working nights newsletter - july 2011

7/29/2019 Working Nights Newsletter - July 2011

1/4

Working NightsImproving Health, Safety, and Quality of Life for People Who Work Non-Traditional Hours

JULY 2011

If youre reading the Working Nights Newsletteron your break at work, theres a

good chance youre also drinking a cup of coffee. Or maybe youre sipping a cup

of tea, downing a soda or gulping down some other caffeinated beverage.

As you no doubt know from experience, caffeine provides a quick pick-me-up.

After a cup of coffee, youre less likely to accidentally nod off, you may find it eas-

ier to concentrate, and your mood probably improves.

Beyond these benefits lie several important questions all shiftworkers should

contemplate: What are caffeines drawbacks? How much coffee is too much?

And most important: How can I make the wisest use of caffeine, so that it

helps me stay alert on the job but doesnt interfere with my sleep or cause

health problems?

Although relatively little research has been done specifically on caffeines

effect on shiftworkers, we do know enough about caffeine to offer several

general conclusions:

Caffeine improves work performance. Research has confirmed

that caffeines stimulating effect is real. For example, in one study

of people working simulated night shifts, volunteers who

drank a cup of coffee at 10:20pm and another at 1:20am

scored better on computer tests than subjects who

drank decaffeinated coffee. Those who got caffeine

were still doing better after 7 a.m.

Caffeine is a long-acting drug. Caffeines half-

life is three to five hours, meaning it is still active in

your body long after youve had your last caffeinat-

ed drink.

Caffeine disrupts sleep, especially daytime sleep.

Immediately after you ingest caffeine it becomes

feature story

Shiftwork & Caffeine CarpoolingWith gas prices seeming to increase

every week, carpooling to work is

beginning to look more attractive every

day. While most people see carpooling a

a way to save some money, its importan

to note that it has other benefits as well

For example, carpooling is a great way to

protect against driver fatigue a

potential risk on the drive home after a

night shift. Having someone to talk to

keeps your mind engaged and reduces

the likelihood that youll fall asleep

behind the wheel. Additionally, you can

decide daily driving duties based on who

feels most alert and well-rested.

Caffeines Impact onDay and Night Sleep

A study in Canada looked at how caffein

consumption affects both nighttime and

daytime sleep. In a laboratory, they gave

some people caffeine and others a place

3 hours and then 1 hour before bed and

tested their sleep quality. They found, no

surprisingly, that caffeine reduced the

sleep quality for both groups. However,

they also found caffeine had a stronger

negative impact on the people trying to

sleep during the day: It made it harder to

fall asleep and decreased sleep duration

People working the night shift should be

mindful about drinking caffeine 3-4 hour

before going to bed.

Source: Carrier, J, et al. Effects of Caffeine more Marked on Daytime Recovery Sleep than

Nocturnal Sleep Neuropsychopharmacol(2007) 32, 964-9

the toolbox

news flash

in this issue

IN REVIEW: Energy Addict

COOKS CORNER: Chicken Salad

MR. KNOW-IT-ALL EXPLAINS: Have an Early Shift

Start Time? Get Ready in Advance

GOOD THINKIN: Tips for Reducing Stress

continued on page 2

Shiftwork Website of the Month:In 1984, President Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month. So have some ice cream!

To learn more visit: www.idfa.org/news--views/media-kits/ice-cream/july-is-national-ice-

cream-month.


2/4

published by:

2 Main Street, Suite 310

Stoneham, MA 02180

1.800.284.5001

www.circadian.com

executive editor: Martin Moore-Ede,

M.D., Ph.D.

editor: Andrew Moore-Ede

contributors: Acacia Aguirre, M.D.,

Ph.D., Todd Dawson, Rainer Guttkuhn

designer: Tim Baldanzi

cartoonist: Leo Abbett

2011, Circadian Information Limited

Partnership, an Affiliate of Circadian

Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved.It is illegal to reproduce this information

in any form.

Working Nights is published monthly to

help workers in round the clock operations

improve their health, safety, and quality

of life.

None of the advice given in this newsletter

is meant to replace individualized advice

from a qualified medical professional.

Always talk to your doctor before making

any changes to your diet, exercise habits,or medication routine.

For information on subscriptions, including

bulk discounts and package deals, please

call us toll free at 1.800.284.5001 or visit us

online at www.circadian.com

harder to fall asleep. If you drink coffee

towards the end of your shift, you may

have trouble falling asleep when you

get home, and the quality of your sleep

may also suffer.

Its also worth noting that a study

comparing the effects of caffeine on

nighttime vs. daytime sleep, found

that caffeine reduced sleep quality

more strongly on daytime sleep (check

out News Flash section for more

information).

Caffeine dehydrates you (and increas-

es trips to the bathroom). Caffeine is

both a diuretic and a laxative, so it

increases the chances youll get up to

use the bathroom. Be sure to drink

water to stay hydrated while working.

Caffeine is addictive.When heavy

users stop using it suddenly, they

often experience withdrawal symp-

toms such as headaches, nausea and

mild depression.

Excessive consumption may lead to

health problems. Most studies have

not tied health problems to moderate

caffeine consumption. However,

excessive use five cups or more per

day can cause irritability, diarrhea,

and heartburn.

3 Guid el in es to Sensible

Caffeine Use

Based on the benefits and the

drawbacks, we recommend these

three guidelines for the sensible

use of caffeine:

1) Develop a routine. Instead of

automatically heading for the coffe

pot whenever youre tired, map ou

a caffeine strategy you adhere to

night after night. On a midnight to

8 a.m. shift, you might drink one

cup when you start work and

second at 3:30 a.m.

