Burning the Midnight Oil
Contents
Burning the Midnight Oil
The adverse effects of shift work
Author Carolyn Schur
For some time, anecdotal evidence has suggested that the lifespan of shift workers is decreased by about ten years. Recent research by Dr. Moore-Ede in the United States determined that, particularly for train engineers and long-distance drivers, this is the case. Another study in Britain found that police officers who retired in their fifties lived on average only another 6.8 years.
Defining Shift Work
One should not assume, however, that these statistics hold true for all shift workers or even for all train engineers, truck drivers and police officers. First of all, it’s important to define ‘shift work’ and ‘shift worker’. With today’s need for workforce flexibility, there are many forms of shift work, primarily defined as ‘non-standard hours of work’—that is, anything other than a regular 9 to 5, Monday-to-Friday type of schedule. Research shows that employees doing any form of shift work are subject to higher levels of stress and fatigue, but the issue of lifespan seems to apply only to those who have a schedule that requires them to work at night, either in rotation with days or other shifts or permanent nights.
Sleep Deprivation
Secondly, sleep deprivation is considered a primary factor in determining life span. Shift workers who operate on night shifts are known to get less sleep than the average population, so the extent to which they are at risk increases.
Physiological Adaptibility
One must also consider physiological adaptability. There are a number of factors that influence one’s ability to adapt to shift work. If one is physiologically well-suited to shift work, one is capable of sleeping at irregular times and thus able to overcome the stress and fatigue involved with shift work.
Work Schedules
Work schedules are also significant determinants of shift worker wellness. Some schedules, by design, induce higher levels of stress and fatigue. Unfortunately, many of these schedules persist in Canadian workplaces, and one finds that employees in these situations do have greater rates of illness and premature death.
Overtime and Stress
Other workplace conditions are also a factor. When workers are expected to perform excessive overtime, for instance, one can be assured that they will have higher levels of fatigue and will probably be sleeping less than would be optimal. Additionally, if the workplace exposes the worker to highly stressful conditions, such as is the case for police officers who regularly deal with violence and death, then sleep deprivation compounds the risk to health.
The lifespan of shift workers is decreased by about ten years.
Sleep deprivation is considered a primary factor in determining life span.
Risky Behaviour
Shift workers themselves may increase their risk when they consistently prioritize chores, family and household duties or second jobs over their need for sleep. In doing so, they raise the likelihood of developing auto-immune and cardiovascular conditions, which may affect their life expectancy. It is important to impress upon shift workers that sleep is vital to their health and well-being, and that they should not sacrifice sleep for other activities.
Unhealthy Lifestyles
StatsCan data has also shown that shift workers tend to have less healthy lifestyles, with higher rates of smoking, poor diet, and less exercise. These habits obviously increase the individual’s health risk since, in and of themselves, they endanger health and contribute to conditions that may affect life expectancy.
The Healthy Shift Worker
Shift workers who are physiologically well-adapted and have good schedules and healthy lifestyles probably have little about which to be concerned. Others who are experiencing difficulty sleeping, have poor lifestyle practises, poor schedules and high levels of stress are probably at significant risk. For these individuals, changes in self-care and schedules, as well as a determination of physiological adaptability may be necessary to reduce the potential risk to life expectancy.
Carolyn Schur is President of Alert@Work Human Resource Services (www.alertatwork.com), a company that provides organizations with strategies for sleep and fatigue management.
