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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’
Posted 1 month, 1 week ago. Add a comment
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.
Continue Reading…
Posted 3 months, 2 weeks ago. Add a comment
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.
Posted 5 months, 2 weeks ago. Add a comment
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.
Posted 5 months, 3 weeks ago. Add a comment
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.
Posted 6 months, 1 week ago. Add a comment
“Weariness or exhaustion from labor, exertion, or stress.”
- Per Merriam-Webster
Fatigue is a lack of energy or motivation. It’s severity can range from the exhaustion resulting from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) to the weariness that results from working all day and taking care of a baby during the night – or for many shift workers, working all night and taking care of the home front during the day!
This posting looks at CFS and regular, everyday fatigue, assessing how working shift work causes fatigue and what shift workers can do about it. Continue Reading…
Posted 7 months, 1 week ago. Add a comment
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!
Posted 7 months, 4 weeks ago. 1 comment
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.
Continue Reading…
Posted 8 months, 2 weeks ago. Add a comment
Where can you find Coldplay, Betty Buckley, The Beastie Boys, Bruce Hornsby, and Vanessa Carleton all working together? Seems like an unlikely group, doesn’t it?
These musicians and many other creative types are big supporters of the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function (IMNF). Created in 1995, IMNF was founded “to restore, maintain and improve people’s physical, emotional and neurologic functioning through the systematic use of music.” IMNF collaborates with researchers and practitioners around the world to advance the understanding and application of the power of music to promote healing and wellness. Some of IMNF’s most significant research and startling findings are in the areas of music and its impact on language, memory, and recovery from nerve injury.
How does music affect shift workers? Should it be listened to at work? Does it help you fall asleep? Can it lower stress when coping with variable schedules?
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Posted 8 months, 3 weeks ago. Add a comment
Starting as young children, we’re taught about the importance of teamwork. For example, we might have learned to work together to bring the groceries in from the car – maybe one person brought the bags into the house, another took them into the kitchen, another unpacked them, and someone else put the food away in the cabinets and fridge. It felt fun working together at something; the experience was certainly more enjoyable than anyone doing the whole job on their own. And, we could see that this four person exercise accomplished the task in a quarter of the time it would take one person to do the whole thing (if you were lucky enough to have four people to pitch in and help!).
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “No member of a crew is praised for the rugged individuality of his rowing.”
As adults we’re told that teamwork is critical to achieving success in our jobs too. But, is this really the case?
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Posted 9 months, 4 weeks ago. 1 comment
Press Release Issued Today to Announce the Working Nights Calendar for Hispanic Shift Workers:
BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Circadian Age, Inc. – ‘Working Nights’ – a company dedicated to helping shift workers and their families adjust to their unique lifestyles, is announcing a new Spanish calendar. The 2010 Working Nights Spanish Calendar offers organizations with Hispanic workers the opportunity to show added concern about the health and safety of this group of employees, by providing them with educational material in their own language, to use at home.
“Hispanic shift workers face the same circadian rhythm and biological clock challenges that all 24/7 employees do” says Betsy Connolly, President of Circadian Age. “But often, language barriers make an already difficult situation worse. Spanish speaking workers are often less knowledgeable about chronic health conditions and safety prevention at work, which may result in more accidents and errors and increased health care costs.”
For the full release read here.
According to The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), two million Americans are subject to workplace violence each year. Defined as a threat of violence or an actual violent action taken against workers, some recent cases have heightened concerns about workplace violence. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data indicates that fatal occupational injuries due to assaults and violent acts were actually down 8% between 2007 and 2008 (864 in 2007 to 794 in 2008). But, during the same period, office suicides reached an all time high since the data has been captured by the BLS (251 in 2008 compared to 196 in 2007) – a 28% increase.
In January 2009, a survey of risk security practitioners by Security Director News found that despite all the recent focus on terrorism, 49% reported that workplace violence topped their security concerns.
Which workplaces are the most violent and how can we make all of our workplaces more safe?
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Posted 11 months, 2 weeks ago. Add a comment
As the economy turns, it’s likely that more people will start taking second jobs. Added employment security and the need to double up on paychecks to make up for losses during the recession will drive people in this direction. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 7.6 million Americans held multiple jobs during the first five months of this year, or 5% of all employees, about the same as last year. During earlier economic boom periods, moonlighting has increased. For example, at the end of 1989 over 7.2 million Americans worked more than one job, an increase of 25% since 1985. And, by 1997, 8.5% worked more than one job, almost another 20% increase. Now, during more difficult financial times, perhaps it’s not surprising that the numbers are down a bit.
But, the downward trend seems poised for a quick uptick as the economy improves and employers supplement their workforce with part timers rather than bulk up on full-time employees.
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Posted 11 months, 3 weeks ago. Add a comment
Everywhere we turn there are articles about more seniors in the workforce. This is not a new trend, but the pattern has clearly stepped up as a result of the current recession. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, between 1977 and 2007, total employment in the US increased by 59%. Amazingly, employment of workers 65 and over had already increased 101% during this time! For men over 65, the 1977 to 2007 increase was 75%, but for women it was 147%. What does this mean for safety at work? We have a lot to do!
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Posted 11 months, 3 weeks ago. Add a comment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Circadian Age, Inc. Announces Launch of New 2010 Working Nights Calendar for Health Care Workers
Boston, MA – (September 9, 2009) – Circadian Age, Inc., – ‘Working Nights’ - specializing in helping managers and employees of organizations with round the clock operations adjust to their unique lifestyles, announces its new 2010 calendar for health care workers. The calendar helps workers in hospitals, assisted living facilities, ambulance units, nursing care facilities, and health clinics face the work/life challenges they encounter as a result of their unusual, and often variable, work schedules.
“Medical workers experience tremendous stress on the job which can lead to fatigue and sleep impairment,” reports Betsy Connolly, Working Nights’ President. “Our calendar provides workers with meaningful tips about health and safety and an opportunity to better manage their lives when working shifts.”
The topics highlighted in the calendar all focus on related health and safety education and prevention for medical workers. February’s topic is Reducing Ergonomic Risks. According to a recent report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2.5% of nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants experienced Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) – injuries or illnesses that affect the connective tissues of the body such as muscles, nerves, joints, tendons, cartilage, or spinal discs. This rate is more than seven times the average national rate of MSDs for all occupations. According to the report, almost 30 percent of all days away from work were related to MSDs. Preventing MSDs requires work scheduling that reduces the time of exposure to demanding work conditions and promotes healthful work–rest patterns.
With the increased use of on-line shift scheduling by health care employees, workers need to make sure that the shift schedules they sign up for maximize sleep opportunities to prevent fatigue related errors, provide adequate recovery periods to limit personal injury risk, and provide time for social activities with friends and family members. Other calendar topics include, Men and Women and Sleep, Managing Hazardous and Toxic Substances, Lowering Stress and Anxiety, New Tips about Caffeine, Restless Leg Syndrome and Vitamin Tips. The calendar incorporates color-coded stickers to help workers and their families manage their day-to-day lives.
For the full release please see Working Nights Calendar for Health Care Workers
Posted 11 months, 4 weeks ago. Add a comment
