on average, many feel grouchy, irritable, and touchy a lot of the time.  Bad-tempers can be difficult to hold inside, and when fury is released onto spouses, partners, kids, work associates, and managers, it can become toxic.  What’s the result?  Blowing your top can cause you to be fired and it can result in divorce.  Being argumentative and disagreeable doesn’t usually get a positive response.  Lack of sleep starts a progression down a slippery slope often ending with frustration and rage.  Remember those terrible-two’s temper tantrums?  Now we’re talking adult sized anger! 

Melinda Beck, Editor of the Wall Street Journal Health Journal interviewed psychologist Pauline Wallin, author of “Taming Your Inner Brat.”  In the interview, Dr. Wallin provides a few concrete ideas about how to manage anger.  She suggests that when you feel angry, you should slow down and talk sense to yourself.  Don’t react quickly to what’s going on around you, take time and think about it.  One good suggestion by Dr. Wallin is to imagine that you wake up in the morning with $1 worth of energy for the day.  Then, as the day progresses and issues come up, if you feel yourself getting frustrated and angry, think about whether you want to give 80 cents of your energy to that situation or just 5 cents.  Most likely you’ll decide not to waste your energy on negative, small issues.

To listen to the interview, Demand for Anger -Management Grows. But Does It Work – WSJ.com.

Working Nights President, Betsy Connolly, to Chat with Nurses on NurseTogether.com – Join us Tomorrow at 6 pm est.

Nurses are used to working shifts - nursing was one of the first professions to require that work schedules be matched to the needs of patients.  Medical complexities, expanded services, and consumer demand for all types of health care around the clock has meant that more nurses are working shift work now than ever.

Betsy Connolly, President of Working Nights is going to be chatting on-line with nurse members of NurseTogether.com.  Topics will include a review of circadian rhythms as well as practical tips for managing work/life balance when working shifts, particularly roating ones. 

When:  Thursday, February 25, 2010 at 6 pm est.

Where:  NurseTogether.com – click here for the link and to become a member.

Like Crossword Puzzles? Try Out this Working Nights Puzzle for Shift Workers!

Use the Working Nights crossword puzzle as a training tool or just try and complete it for fun!  The puzzle contains 60+ words, each one important to shift workers and employers of shift work operations.   Use this tool to relax on a recovery day or do it with your spouse, partner, parent, or child to increase their education of what it’s like to work shift work!

For the interactive version (complete on-line) – click here

For the printable version – click here

For the answer set – click here

Have Fun – Any questions? Post a comment below!

New Shift Work Information on Weight Loss and Apnea, Craving a Smoke, and the Combined Effects of Caffeine and Alcohol

During the last month three new studies potentially impacting a number of shift workers have been released. Here are the top level findings:

1. A dramatic weight loss can improve moderate to severe sleep apnea in obese men.

2. Craving a cigarette while performing a cognitive task increases the chances of a person’s mind wandering and they don’t even realize it is happening.

3. Drinking a cup of coffee may actually make it harder for people to realize they’re drunk.

Read on to understand why these are important studies for shift workers.
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