Working Nights

Next Time Don’t Complain, Tell a Joke Instead!

Almost all serial killers are men. That’s ’cause women like to kill one man slowly over many, many years.  (Robert Duchaine)

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Men who consistently leave the toilet seat up secretly want women to get up to go the bathroom in the middle of the night and fall in.  (Rita Rudner)

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I found out why cats drink out of the toilet. My mother told me it’s because it’s cold in there. And I’m like: How did my mother know THAT?  (Wendy Liebman) 

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Laughing puts us in a positive mood.  The physiological reaction to humor results in lower stress hormone levels, increased immune activity, and lower cholesterol and blood pressure.  Repetitive laughing has similar effects on the body as moderate exercise, according to a study from Loma Linda University’s Schools of Allied Health and Medicine.

Read this article…

How Do You React to Stress?

Work can be hugely stressful. In fact, twenty-five percent of Americans say that their job is their greatest contributor to the angst in their lives.  And, clearly there are other stresses too.  Pressure, anxiety, and tension can result in headaches, sleep disturbances, difficulty concentrating, short tempers, upset stomachs, low morale, and general life dissatisfaction.  Shift workers can experience extra stress as a result of working variable hours, getting less sleep, having little access to family members and friends, leading to increased isolation and lack of support.

Stress can be reduced though, and here are some ideas to help. Read this article…

Human Fatigue in Shift Work Operations – Causes and Solutions

“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. Read this article…

This Emotional Life – Following up on “Stumbling on Happiness”

Daniel Gilbert, professor at Harvard and best selling author of “Stumbling on Happiness,” hosts this PBS show, This Emotional Life, starting Monday, January 4th.  The show will explore ways to improve social relationships, cope with emotional issues, and become more positive and resilient as individuals. 

Many people from all walks of life are profiled, including every day moms, dads, and workers, and famous people like Katie Couric and Richard Gere.  If you have to work when the show is aired, you can  either tape it at home, or purchase the series at http://www.shoppbs.org/product/index.jsp?productId=3914596. 

In Stumbling on Happiness, Gilbert shares with us facts about the way our mind works.  Gilbert, a Harvard University Psychology professor, is particularily interested in the shortcomings of our imaginations.  He says we’re much too accepting of the conclusions of our imaginations.   He notes that our imaginations are really bad at telling us how we will think when the future finally comes. And our personal experiences aren’t nearly as good at correcting these errors as we thing they are.

Watch the TV preview right here!

Dan Shapiro PBS Trailer

Can Music Calm a Shift Worker’s Soul – and Improve Sleep as Well?

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?
Read this article…

New Research Proves – You are what you eat – More than Ever!

Australian researchers overseeing a study published last month in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that eating more carbohydrates than fat and protein increases serotonin production in the brain. Serotonin is a chemical that has been linked with improved mood and mental health. Shift workers have been found to have lower levels of serotonin than daytime employees. Does this mean that people working the night shift should run out and stock up on potatoes, beans, rice, pasta, and bread? YES

In the study, half of the participants spent a year following a diet low in fat and high in carbohydrates. The other half went on a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet. The participants in both groups lost 30 pounds on average and generally said they felt happier after two months on the diet. But after continuing to diet for a year, the people who ate less fat (butter, steak, pork, veal) and more carbs (pasta and potatoes) reported feeling happier and less depressed and anxious than they had before. The other group, who ate more fat and fewer carbohydrates, felt that their moods were worse than they’d been before.

The book, “The Serotonin Power Diet,’’ by Judith J. Wurtman, PhD and Nina T. Fruszajer, MD, published in December of 2006 beat the Australians to the punch line. The book’s authors state on the home page of their website, “Our brains makes serotonin when you eat foods such as pretzels, pasta, rice, and potatoes – in the right amounts, at the right times of the day, and without protein.” And they also say that serotonin curbs your appetite, restores mental energy, and soothes emotional stress. The authors recommend that “30-60 minutes before your next meal, munch on a serotonin soothing snack: pretzels, cheerios, popcorn, or cherry licorice bites. Notice how it takes the edge off your appetite and energizes you.”

Buy the Serotonin Power Diet on Amazon.com. To read more about serotonin and shift work read our previous blog posting.

WSJ Covers Heart Risk at Work and Seasonal Affective Disorder

There were two articles in the Wall Street Journal today that are significant to shift workers. One story is about Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), and the other’s about a new study reporting that men who didn’t confront colleagues or bosses who treated them unfairly doubled their risk of heart attack.

Seasonal Affective Disorder – the article states that SAD “affects an estimated 6% of Americans, causing depression, lethargy, irritability and a desire to avoid social situations. It can also create an urge to overeat, particularly carbohydrates. As many as 15% of people in the U.S. may have a milder version that includes only some of these symptoms.” What the article leaves out, that all shift workers know, is that SAD symptoms are routinely felt by workers at jobs outside the normal day-time hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. See more about this in our articles on Vitamin D and Serotonin.

Reducing Heart Risk with Confrontation – the lead researcher from Stockholm University and her research partners asked 2,755 men how they typically responded to unfair treatment at work. Those who said they just let it pass and said/did nothing had significantly more heart attacks during the next ten years. After adjusting for age, socio-economic factors, risk behaviors, job strain, and biological risk factors, the risk of heart and death from a cardiovascular event was 2.3 times greater than it was for those who said they confronted those treating them unfairly. Read more about how shift workers can manage stress on the job and about controlling bullying at work.

