The Health Hazards of Shift Work

THE HEALTH HAZARDS OF SHIFT WORK K SHIFT WORK ISN'T JUST BAD FOR YOUR SOCIAL LIFE, IT'S BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH I STATS ON NUMBER OF SHIFT WORKERS IN THE US (OVERALL) 15 MILLION AMERICANS WORK FULL TIME ON NIGHT SHIFTS OR IRREGULAR SCHEDULES 15% OF FULL-TIME WAGE AND SALARY WORKERS IN THE U.S. WORK ON SHIFTS OUTSIDE THE TRADITIONAL DAYTIME SCHEDULE TWO IN EVERY FIVE WORKERS IN THE UNITED STATES WORK MOSTLY DURING NONSTANDARD TIMES EVENINGS, NIGHTS, ROTATING SHIFTS OR WEEKENDS JOBS WHERE EMPLOYEES TYPICALLY WORK OUTSIDE OF THE TRADITIONAL WORK SHIFT ARE AMONG OCCUPATIONS WITH THE LARGEST PROJECTED GROWTH IN THE NEXT DECADE STATS ON SHIFT WORKERS IN DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES SHIFTS ARE MORE COMMON IN MANUFACTURING AND CUSTOMER SUPPORT JOBS THAN IN OTHER TYPES OF JOBS 83% MANUFACTURING AND PRODUCTION 59% CUSTOMER SERVICE AND SUPPORT TRANSPORTATION 51% AND DISTRIBUTION 49% INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 49% FACILITIES CLEANING/ BUILDING SERVICES PRECISION PRODUCTION 13% AND REPAIR WORKERS 27% MACHINE OPERATORS, FABRICATORS, LABORERS, ASSEMBLERS 8% MANAGEMENT JOBS 48% 47% NURSES OTHER SERVICES PHYSICIANS Y9% THE THIRD SHIFT CONSISTENTLY IS PAID ATA SLIGHTLY HIGHER RATE THAN SECOND SHIFT 12 1, HOLIDAY SHIFTS TYPICALLY ARE PAID AT TIME AND A HALF, OR 1.5 TIMES BASE RATE IN LIEU OF PAYING SHIFT DIFFERENTIALS, SOME COMPANIES COMPENSATE EMPLOYEES FOR WORKING UNDESIRABLE SHIFTS WITH ADDITIONAL PAID TIME OFF 3 NEARLY ONE-FOURTH OF COMPANIES WITH MULTIPLE SHIFTS PAY PREMIUMS TO SALARIED EMPLOYEES WORKING SHIFTS OTHER THAN 4 REGULAR WORKDAY SHIFTS QUARTZ HOW MUCH THEY SLEEP 44% THIS TRANSLATES INTO APPROXIMATELY 2.2 MILLION NIGHT SHIFT WORKERS WITH SHORT SLEEP DURATION COMPARED TO APPROXIMATELY 28.3 MILLION DAY SHIFT WORKERS WITH SHORT SLEEP DURATION MORE LIKELY TO REPORT SHORT SLEEP DURATION SHIFT WORKER HEALTH COMPLICATIONS 61% vs. 47% COMPARED TO THEIR DAY SHIFT COUNTERPARTS, SHIFT WORKERS ARE MORE LIKELY TO SUFFER SUFFER FROM INSOMNIA FROM INSOMNIA AS WELL AS EXCESSIVE DAYTIME SLEEPINESS 30% vs. 18% EXCESSIVE DAYTIME SLEEPINESS GREATER AISK SHIFT WORKERS vs. OTHER WORKERS 23% 5% 24% GREATER GREATER GREATER HEART ATTACKS ISCHEMIC STROKES ALL CORONARY EVENTS COMBINED MANY SHIFT WORKERS SUFFER FROM ADDITIONAL STRESS CAUSED BY MISSING OUT ON IMPORTANT PARTS OF THEIR SOCIAL LIFE A RECENT STUDY FOUND THAT THOSE WHO HAVE WORKED SHIFTS FOR MORE THAN 10 YEARS EXPERIENCED A DECLINE IN COGNITIVE FUNCTION EQUIVALENT T0 6.5 YEARS OF AGING WAYS TO KEEP HEALTHY ON SHIFT JOBS EAT WELL EXERCISE GET ENOUGH SLEEP WEAR SUNGLASSES BLOCK OUT THE LIGHT IN YOUR BEDROOM WITH ROOM DARKENING SHADES OR WITH A SLEEP MASK DURING THE MORNING COMMUTE HOME TO AVOID THE ALERTING STIMULANT FROM