Just an update on the "Dental Horror" stories. I am getting some really good stories coming in....ouch! Keep them coming. As some of you have left some good/scary/embarrassing comments on my blog about your experiences I have decided to include those as well. You can continue to send your stories to me until January 26th.
Well, I have just finished another set. As I write this I realize I should be sleeping, but I am not. The life of a night shift worker. You know I have been thinking about the effects of working night shifts alot lately. Maybe it's just because some days I am really feeling my age, and I realize I still have a long way to retirement, and wonder if I can keep this up.
There has been a lot written on the effects working night shifts has on the individual. I am sure most of you know about our circadian rhythm. That is our bodies biological clock. In one article I was reading by Joe Twarog he says " While the human body performs at peak performance during the day, the biological clock(circadian rhythms)drops to its low point during the night~ usually a time meant for rest. But those who work the night shift have to reverse this cycle and operate at top performance as the body struggles to adjust. Rotating shifts create the most severe problems as adjustment is not possible." This truly bothers me as this is my life and the life of most night shift workers. He goes on to say that ...." shift workers generally get 1.5 hrs. less sleep than workers who word day shifts. And the sleep that night shift workers get is during the daytime, when the body rhythms are geared up for activity." He says that this sleep is less satisfying and leads to general fatigue.
- cardiovascular disorder
- gastrointestinal disorder
circadian dysrhythmia
2. Psychosocial Effects:
- sleep loss/fatigue
- lowered performance
- increased accidents
- stress
3. Individual Effects:
- disrupted family and social life, eg. isolation from friends, family, social events and celebrations, etc.
You know I hate to admit it, but I have experienced every single one of the items listed. There are lots of suggestions about how to minimize the effects of working shifts. But the bottom line is I am shortening my life every night shift I work. I am putting myself at risk for an accident every time I get behind the wheel of my car post 12 hr night shift and make the 55km trek home. I have chosen to be in a profession that requires human contact 24/7 I realize that. But I just wanted to share this with you to give you a little insight as to the effects this has on us shift workers. And sometimes I may not be little Mary sunshine, and having to boost and reposition that obese patient at 0530 in the morning might be the last thing my back wants me to do. I do it, I do my best, but I am only human. 
17 comments:
i used to work nights in a factory.. wow.. it's hard on the body!!! Im thinking thats when I developed FMS actually.. well maybe it was the two and three jobs at a time that did that but the night shift thing didn't help;P
Oh I have read these articles also. Hubby use to be a night shift worker and then they would switch him around ~ so many weeks on nights and so many weeks on days. It seemed like he no sonner adjusted to one of them and it was time for a change! We hated it.
And your comment about being only human....in my eyes any nurse working those kind of hours that truely cares about the patients she must care for is SUPER-HUMAN! Like I said before...I think you are AWESOME.
Hugs
You have my sympathies RN. Not only do you have a tough job you have a terrible schedule.
When I first started dating my boyfriend he was working the night shift. He was having terrible gastrointestinal problems. When his doctor couldn't find a cause he said it was probably due to his work schedule.
Oh dear, I knew some of the effects but didn't realise the complete picture. Stay well, RN. hugs
Would you say you're a day person, or a night person? I'm more of a night person -- I seem to function best from, say 6pm to 2am, if left to my own devices. But I was that way as a child, too. I wonder if that makes any difference?
As usual, you display grace under pressure, though. :) I hope you get the rest you need today, friend!
Take care,
Suzanne
I just told my mother to read this post. She was a shift working nurse before she retired, and my dad also worked shifts in the mill. Oh, how I can identify with your post and the article you cited. Thanks,
Libby
Thank you all of your wonderful comments.
There are millions of people out there working shift work. What still surprises me is that there still seems to be this unspoken expectation that we should still carry on life as if we haven't worked a night shift. For example. You need something repaired. Cable, phone things like that. You don't see the cable guy coming out at 0300 in the morning to fix your cable. The epectation is that he come during the day. And even though you are just post nights you are expected to stay up until the cable guy comes or you run the risk of just not getting it repaired. Cutting lawns and using leaf blowers are always used during the day. I can't seem to find ear plugs strong enough to block out the leaf blowers. Those are just a few of the examples of how we continually have to adjust our lives to fit into societies 0900-1700 life.
