Archive for the 'Shift Work' Category

The latest research conducted on shift work and its side effects has proved that women who are doing shift work are more likely to be forced to retire early due to several complications in their health.

This research was conducted on both men and women; they considered both of them equally and observed them totally until they are 60 years old.

It has found that women suffer a lot with several heath problems due to shift work when compared to men. Men will have enough resistance and power when compared to women. So, they will have somewhat less health problems in shift work when compared to women.

Shift work is the work done in the extended hours and it can also be named as the non standard work schedule.

The regular work time of the humans in their office will vary between 7 in the morning to 7 in the evening, but this custom has changed dramatically and many people are supposed to work in the evening or nigh shifts.

This tradition of shift work will have more adverse effects on the workers both mentally and physically.

They have to face several health problems; some times these simple problems may create some negative health problems like gastric ulcers, diabetes, obesity, etc.

Here are some of the health problems if you continue to perform shift work for long period of time:

• Increase in the risk of getting heart diseases
• Several gastro intestinal complications and gastric ulcers can develop within your body
• You will be affected with sleep disorders like sleep deprivation and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) due to improper sleeping timings
• Some psychiatric disturbances and social problems will also be created due to several mental and physical disturbances.
• Other than these diseases, some other diseases like epilepsy, diabetes, etc can also occur with these improper timings.

If you are in rotating shifts, problems arise due to the disturbance in circadian rhythm.

Sleep/wake cycle is the major circadian rhythm involved.

The other major problem is social isolation of those people who work at the time while others sleep.

Biological and social problems associated with shift work:

If you are a shift worker, you can face physical problem of peptic ulcer eight times that of the normal worker. Shift workers also have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. [Shift Work and Heart Diseases]

The other physical problems that you can experience are excessive sleepiness, chronic fatigue, and difficulty in sleeping.

Divorce rates are also increased due to rotating shifts. If you are in rotating shifts, you are at increased risk of substance abuse and depression. You will also feel that your job is stressful. Due to shift work, accidents also increase.

Factors that cause problems in shift work:

Many body functions exhibit circadian rhythm, from the sleep/wake cycle to all of the important organs.

Sleep: Sleep is one of the important factors which have to be scheduled to prevent problems in shift work. Your sleep patterns follow a circadian rhythm.

Shift work sleep disorder occurs due to a work schedule that takes place during normal sleeping period.

This work schedule makes you to work in the sleeping period when your body actually wants to sleep.

When your body is expected to be awake, you have to try to sleep. There are many health risks associated with shift workers.

Shift work and increased risk of cardiovascular disease:

According to a recent study, shift work is associated with specific heart problems. People who work in a mix of day and night shifts are at increased risk of heart disease than others.

Shift work affects your body’s circadian rhythm and functions of the body such as hormone secretion, blood pressure and heart rate.

People who work in rotating shifts have the increased risk of heart disease due to the factors such as obesity, high blood pressure [High Blood Pressure in Children], cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption.

Sixty percent people who are working in rotating shifts have diseases related to heart and blood vessels and they are twice likely to die from heart attacks.

You have to monitor your blood sugar levels when you have diabetes, particularly when you are away from home.

You have to take blood sugar levels few times during your shift to see if you need to raise or lower your blood sugar levels.

If you are switching to a new shift, you have to closely monitor your blood sugar level.

With shift works of day shifts, afternoon shifts, or midnight shifts, you have to space your meals out.

Diabetic patients should space meals out about four or five hours.

There is nothing hard to manage because you get break in eight hour shifts. The difficulty is remembering to eat just before your shift work as well as during break. It is important to have diabetes medication along with you when you have shift work. If your blood sugar gets low, you have to take a snack or some juice.[Diabetes Diet]

You can take permission from your supervisor for extra ten minute break to eat some fruit or snack to raise your blood sugar levels. You have to plan snacks for every shift in order to maintain your blood sugar. You should have extra snack with you in case if your blood sugar drops suddenly.

Shift work sleep disorder occurs in people who rotate their shifts frequently or work at night.

Shift workers try t o sleep when the rest of the world is waking up and works when the rest of the world is sleeping.

If you are a shift worker, you do not sleep in the traditional night hours and your body’s circadian rhythm will be disturbed.

If your body’s circadian rhythm is changed, it may cause difficulty in adjusting to new time schedules resulting in shift work sleep disorder.

Shift workers with short rotation are the worst affected and they have to change their sleeping patterns and schedules for every few days.

People with shift work experience insomnia [Causes of Insomnia], excessive sleepiness, lethargy, headaches and difficulty concentrating. These symptoms can lead to reduced productivity and increased sickness.

The shift work sleep disorder is commonly found in people who work between night ten to morning six. So, people with shift work often sleep at work area and they are twice likely to have work related accidents.

Controlling shift work sleep disorder:

• You have to make the sleep schedule a top priority.

Shift work sleep disorder is a circadian rhythm sleep disorder that occurs due to the work schedule that takes place during the normal sleep period.

You have to work in night schedules when your body wants to sleep.

You have to sleep when your body expects to be awake. Your sleep and wake times are much different than your internal body clock.

This internal clock controls circadian rhythms in your body. Circadian means to occur in a cycle of 24 hours.

These circadian rhythms make you alert or feel sleepy at regular time periods every day.

There are several types of shift work schedules. These include the following:

1. Early-morning shifts
2. Rotating shifts
3. Night shifts

The shift workers have one to four hours of less sleep than average. You have trouble sleeping due to the different shift work schedules. The quality of sleep is also poor. You do not feel refreshed when you wake up from sleep. Due to the poor sleep, your performance is affected. It can also make you less attentive.