Shift Work Can Hurt Us.

August 06, 2024

Read it and weep. Shift work can hurt us.

 

Shift work can hurt us. Who cares? A lot of us; 1 in 5 of us is a shift worker. (2062, 2289) First and foremost, our firemen, nurses, military, police, airline workers, and other shift workers are our first responders; our very lives depend on them. Evidence indicates that when these people signed up for their jobs to heal us and defend us, they were some of the healthiest people among us. A few years later we see the devastating consequences in their health; they end up being sicker than the rest of us. (2072-2081) “Why these people chose their careers serving others is a very basic foundation; and that is every single person irrespective of gender, sex, nationality, or race has a basic right and aspiration to live a healthy lifestyle from birth to death.” Satchin Panda

Disrupting circadian rhythm with shift work can derail health. A new study in San Diego firemen is looking to see if circadian eating will be beneficial to firemen. It is nearing completion. The study is being conducted by Satchin Panda’s team at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. It is taking place during the California fires and Covid-19. Despite the additional stresses from the fires and Covid-19, the firemen have been incredibly diligent to the study, knowing their results may improve the lives of firemen nationwide. It will be exciting to see the results of the study.

 

Which shift worker are we?

 

 

Some of us have lifestyles that are equivalent to shift work.

 

 

Who works at night so others can sleep at night?

 

Does daylight savings time influence us?

 

Switching to daylight savings time is a worldwide experience of jetlag. Accidents increase. (2065) We adjust with time after light exposure and food intake help reset our body clocks. Social jetlag is environmental at its root. Social jetlag is living “against the circadian clock”. Social jetlag is correctable by altering lifestyle via timing of food intake and limiting evening light exposure. (2052) Social jetlag is associated with increased BMI (body mass index) and obesity. (2073) On the other hand, being a morning type “early bird” or evening type “night owl” is considered lifelong and is under genetic control. (2052) Study results strongly suggest that work (and school) schedules should be adapted to genetic chronotype whenever possible. (2053)

 

People care more about when they work than how much they are paid.

 

I will never forget when the 1000 bed premier hospital where I was working made an unprecedented move. They decided to give nurses fixed work schedules they could count on without rotating shifts. Not only was it the best hospital but this move indicated they really cared about their employees. It cost them a little money, but they reaped bigger rewards described below in return.

Here was the hospital did. They told nurses if they chose to work two 12 hour shifts on Saturday and Sunday for a total of 24 hours of work per week, they would still

be paid for 40 hours with full benefits. Each weekend nurse was allowed to choose a permanent shift of day or night shift. Night weekend nurses were paid the most. This effectively doubled their salary.

Nurses who wanted to work weekdays were allowed to choose permanent 8-hour shifts, (day, evening, or nights) for 5 days per week. They could form cohesive teams and work consistently together and have weekends off with their families. Nurses working weekday evenings were paid some extra. Nurses working deep night weekdays were paid more. This allowed a nurse to triple her salary if she wanted to work 7 days per week on night shift. She doubled her salary by working weekends and she could keep her weekday night shift as well. Other nurses worked weekdays only but would fill-in on a weekend occasionally for extra income if a weekend nurse was on vacation or called in sick.

Response from the nurses was quick, within less than a month every weekend and deep-night shift position was filled. Nurses said it wasn’t the money that motivated them, it was having a predictable schedule they could count on that they loved. (2062)

This program made it possible for families with young children to avoid putting their children in daycare. Dad could work weekdays while Mom cared for the kids at home, then Mom could work 12 hour shifts on Saturday and Sunday and bring home a full 40-hour paycheck with benefits while Dad took care of the kids at home on the weekends. The hospital already was considered one of the best places to work, but now it was considered the premium place; soon a long waiting list developed to work at the hospital. Believe me the pharmacists and other groups still assigned to rotating shifts without differential pay for weekends, deep nights, and evenings were jealous of the nurses’ guaranteed work schedule.

The truly amazing thing was when the nurses decided to thank the hospital in return by volunteering to contribute to the hospital permanent foundation fund. They did this by automatic paycheck deductions that purchased term life insurance policies on themselves, and they assigned the benefits to the hospital foundation permanent fund. Their donation was $70 million. The hospital has honored them by placing each nurse’s name on a permanent memorial wall that everyone walking to the newborn nursery sees. The name of each nurse is on one-inch-tall brass plaque and there are so many they run the entire length of the hall from floor to ceiling. The value of the loyalty, dedication, cohesive teams, and camaraderies the nurses developed were beyond measure.

 

Shift workers unite and fight for your circadian rights!

 

Nursing errors and automobile accidents double for nurses that rotate shifts.