2) Set a cutoff point. Although

caffeines effect on sleep varies by

individual, in general you should

stop drinking caffeinated beverage

within four hours of bedtime. If

youre thirsty late in your shift, try

drinking water or another non-

caffeinated beverage.

3) Avoid excessive consumption.

Relying on coffee to make it throug

the night is a bad idea. If you drink

numerous cups every night, try to

cut back slowly to avoid withdrawa

symptoms.

The bottom line with caffeine is that

theres nothing wrong with moderate

consumption two or three well-

timed cups per day. Just make sure

you steer clear of the cycle of con-

suming caffeine excessively because

it will leave you in a state of chronic

sleep deprivation.

Shiftwork & Caffeinecontinued from page 1

Working NightsTM

Sleep is a

symptom of

caffeine deprivation.

Author Unknown

Hear! Hear!


3/4

In todays world just about every-

one is looking to increase the

amount of energy they have.To help you out, Jon Gordon has

written the book Energy Addict:

101 Physical, Mental, and Spiritual

Ways to Energize Your Life.

The book features 101 simple and

powerful strategies to help you

maximize your energy, so you can

regain focus, feel healthier and

work more effectively. One of the

key messages of the book is to

remind us that our bodies are our

most valuable possession. While

this message may seem obvious

think about the fact that most of us

take better care of our cars than

our bodies. By putting more value

on our bodies, and making small

changes, we can increase our ener-

gy and well-being.

JULY | 2011

A dime has 118 ridges

around the edge.

true... but useful?

In Review

Energy Addict

WORKING NIGHTSTM

Copyright2011,CircadianInformationLP(Stoneham,MA)www.circadian.com

Ingredients:

3 1/4 C chicken, cooked, cubed,

skinless

1/4 C celery, chopped

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp onion powder

1

/8

tsp salt3 Tbsp mayonnaise, low fat

Nutritional analysis

per serving:

Calories: . . . . . . . . . . .183

Total fat: . . . . . . . . .7 g

Saturated fat: . . . . . .2 g

Cholesterol: . . . . . . . . .78 mg

Sodium: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .201 mg

Total fiber: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0 g

Protein: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 g

Carbohydrates: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 g

Potassium: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .240 mg

cookscorner

CHICKEN SALAD

Cooking Instructions

1. Bake chicken, cut into cubes, and refrigerate.

2. In large bowl, combine rest of ingredients, add chilled chicken and mix well.

Source: usa.gov

Theres a reason some dishes are classics. Heres asimple, yet flavorful chicken salad recipe.

Serves: 5 (serving size 3/4 cup)


4/4

mr. know-it-all explains

2 Main Street, Suite 310, Stoneham, MA 02180PHONE | 781.439.6300 FAX | 781.439.6399E-MAIL | [email protected] WEB | www.circadian.com

While most shiftwork operations

start the day shift between 6:00 to

8:00am., there are some operations

that start between 4:00 to 6:00am. For

those working day shifts with early

start times you need to be mindful ofthe risk of sleep deprivation.

In this article, Mr. Know-It-All will dis-

cuss early shift start times and how

you can get more sleep the night

before work.

Most people require about 7 to 8 hours

of sleep to feel well-rested and at their

best. However, with a shift start time

before 6:00 a.m., it may be difficult to

get 7 to 8 hours of sleep.

For example, an employee with a 45-

minute commute and a shift start time

of 5:00 a.m. would have to wake up at

3:00 to 3:30 a.m. to arrive at work on

time. That means he or she would have

to go to bed between 7 to 7:30 p.m. in

order to get 8 hours of sleep.

Typically, most people have a very

difficult time falling asleep around thistime because not only are they usually

at their peak alertness level, but

there also is plenty of social pressure

or household activity to further stimu-

late alertness.

Why do some operations have early

shift start times? Often the driving force

behind these shift start times is the

commute. If you work in a city with lots

of traffic, chances are driving between

8-9am could double or even triple your

commute time. Therefore an early start

time shortens the commute time for

the night crew driving home and the

day crew driving to work.

How can you get more sleep before a

day shift with an early start time? Try

getting everything you need for work

ready before you go to bed. In other

words, if you can cut time out of your

morning routine and then use that

time to sleep an extra 10-30 minutes in

the morning, it can make you feel

much better.

Some tips for adding sleep time in the

morning:

If you bring breakfast and/or lunch to

work, prepare it the night before. That

way you can just grab it from the

refrigerator and youre ready to go.

Replace a morning shower with a

night one. A night shower might help

you fall asleep faster and give you

more time to sleep in the morning.

Layout your clothes the night before.

That way you can just roll out of bed

and get dressed.

Finally, you might also try going to bed

a little bit earlier each day. While you

might not normally be tired at 9 or

10pm, you might be able to get to

sleep at that time after your first or

second day shift.

Tips for Reducing Stress

At times the challenges of a shiftwork

lifestyle can lead to stress and anxiety.

This is entirely normal and can happen

in any job. Being able to manage

stress can make all the difference in

job performance as well as the rest

of your life. Here are some tips for

reducing stress:

Learn to control what you can and

stop worrying about the events that

are beyond your control.

Determine the cause of stress and

eliminate it if possible.

Exercise. Whether its heavy or light,exercise can renew you both

physically and mentally and help you

burn off stress.

Avoid excessive amounts of

stimulants. The last thing you want

when youre trying to sleep is to be

staring at the ceiling for hours

because you drank one too many cups

of coffee.

Leave time for fun, recreation, familyand friends. Its so important to have

time to do the things you enjoy and

spend time with the people you love.

Remove unnecessary clutter.Just

being in a more orderly setting can

ease your mind.

good thinkin

Have an Early Shift Start Time?Get Ready in Advance

working nights newsletter - july 2011

Documents