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We all know that sleep deficit is a constant problem for many shift workers. And we also know that having a sleep debt impacts every faction of our lives. So…the debate continues…what is the best way to make up that sleep? A May 20th article in the Wall Street Journal discusses this issue and offers some suggestions.
What is best for you, your schedule and your sleep type? Should you sleep binge, sleep bank or nap? Click here to learn more…..
At this point, it appears we all know someone (if not yourself!) who has been diagnosed or has symptoms attributable to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or A.D.H.D. The classic symptoms of A.D.H.D. include procrastination, forgetfulness, the inability to pay attention consistently and the propensity to lose things. However, as a recent article published in the New York Times points out, there is an important diagnostic criterion: symptoms must date back to childhood. Yet, in many patients, it has been shown they don’t.
Vatsal G. Thakkar, the article’s author, proposes that in a substantial number of cases, these symptoms may be a result of chronic sleep deficit! In today’s 24/7 society, we all get less sleep than we used to, especially shift workers. We at Working Nights often discuss the importance of sleep and what happens if we do not get enough. It has a tremendous negative impact on our health and wellbeing. Learn more about these sleep findings by reading the article in the New York Times….
In the past, sleep experts had warned us about exercising too close to bed time. They said “excitement” hormones such as adrenaline, which rise during exercise to give us energy and take about three hours to fall back to normal levels, would interfere with a good night’s sleep.
However, recent studies show this is not the case! These studies indicate that the timing of your exercise has no impact on your quality or quantity of sleep. This research is backed by a survey released by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) which makes the case for exercising to improve sleep, regardless of the time of day or night. The survey polled vigorous exercisers who, whether exercising first thing in the morning or right before bed, were twice as likely as sedentary people to report they had a good night’s sleep every night or almost every night the week before. Therefore, the NSF has amended its recommendation for normal sleepers to encourage exercise at any time of day or night.
This is wonderful news for shift workers who often find it difficult to get to sleep and to fit exercise into their schedule. To learn more about this new information, go to the National Sleep Foundation’s website….
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal reported that according to experts, there is no perfect position and there is no one right way to sleep! Because sleep is such an important part of a healthy lifestyle, it is vital to find the position that is most comfortable for you and allows you to have the best night’s sleep possible. People with certain medical conditions and pain should determine what position works best for them that can help to aid or eliminate their problem.
Here are some interesting sleep position facts:
1. The three basic sleeping positions (in order of their popularity) are side, back and stomach with variables to each of these; each position has its own advantages and disadvantages.
2. Sleep specialists recommend side sleeping for the most restful, uninterrupted sleep.
3. They do not recommend stomach sleeping as it could cause lower back and neck pain.
4. Sleeping in the same position can consistently compress one part of the body.
5. Sleep studies show that people move anywhere from 3-36 times a night; the average person switches about a dozen times.
6. Finding the right mattress and using pillows at various locations on and under your body can help you sleep well.
If you are having difficulty finding the most comfortable sleep position, do your research to determine what might help or consult a sleep specialist or physical therapist. Your sleep is too important to not make it the best it can be!
It seems as if each day there is new information on sleep, its importance in our daily lives and the severe implications to our health if we don’t get enough. Sleep deprivation is now considered a widespread public health issue as one in five American adults show signs of it. While this news certainly impacts all people, it is of even greater significance to shift workers, who on average get less sleep.
A recent article in e! Science News talks about the October meeting of Neuroscience 2012 during which a number of new findings on sleep were revealed. One of the findings describes how sleep enables the remodeling of memories — including the weakening of irrelevant memories — and the coherent integration of old and new information. Another shows that loss of less than half a night’s sleep can impair memory and alter the normal behavior of brain cells.
Dr. Clifford Saper, an expert on sleep and sleep deprivation who served as the press conference moderator, said, “As these research findings show, we cannot underestimate the value of a good night’s sleep. To learn more and read the article in its entirety, please click here…..
We very often write about the impact that sleep (or lack of it) has on every aspect of our lives, especially the lives of shift workers. The results of a new study have been released which might further explain the link between sleep loss and obesity which had been discovered earlier.