In comparison to hospital nurses in Massachusetts who worked all fixed day or all fixed evening shifts, nurses who rotated between day and evening shifts had more sleep/wake cycle disruption and nodded off more at work. Rotator nurses made 2 times as many errors that were reported at work. Nurses that rotated shifts had more sleep problems. They fell asleep more at work (nodded off). They had twice the odds of nodding off while driving to or from work. Nurses that rotated shifts were twice as likely to be involved in a reported vehicle accident while driving to and from work. (2057) Many studies validate a circadian relationship in car accidents. A very prominent circadian related peak in auto accidents occurs in the middle of the night at 3 AM or 0300 military time. (2, 294, 1591, 2059) Longer duration of total shift work in nurses was associated with increased BMI (Body Mass Index), waist circumference, and body fat percentage (p<0.0001) (2064) and diabetes risk. (2072)

 

Occupational errors, auto accidents, and sleep disorders in rotating shift workers.

 

Working rotating shifts chronically disturbs circadian rhythm. A study of 1,473 professionals found those who worked rotating shifts had over twice as many occupational accidents, car accidents, and sleep disturbances compared to those who worked daytime only shifts. Permanent night shift workers had slightly less accidents and sleep disturbances than rotators. (2063)

 

The heart of shift workers.

 

Firefighters and other shift workers who live with chronic circadian disruption suffer from increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, insomnia, and cancer. (2072-2081) Wildland firefighters suffer high fatality rates due to accidents and are enrolled in studies. (1767) Firefighters in San Diego work 24 hour shifts and 137 San Diego firefighters participated in a study. (2291) They continued to work their usual 24 hour shifts.

Half of the San Diego firefighters in the study ate at their usual times for 14.13 hours per day and adopted a Mediterranean Diet. The other half of the firefighters limited their food eating times to a 10 hour window during daylight hours and adopted a Mediterranean Diet. (2291)

Eating in a 10 hour window was found to be feasible and improved heart health measures, especially for the firefighters who were at increased risk of heart disease (cardiovascular disease). There were no adverse effects for firefighters eating in a 10 hour window during the 12 week study. At the start of the study both groups of firefighters were well matched and had approximately the same age ranges, health conditions, and took similar medications. (2291)

Compared to the firefighters who ate at their usual times, the firefighters who ate in a 10 hour window decreased their “bad cholesterol” (VLDL or Very Low Density Lipoprotein) particle size. Their blood sugar control was better as indicated by their improved glycated hemoglobin A1C and they experienced reduced diastolic blood pressure. These tests indicated improved cardiometabolic health. (2291)

 

Eating to support circadian rhythm highlights

 

Our brain master clock is networked to our body clocks.

Over half the genes identified in the human genome are clock rhythm genes.

Our circadian rhythm is genetically encoded and of crucial importance for cellular, physiological, and behavioral functions of the brain and body.

Every cell in our body has biological clocks and in health our body clocks operate in sync with the master circadian clock in our brain. Our human master clock has a circadian rhythm of about 24 hours.

Light and food are the two most important inputs that control our circadian rhythm.

Modifiable environment and lifestyle factors impact and regulate the circadian system.

Disruption of circadian rhythm results in increased accidents, injuries, and disease. Circadian rhythm impacts individual, community, and work safety.

Travel across time zones, daylight savings time, and being woken up by an alarm clock are examples of circadian disruption.

Shift work is harmful to health, but much can be done to assist shift workers.

When we eat matters as much as what we eat.

Eating food at the right time supports body systems, restores circadian rhythm, and promotes health. Health benefits can occur rapidly in a few weeks of time. Conversely, eating food at the wrong time can disturb circadian organization, just like light at the wrong time.

Long duration eating is common in our modern culture.

Nine (9) out of 10 people eat for more than 12 hours per day.

One (1) of 2 people eats 15 or more hours per day.

One size does not fit all – individuals vary in their circadian clock rhythm by as much as 4 hours.

People voluntarily ate to support their circadian rhythm after studies were

completed.

They ranked improved sleep and increased energy as their prime motivation.

Once we step out of our home, we have little or no control over the quality of our food, but we always have control of our time. The beauty of circadian eating is that it is time centered. Eating to support circadian rhythm is free, and easy.

Circadian time centered eating is now being proposed as part of healthy and safe lifestyle. Worldwide nutrition guidelines should include when to eat.

Eating right for your circadian type is Nutrition Principle 1 of the BATON Diet.

BUT BATON Diet is about more than just eating at the right time. BATON Diet is about eating the right stuff at the right time.

Next, BATON Diet introduces 6 additional new principles of nutrition about eating the right stuff. Finally, we tie all 7 new principles of nutrition together and package them in a time honored pleasurable eating experience backed by sound medical studies in millions of people.

 

 

 

 

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