To read the two Wall Street Journal articles:

Seasonal Affective Disorder
Reducing Heart Risk with Confrontation

©2009Circadian Age, Inc. ‘Working Nights”

The Problem of Migraines and Shift Work

Each year upwards of 90% of the U.S. population will feel headache pain and 13% will suffer from a migraine. Nearly 30 million Americans have migraines. Researchers from Johns Hopkins, after pooling results from 21 studies, involving 622,381 men and women, have found that migraine headaches are associated with more than double the likelihood of the most common kind of stroke – those occurring when blood supply to the brain is suddenly cut off by the buildup of plaque or a blood clot.

The National Headache Association estimates that headaches cost up to $17 billion dollars in absenteeism, lost productivity, and medical expenses each year. Ninety percent of respondents to a NHA 2008 survey indicated that headaches affected their work performance. Migraines are triggered by many different issues such as stress, environmental factors (e.g. lighting and eye strain), depression, or certain foods and some medications. One major factor in the development of migraines is lack of sleep.

Are shift workers more likely to suffer from migraines?
Read this article…

Happy Thanksgiving from Working Nights – an Idea for Getting Through Dinner!

Holiday dinners with family can be easily ruined. A political debate might erupt at the table over health care reform, Obama’s job rating, or how people feel about Sarah Palin. Perhaps a new husband or wife isn’t liked, so half the table ignores them while the other goes overboard to make them feel comfortable. Some people actually have the nerve to state that they don’t like the food – right in front of the chef. Maybe someone has dietary issues so the ingredients of every dish have to be reviewed before they take a bite. How about the nurse or firefighter who worked the entire night before and can’t stay awake at the table or has a short fuse as a result of being tired? There might be sadness over a recent death or heartbreak from missing someone who’s overseas with the military. What about those screaming kids banging their silverware on the crystal stemware or china plates? Sometimes you wish you’d stayed home.

Here’s a new holiday dinner sanity idea.
Read this article…

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…

November is National Heartburn Month! Is this Something to Celebrate?

Do you feel bloated?  Is your stomach is churning day and night?  To alleviate your heartburn and acid indigestion, do you regularly pop antacid pills?  If your answers are yes, you’re not alone.  People who work shifts often suffer from gastrointestinal (GI) disease.  In fact, up to 75% of night workers have G.I. problems – and peptic ulcers are up to 5 times more frequent.  Nearly 40% of shift workers report taking antacids several times a month.[i]  According to the National Heartburn Alliance (NHBA), over 25 million Americans suffer from heartburn on a daily basis and most of them attribute it to the foods they eat.    

So, if you’re one of the 25 million, or your best buddy or spouse is, what can you do to get help? 

Read this article…

Working Nights Featured in Corporate Wellness Magazine’s September Issue

Health care reform is on everyone’s mind. Corporate Wellness Magazine, written for employers, unions, government agencies, consultants and insurance companies, has two health related articles by Working Nights featured in this months magazine. They include:

The Cost of Pharmaceutical Products used by Shift Workers
In 2007 the total U.S. health care bill came to $2.3 trillion—more than we spent that year on food. The United States spent approximately 16 percent of its 2006 gross domestic product on healthcare, up from eight percent in 1975. This article looks at pharmaceutical products and how much we spend on ailments affecting shift workers.

Lowering Stress and Anxiety for Shift Workers
When faced with the anxiety that sometimes accompanies working shift work, many people turn to tobacco, drugs (both pharmaceutical and illegal ones) and alcohol as coping mechanisms. While these substances may bring some calm in the short term, they tend to heighten stress and anxiety over the long term. This article includes valuable tips to help shift workers better manage work/life balance.

Hope you enjoy these featured articles!

©2009 Circadian Age, Inc. – ‘Working Nights”

Is Moonlighting Poised to Return, and if so, What Should Employers and Employees Do About it?

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.
Read this article…

It’s a Sad Labor Day for Many Shift Workers (and others too)!

According to the Department of Labor, here is how Labor Day came about and what it means:
“Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.”

Today is a sad Labor Day – too many workers are not able to contribute to the health of the country and are instead struggling to keep their own financial heads above water.
Read this article…

Workplace Bullying Increases Sleep Disorder Risk – Already a Problem for Shift Workers

Bullying in the workplace can range from one extreme – physical violence and homicide, to verbal insults, threats, teasing, ridiculing, and making false accusations – at the other end. Sometimes bullies use name-calling, talking about a person behind their back, ignoring a person, and making false accusations to set a co-worker up for failure. The targeted person may be a boss, insubordinate, or peer. No matter who’s being targeted, bullying in the workplace has been proven to decrease morale amongst all workers, and if allowed to continue, bullying will detrimentally impact business results, possibly in a material way. A new study has found that current or past bullying is associated with increased sleep disturbances. Makes sense, right? A person who is being bullied is probably a nervous wreck, so having trouble sleeping seems logical. But, it turns out that bullying has detrimental effects on sleep even when it’s being experienced indirectly – by observing it as a co-worker.
Read this article…