The study was presented at the Associated Professional Sleep Societies’ Annual Meeting, SLEEP 2012, in Boston in June. According to its lead author, Stephanie Greer, its goal was to see if specific regions of the brain associated with food processing were disrupted by sleep deprivation. Twenty three healthy adults participated in two sessions using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), one after a normal night’s sleep and the other after a night of sleep deprivation. During both sessions, the participants rated how much they wanted different food items shown to them while they were in the scanner.
The results show that loss of sleep significantly impaired brain activity in the frontal lobe, the region critical for controlling behavior and making complex choices, such as which food to eat. Greer said the study suggests that sleep deprivation prevents higher brain functions, rather than those deeper in the brain structures that react to basic desires. With loss of sleep, the brain fails to integrate all the different signals that help us normally make wise choices about what we should eat.
Therefore when we are sleep deprived, our brain does not gather the information needed to decide the best types of food to eat, healthy relative to how tasty, so we may not be eating right or choosing the right foods. This may help explain the connection between sleep deprivation and obesity.
Sleep! We have all had those times when we are in a hammock or rocking chair and, with it gently swaying, have quickly fallen asleep. It is that same rocking motion that puts our babies to sleep. Researchers have been studying just why the slow swinging makes us go to sleep faster.
A study conducted by the University of Geneva asked 12 adult males with no sleep issues to take 2 45 minute afternoon naps. One nap was on a stationary bed and one on a gently rocking bed (hammock-like). During the naps, their brain activity was monitored.
The results were significant:
• All feel asleep more quickly when rocking
• Most said the nap was more “pleasant” than usual
• Measured brain activity showed an increase in the areas of deeper more restful sleep and more continuous sleep
• All moved more quickly from Stage 1 to Stage 2 sleep which is where more than half of our sleep time is spent
These results are especially important to shift workers as it is very often difficult to fall asleep and to stay asleep. Researchers are now studying the effects of rocking over longer periods of sleep and on those who suffer from insomnia or other sleep issues.
Many of us are aware of the advantages of physical activity …..and we also know how hard it can be to fit it into our already busy days (and nights)! However, researchers are discovering even more reasons why we should get up and go!
How about a better night’s sleep? The current national guidelines for recommended physical activity are 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise. These guidelines were originally established to improve and maintain cardiovascular health. However, studies are showing that these guidelines have a spillover to other areas of health.
Brad Cardinal, an author of a study published recently in the journal Mental Health and Physical Activity, stated, “Increasingly, the scientific evidence is encouraging as regular physical activity may serve as a non-pharmaceutical alternative to improve sleep.” This is significant for shift workers as they regularly get less sleep than day workers, and often have difficulty falling asleep. The study shows a 65% improvement in sleep quality for those participants who were more active. Those people were also less sleepy during the day which means increased productivity on the job.
How about feeling more excited and enthusiastic? Researchers at Penn State asked study participants to daily record their physical activity (if greater than 15 minutes), their mental states and their sleep quantity and quality. They discovered that people who were physically active had more pleasant activated feelings. Also, on days when people were more physically active than usual, they reported feelings of excitement and enthusiasm.
So, while we might feel like we are too tired to exercise, if we take that first step, we are on our way. One day of exercise can lead to the next and to the next….let’s give it a try!
Do you really know when you are sleepy…too sleepy to drive or perform an activity? This question is front and center as people are getting fewer hours of sleep each night than ever before. Studies show that consistently getting too little sleep poses long term health risks, but do a few nights of little sleep have any impact?
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal details the steps being taken by sleep researchers around the world to develop a test for sleepiness. They are trying to find ways to identify sleepiness in people before they are so impaired that accidents occur. We know that people who are sleepy have decreased attention, slower reaction times and problems learning and processing information. Many people often don’t know how sleepy they are until it is too late. This is especially significant for shift workers who generally get less sleep than day workers.
Some interesting information noted in the article are the results of a 1997 study published in the journal Nature which showed that being awake for 24 hours resulted in the equivalent level of cognitive impairment as having a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.1%. In the U.S., it is illegal for adults to drive with a concentration of .08% or above.
