Working Nights

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.

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.

Teach Children about Working Nights and Learn Something New Yourself Too!

Just Released — A Children’s Book from Working Nights!

Why Does my Mom or Dad Sleep all Day – When Parents Work Shift Work

Click here to order! Only $12.95

Help children understand the differences that exist in families when parents work extended hours.  Topics covered include why it’s important to get enough sleep, eating balanced meals, and carving out time for fun and recreation, including family time.

This is a great book for parents or grandparents to purchase for the  children in their lives.  It’s also good for schools and libraries! Modelled after the Working Nights Calendar, the book includes eye-catching illustrations and easy to understand text aimed at 4 to 8-year-olds.  Questions designed to engage children in a meaningful discussion about how their lives and others are impacted when parents work shift work are included at the end.

Soft cover, 25 pages, easy to read 8.5” x 11” size.   $12.95.  To order click here.

Shift Work and Divorce – Does the Work Schedule Really Make a Difference?

Divorce.  It’s not a fun topic for anyone. 

By now most of us have read that we’re better off if we’re married.  According to the Center for Disease Control, married people tend to have lower mortality rates, exhibit less risky behavior, are more likely to monitor their health, comply with necessary medical routines, have sex more often and experience more satisfaction with their sexual lives, save more and earn more.  On a national level, the Census Bureau reports that a shrinking share of Americans are married – only 52% of males and 48% of females were married in 2008. The proportion of Americans who are currently married has been decreasing for decades and is lower than it has been in at least half a century.  The median duration of a marriage in 2008 was 18 years. In 2008, 9% of men were divorced and 12% of women were. 

So why don’t we stick with our marriages?  And, is it true that maintaining a marriage is more difficult for shift workers?

Read this article…

Plan Ahead for Ghosts and Goblins When Working Shift Work!

It’s almost Halloween; time for ghosts and goblins, and disappointed kids whose parents have to work. Or maybe you don’t have kids, or yours are grown and out of the house, but you were invited to a Halloween party. Halloween falls on Saturday night this year – a great night for a party! If you didn’t plan ahead to get the night off, it’s probably too late. But, you can still find opportunities to have fun. Here are some great ideas!
Read this article…

Making the Best of Shift Work and Parenting – It’s Not Easy!

Many employees with children work nonstandard hours. The relationship between shift work and parent-child interaction has been studied by many. For example, one study found that parents working certain nonstandard shifts, especially those working nights and weekends, were less likely to eat dinner with their children (of course this depended in part on which shift the parents worked). Other studies point that some nonstandard shifts have a positive correlation with whether parents had breakfast with their children.
Read this article…

Weight, Obesity, Fitness and Health

With shift work, weight gain seems almost unavoidable- perhaps even more reliable than a weekly paycheck. Behind us are our genes, programmed in times of hunting and gathering to push us to see food, grab it, and devour it, since who knows when another fruit tree or dead animal fall into our laps? In front of us living in the 21st century is McDonalds, Dairy Queen, Sonic, Burger King, huge supermarkets, big plates and silverware, lattes, breakfast muffins, cars to carry us from one place of food to another. Furthermore, shift work makes time for exercise difficult. Night shifts sleep, which can cause the body to hang on to extra weight. It’s no wonder obesity has become such a problem. Many news articles talk about the problem, but how can you determine your risk level and what plan of action is right for you? Read this article…

Families and Friends of Shift Workers – How to Help

Shift work can cause difficulty creating and maintaining relationships, and often it’s hard for others to realize special challenges shift workers face. However, shift work is by no means a personal issue. Over 55 million Americans work nonstandard work schedules so that up to 150 million people are directly impacted by shift work schedules, based on US census statistics of household size. But shift work does not only affect the immediate family, but also the neighbors that get called in to babysit, the grandparents and cousins and aunts and uncles that might not get to see their relatives who work on holidays, the friends who want to hang out on nights and weekends- everyone who wants to support the shift worker as much as they can. This article helps anyone who has someone who works shift work in their lives. Read this article…

Preparing for the Holidays: HoHoHoooh No, I Have to Work the Night Shift…

The upcoming holidays, with all their hype and high expectations, invariably bring stress to all of us: employees and managers, family members, friends and neighbors. If we plan ahead, we can avoid the common pitfalls that often cause holiday stress and heartache. Developing these skills is an important part of learning to balance work life and home life.

Read this article…

When Fall Arrives: Preparing Children (and Parents) for Going Back to School

Any parent who has ever faced the Herculean struggle of trying to drag a teenager out of bed in the morning for school has felt the stress September brings. Most parents have probably wondered at one point or another why their teenager seems so drained all of a sudden. Now, science shows that Circadian rhythms, that determine when we feel hungry, tired, and experience other bodily urges on a daily basis, do in fact shift as we age. As we go through different stages of life, we not only need different amounts of sleep, our bodies need that sleep at different times. A teenager feels alert and ready to learn at different times than do younger siblings, parents, or older people. For parents that work nights or shifts, helping understand children’s sleep schedules when you’re busy worrying about your own can be tough. Adapting to age-specific schedules can help families be the most prepared to enter the school year with the least stress possible. Read this article…