A Harsh Reality
Unfortunately,
when it comes to sleep, shift workers slam against a harsh reality:
The human body is not meant to work by night and sleep by day.
It's true that many individuals feel their most alert when the
sun goes down, and some do well even in the early predawn hours.
However, these people are the exception, not the rule. Most
of us experience our periods of highest alertness during the
daytime; we crave sleep when darkness settles over the land.
For those who work the night shift, the morning hours present
the greatest problems. It's harder to remain alert, but if you
fall asleep during this time, your sleep periods will be shorter
than they will be at night. Studies demonstrate that shift workers
tend to sleep less than nonshift workers every day...one and
a half to four hours less! If you're like many shift workers,
you try to find time for family and friends, responsibilities
and hobbies. Sleep is often last on a shift worker's "to do"
list. Always desired, too little achieved, sleep becomes a seemingly
impossible dream. Sleep-deprivation becomes a way of life, and
the problem is even worse for older shift workers.
Accident
Risk
When you don't get the sleep you need, you build up a sleep
debt. Just like any other kind of debt, a sleep debt needs to
be paid. Those around you may pay too from your difficulties
concentrating. Your risk for accidents increases. And you'll
need recovery sleep to catch up. What's most important to keep
in mind, however, is that it's better to prevent sleep deprivation
than count on making up for it afterwards. This is because while
you are sleep-deprived, you are a danger to yourself and others.
The sift worker's drive home from work can be especially dangerous;
some research suggests that for rotating shift workers, the
risk for falling asleep at the wheel doubles. And drowsy driving
crashes are far more likely to end in death than crashes that
don't involve sleepiness.
What Can You Do?
The good news is that shift workers can take action to prevent
or minimize difficulties. If you're one of the 75 percent of
shift workers who report feeling sleepy every night shift, why
not do something about it today?
