Shiftwork

Boulos Z. Bright light treatment for jet lag and shiftwork. In Lam RW, ed. Seasonal affective disorder and beyond light treatment for SAD and non-SAD conditions, 1st ed. Washington, DC American Psychiatric Press, 1998 253-287. 

Smith-Coggins R, Rosekind MR, Buccino KR, Dinges DF, Moser RP Rotating shiftwork schedules Can we enhance physician adaptation to night shifts Academic Emerg Med 1997 4 951-961. 

Associated with sleep-loss-induced decreases in neurobehavioral functioning is an increased risk of and increased incidence of accidents. On-the-job and motor vehicle accidents have both been found to increase when individuals are sleep deprived. Although data are not consistently collected, it has been estimated that between 20% and 60% of single-vehicle motor accidents may be attributed to fatigue from sleep loss. While this includes sleep loss associated with working shiftwork and voluntary sleep loss, many of the individuals may experience sleep loss due to sleep and other medical disorders. Although the symptom of sleep disturbance with medical disorders is often recognized, the potential safety and public health impact may be overlooked. 

One further treatment that has been studied extensively to achieve resynchronization of the circadian system is the administration of melatonin. Endogenous melatonin is secreted from the pineal gland, primarily across the nocturnal or dark period. It has been proposed to play a role in the control of the circadian system (reviewed in Ref. 174) and potentially in the initiation of sleep (175,176). Studies that have administered exogenous melatonin, primarily during the daytime, have reported both chronobiotic (177) and soporific effects (178). Melatonin administration has been successful in studies examining the reentrainment of the circadian system after transmeridian flight or shiftwork (179). Similarly, the effectiveness of melatonin in reentraining the circadian system of those with DSPS to a normal day has been studied. 

Gordon NP, Cleary PD, Parker CE, Czeisler CA. The prevalence and health impact of shiftwork. Am J Pubhc Health 1986 76(10) 1225-1228. 

McNamee R, Binks K, Jones S, Faulkner D, Slovak A, Cherry NM. Shiftwork and mortality from ischaemic heart disease. Occup Environ Med 1996 53(6) 367-373. 

Coleman RM. Shiftwork scheduling for the 1990 s. Personnel (American Management Association), 1989. 

Totterdell P, Folkard S. The effects of changing from a weekly rotating to a rapidly rotating shift schedule. In Costa G, ed. Shiftwork Health, Sleep, and Performance. 1990. 

FAA Air Traffic Control Shiftwork Survey Results. Alexandria, VA Human Resources Research Organization, 2001. 

Luna TD, French J, Mitcha JL. A study of USAF air traffic controller shiftwork sleep, fatigue, activity, and mood analyses. Aviat Space Environ Med 1997 68 18-23. 

Paley MJ, Tepas DI. Fatigue and the shiftworker firefighters working on a rotating shift schedule. Hum Factors 1994 36 269-284. 

Rhodes W, Szlapetis I, Hahn K, Heslegrave R, Ujimoto KV. A study of the impact of shiftwork and overtime on air traffic controllers. Phase I. Determining appropriate research tools and issues. Final report TP 12257E, Transportation Development Centre, Transport Canada, 1994. 

Luna TD. Air traffic controller shiftwork What are the implications for aviation safety A review. Aviat, Space Environ Med 1997 68 69-79. 

Rosa RR, Bonnet MH, Bootzin RR, et al. Intervention factors for promoting adjustment to nightwork and shiftwork. Occup Med 1990 5 391-415. 

Walsh JK, Muehlbach MJ, Schweitzer PK. Hypnotics and caffeine as countermeasures for shiftwork-related sleepiness and sleep disturbance. J Sleep Res 1995 4(suppl 2) 80-83. 

Saitoh Y, Sasaki T. Sleepiness and fatigue during early morning hours after a 30 minute nocturnal nap. Shiftwork Int Newslett 1995 12 53. 

Tepas DI, Walsh JK, Armstrong DA. Comprehensive study of the sleep of shift workers. In Johnson LC, Tepas DI, Colquhoun WP, Colligan MJ, eds. Biological Rhythms, Sleep and Shiftwork. New York Spectrum, 1981 347-356. 

Knutsson A, Boggild H (2000) Shiftwork and cardiovascular disease review of disease mechanisms. Rev Environ Health 15 359-372... 

Breathing-related sleep disorder Circadian rhythm sleep disorder Delayed sleep phase type Jet lag type Shiftwork type Unspecified type... 

HYPNOTICS are agents that induce sleep. They are used mainly to treat short-term insomnia, for instance in shiftwork, to cope with Jet-lag or in sleep disturbances due to emotional problems or in serious illness. The best-known and most-used hypnotics in current use are the benzodiazepines - and this class of drug is also used, at a lower dose, as ANXIOLYTICS. Examples from the class that are of relatively long-lasting action and may cause drowsiness the next day include diazepam, flunitrazepam, flurazepam and nitrazepam. Examples with a shorter duration include loprazolam, lormetazepam and temazepam. All can cause drug dependence on continued usage. Examples of hypnotics that are now much less used include chloral hydrate, chlormethiazole and triclofos. The barbiturates (e.g. amylobarbitone) are now very little used, as they are prone to cause serious dependence and are dangerous in overdose. 

Garbarino S, Nobih L, Beelke, M, et al. Sleep disorders and daytime sleepiness in state pohce shiftworkers. Arch Environ Health 2002 57 167-175. 

Folkard, S. and Hill, J. (2002). Shiftwork Body rhythm and social factors. In I. P. Warr (ed) Psychology at Work (5th edn). Harmondsworth, UK Penguin Books. 

Lack of sleep can result from conflicts with the circadian rhythm. Table 10 gives sleeping tips Table 11 gives shiftwork recommendations. 

Hennig, J., Kieferdorfi P., Moritz, C., Huwe, S., Netter, P (1998). Changes in cortisol secretion during shiftwork implications for tolerance to shiftwork Ergonomics, 41 610-621. 

In addition to the short-term effects of loss of sleep, shiftwork may have long-term health effects. It can aggravate health conditions such as heart disease or digestive disorders. It can also interfere with family and social life. 

Share the following practical tips with your employees to help them reduce the detrimental effects of irregular hours and shiftwork. 

If a shiftworker switches fi om nights to days, it is best for them to get most of their sleep the following night. They should sleep just a couple of hours shortly after the night shift to shake off sleepiness. Then stay awake all day long and go to... 

Monk, T. and Folkard, S. 1992. Making Shiftwork Tolerable. London Taylor Francis. 

Rutenfranz, J., Colquhoun, W. P., and Knauth, P. 1977. Biomedical and psychological aspects of Shiftwork A review. Scandinavian Journal of Workplace Health, 3, 165—182. 

Waterhouse, J. M., Minors, D. S. and Scott, A. R., Circadian rhythms, intercontinental travel and shiftwork. In Ward Gardiner, A. (ed.). Current Approaches to Occupational Health, 3, Wright, Bristol (1987)... 

This includes documerrtation of employee rrurrrbers, currerrt state of accident/injrrry rates, shiftwork, downtime, etc. 

Management styles, shiftwork, piecework, production methods, ages of man (or woman) and worker health... 

MARCSTA arrd Circadian Technologies. (2001). Managing a Shiftwork Lifestyle-A Personal Approach. Perth, MARCSTA. 

---