THE MORNING SUN DRINK A CAFFEINATED BEVERAGE TO HELP MAINTAIN ALERTNESS DURING THE SHIFT (COFFEE, TEA, COLAS) DON'T LEAVE THE MOST TEDIOUS OR BORING TASKS TO THE END OF YOUR SHIFT WHEN YOU ARE APT TO FEEL THE DROWSIEST. NIGHT SHIFT WORKERS ARE MOST SLEEPY AROUND 4-5 A.M. SHIFT WORK TOLERANCE WORK SHIFT GENDER HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED AS A FACTOR AFFECTING SHIFT WORK TOLERANCE, AS SEVERAL STUDIES HAVE FOUND THAT MEN HAVE A GREATER TOLERANCE FOR SHIFT WORK THAN WOMEN TWO PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS, EXTROVERSION/INTROVERSION AND NEUROTICISM, HAVE BEEN WIDELY STUDIED IN RELATION TO SHIFT WORK TOLERANCE. SEVERAL STUDIES HAVE FOUND THAT EXTROVERTS ADJUST SOMEWHAT FASTER THAN INTROVERTS TO SHIFT WORK WHEN POLLED OF THE POPULATION OF SHIFT WORKERS 20% SAY THEY HAVE "NO PROBLEM" DOING SHIFT WORK 60% HAVE A PROBLEM WITH SHIFT WORK AND STRUGGLE WITH ROTATING SHIFTS BUT ARE ABLE TO DO THEIR JOBS HAVE EXTREME DIFFICULTY WITH SHIFTS 20% AND ABOUT HALF OF THOSE ARE UNABLE TO TOLERATE SHIFT WORK AT ALL EKU safetydegree.eku.edu ONLINE Sources: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2014/11/04/could-shift-work-cause-your-brain-to-grow-older-faster/ http://sleepfoundation.org/shift-work/content/what-shift-work http://www.prb.org/Publications/Articles/2008/workingaroundtheclock.aspx http://www.pbs.org/livelyhood/nightshift/changing.html http://www.ueunion.org/stwd_fatigueshift.html http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/compensation/articles/pages/shiftdifferentials.aspx http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6116a2.htm http://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/shift-work-and-sleep/page/0%2C2/ http://healthland.time.com/2012/07/27/its-called-the-graveyard-shift-for-a-reason/ http://healthland.time.com/2012/05/29/working-the-night-shift-may-boost-breast-cancer-risk/ http://www.bmj.com/content/345/bmj.e4800 http://www.gru.edu/mcg/clerkships/em/documents/shiftwork.pdf http://www.westsoundworkforce.com/employer-articles/tips-for-managing-night-and-swing-shift-workers http://consumer.healthday.com/encyclopedia/work-and-health-41/occupational-health-news-507/shift-workers-646677.html http://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/shift-work-and-sleep/page/0%2C2/ http://health.usnews.com/health-news/health-wellness/articles/2014/02/11/healthy-tips-for-night-shift-workers http://www.circadian.com/component/k2/item/44-adapting-to-shiftwork-5-influencing-factors.html#.VJfuycAgLY http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/284827.php http://oem.bmj.com/content/early/2014/10/08/oemed-2013-101993 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141103192034.htm http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-11/bmj-Its103014.php ........