Working Nights

Shift Workers May Need to Pay Special Attention to Sodium and Potassium Levels

Fast and processed food pumps more sodium into our diet every day than our body was meant to handle. For shift workers that rely on the comfort and reliability fast food offers on the way to or from a shift, sodium sneaks in and can wreak havoc on a body throughout the years. Many people think that if they avoid sprinkling too much salt on their meals, sodium won’t be a problem, but unfortunately this is not the case. Shift workers face additional challenges from the normal fast food-eater, since the high levels of caffeine many shift workers drink reduces hydration, further throwing off the sodium balance, and many effects of too much sodium such as weight gain, low energy, aching muscles, and chronic fatigue are already felt by shift workers for other job-related reasons. Your body relies on potassium to balance out sodium content, a goal that is clearly extremely important for extended hours workers. This article will show you how to tell if you have a problem, and lay out tips for keeping you body balanced and what foods to eat to increase potassium levels. Read this article…

Restless Legs Syndrome and Its Connection to Shift Work

For shift workers slumping into bed after a long night shift or extended hours work day, a pain that feels like a burning iron on your leg is not the feeling you were hoping for. Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS), a chronic problem sometimes unnoticed by health care, affects almost 10 percent of the population, yet it is still a misunderstood and often forgotten disorder. A shiftwork lifestyle causes workers to face a much greater risk for Restless Leg Syndrome than the normal population. Restless Leg Syndrome often goes undiagnosed for up to twenty years after it rears its ugly head, causing pain, lack of sleep, and irritation, but people can work their way towards recovery. It is important for shift workers to arm themselves with knowledge of RLS and its symptoms, so that they can avoid unnecessary harm. Read this article…

Vision Problems for Shift Workers

The generational issues that are beginning to affect the whole country as Baby Boomers age are reaching into the shift work population as well. Managers and co-workers will have to understand specific needs of an aging workforce, especially issues with sight and vision. As the population of shiftworkers age, vision issues will continue to further plague the shiftwork population and their employers. Shiftworkers may complain of blurred or distorted vision. Workers should be educated about the risk factors and prevention of vision disorders, how to identify the major disorders, and what the treatment options are.

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Impact of Noise in the Workplace

Shift workers exposed to continuous loud noise on the job, such as crashing, machinery, or engines, or who come in contact with certain types of metals and solvents, face a higher risk of hearing loss than the average population. That’s saying a fair amount, since with the explosive popularity of iPods, specifically iPod earbuds, the average music listener faces far more hearing loss danger than they did a decade ago. As this generation of Baby Boomers ages, so many of whom work shifts and extended hours, rates of both natural and work-related hearing loss will likely surge across the country. Managers, employees and health care workers have to be prepared to diagnose potential hearing loss in themselves and others and take steps for prevention. Read this article…