The WSJ reports that researchers are looking for a biomarker, a characteristic or substance, in the body that will indicate if someone is sleepy and if they are, just how sleepy. While actual biological tests are years away, great strides are being made.
Other ways of identifying sleepiness are also being pursued. A professor of applied physics in Finland, Edward Haeggstrom, has noted that balance is impacted by sleepiness; “the longer you have been awake, the more you sway”. Additional research notes the link between sleepiness and eye blinks; the sleepier you are, the slower your eyelids close.
While we know the importance and value of sleep, this research provides the hope that this new information and knowledge can be used in our daily lives as part of our health care regimen, helping us to lead healthier and safer lives.
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. Read this article…
A team of researchers recruited 350 people to look at whether their nighttime eating habits predicted their risk of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Stomach contents (food or liquid) of people suffering from GERD leak backwards from the stomach into the esophagus (the tube from the mouth to the stomach). This can irritate the esophagus, causing heartburn and other symptoms. Obesity, cigarettes, and possibly alcohol also increase the chance of GERD.
After controlling for smoking, body mass index and other things that influence heartburn, the researchers found that eating dinner within three hours of going to bed was associated with a sevenfold increase in the risk of reflux symptoms. As for why three to four hours is the threshold, researchers say that is roughly the amount of time it takes for food to clear the stomach.
Researchers from Mid Sweden University performed a systematic review of the medical literature noting studies that have reported gastrointestinal symptoms and diseases among shift workers by researchers from Mid Sweden University. Studies have indicated that shift workers appear to have increased risk of gastrointestinal symptoms and peptic ulcer disease. Workplace noise, increased work schedule variability, and working the evening shift may have the most adverse affect on gastrointestinal functioning.
Here are some suggestions of ways to minimize gastrointestinal discomfort by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine:
• Avoid bending over or exercising just after eating.
• Avoid garments or belts that fit tightly around your waist.
• Do not lie down with a full stomach. For example, avoid eating within 2 – 3 hours of bedtime.
• Do not smoke.
• Eat smaller meals.
• Lose weight, if you are overweight.
• Reduce stress.
• Sleep with your head raised about 6 inches. Do this by tilting your entire bed, or by using a wedge under your body, not just with normal pillows.
© 2011 Circadian Age, Inc. ‘Working Nights’
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.
………. keeping you or your partner awake night after night? We often joke and laugh about snoring but it can be a serious matter, especially for shift workers as they already get less sleep than daytime workers. Almost one half of the adult population snores at least occasionally, resulting in many sleepless nights for many people.
Snoring occurs when air flows over relaxed tissues in your throat causing the tissues to vibrate as you breathe; this creates those annoying sounds. The tissues may obstruct your airway making it narrower, so the airflow becomes more forceful and the snoring becomes louder. While snoring itself is not a health problem, it may indicate a more serious health condition, such as sleep apnea where your airways are so obstructed that you stop or nearly stop breathing as you sleep.
There are risk factors that may contribute to snoring. Some of them are:
If you do suffer from plain old snoring, most doctors recommend making some lifestyle changes such as losing weight, reducing your consumption of alcohol near bedtime and sleeping on your side. These are all low cost or free. There are plenty of products (throat exercises, special pillows, mouth and nose devices) out there that do promise to eliminate snoring but their results have not yet been proven. If lifestyle changes do not help, doctors often recommend the mask or CPAP, oral appliances or surgery. Most insurance plans will not cover treatments for regular snoring, but will cover them if you are diagnosed with sleep apnea.
Do see a doctor if your snoring is disrupting your or anyone’s sleep or if you wake up gasping for air. A good night’s or day’s rest is essential to a happy and healthy you!
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.
Now that it’s December 1st, and we’ve adjusted our clocks, some of us will find their circadian clock more out of order than others. Seasonal affective disorder strikes this time of year. We’ve written on this in the past. See our earlier post which highlights a Wall Street Journal article written by health editor, Melinda Beck.
For a newer article, read Seasonal Affective Disorder: How to Beat ‘Winter’ Depression.