Just Suszanne, I believe that "being a night" person is the same. Research shows that even though you may say you perform better from 1800-0200. Your body is truly not at it's peak. Also, if this truly is the norm for you, it is better to stay on that practise than to switch around. For example... it is better to stay on nigths than to work rotating days and nights. This is what a large percentage of shift workers do. 2 days and then 2 nights(that is a 12 hr shift) or if it is 8 hr shifts it would be 6 days 2 off 6 evenings 2 off then 6 nights 2 off. Can you imagine going onto days with only two days off when coming off of 6 nights.? Thank you for your comments
I'm definitely a morning person, but usually I work swing shift. Like you, I have experienced all of the above.
BTW, RN, I put up an article on Harper at PP yesterday, and thought you might enjoy it, so I wanted to let you know it's there, before it scrolls off the main page.
My Hubby is a shift worker...so I know......
You would think there would be a better way!!
:-D
I've always been a night hawk - even when I was a small child, but my Mom and grandparents were like that too. I worked about 3-4 years straight on the midnight shift (waitressing), would come home, nap for maybe 2-4 hours at most, then leave to go deliver Avon orders (my other job), back home to cook supper for the kids, out again maybe for 1-2 hours in the early evening to deliver more Avon and then try to take a nap, 1-2 hours if lucky, before getting ready to go back to work starting at 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. For me, it worked because 1) it had to work! and 2) I never had the good sense to go to bed at a decent hour (before 2 a.m.) even when I had to be up at 6 a.m.
But, the worst work is when employers change shifts on people every week or two weeks, etc. Some people are not at all geared for afternoon much less midnight shift and this really wreaks havoc on their bodies as they NEVER adjust to any schedule then. Even though I was -still am- a night hawk, it still took a while to adjust completely to being up all night and awake enough to drive home in the morning. For me, that was the hardest part - the drive home and it was only about 13 miles but still would be fighting falling asleep then probably because I was not physically moving and keeping my system awake from that and the car movement would be tending to relax and put me to sleep.
Jeni...
I am not saying night shift can't be done. It can, and it must be done. I worked shift work for 15 years. 2day 2 night. And I still do. I am glad that you were able to handle it. But by the sounds of it, you too ran the risk of a vehicle accident due to your system not being as alert as it should be. There are many reasons why our bodies get tired. First and foremost our bodies need time to regenerate good cells in our body. Did you know that woman who work night shift have a higher incident of breast cancer than those who have never worked night shift. That is because the hormom "meletonin" is being surpressed that is the good hormone that makes us sleep and rather estrogen is being produce.
We do what we have to do. I am just saying that night shift cuts our life short for many reasons.
So far I haven't had too many of the biological effects, but the other effects pretty much describe me to a T.
Hello,
Maybe you might remember stopping over at my blog ( the gal in France :).
I think you do a job that is very important in society. And I salute you ! My heart goes out to you for the problems with sleep,fatigue
etc.
I had a girlfriend that had the same problems, working graveyard shifts in a MA hospital. But, she had alternating shifts. It wasen't any easier, adjusting back to night sleep...
Take care, and come and visit my blog again. You are very welcome !
Did you check my TT ? ( You asked how I met my hubby )
I have a friend who works only night shifts...9 p.m. to 6 a.m. She says it's very hard because she sleeps all day so doesn't get to spend hardly any time with the kids, misses out on all the outings, doesn't see anybody, etc. I can see the effect it has on her so I can understand how all that can shorten one's life. I have every respect for nurses...you certainly don't get paid what you're worth, with all the work you guys have to do!! Hugs xox
Night shift is the worst. I'll quit a job before I'll work nights. I'm getting too old for that stuff.
MJ
I also work nights as a waitress. I know how hard it is however I do it because I have to. During the day I take care of my two year old in the evening I go to school three days a week. Not to mention the fact that I am 16 weeks pregnant. I sleep only when my child naps. I know that I am a safety hazard every time I sit behind the wheel of my car. I too realize the effects that it has on my body but I don't have a choice I have to work. Even though it is hard we sometimes have to do things we don't want to do to make it in this world.
Thanks for the post Smalltown. I wanted to let you and your readers know that we cover shiftwork related topics all the time on our blog. You may want to check it out at www.ShiftworkInformation.blogspot.coom.
Ed Coburn
Executive Director
National Shiftwork Information Center
Post a Comment