Shift work disorder?

[Powerman620]

Good night sleep? What is that? With my job, I am called out several times a week to work at night along with the day I already put in. Also am an FF/EMT and run 20 to 30 runs a month mostly at night. Ya it's my choice but damn it gets old. One and a half more years and my 25 are in at fire station and I'm done with that. Maybe then I can get a couple nights sleep a week. I dream of laying in bed during a thunderstorm and listen to it rain, not hit my hard hat! Yep that will be the life.

 

[twoguns?]

Good night sleep? What is that? With my job, I am called out several times a week to work at night along with the day I already put in. Also am an FF/EMT and run 20 to 30 runs a month mostly at night. Ya it's my choice but damn it gets old. One and a half more years and my 25 are in at fire station and I'm done with that. Maybe then I can get a couple nights sleep a week. I dream of laying in bed during a thunderstorm and listen to it rain, not hit my hard hat! Yep that will be the life.

Youll still get up, look at that hardhat .....and Go.....Thats what you do!

You Cant just Stop.....

 

[ratski]

Based on what you have said, my first question would be have you ever been tested for sleep apnea?

Your symptoms sound a lot like sleep apnea.

Good sleep hygiene helps, melatonin works, but you might be surprised at what a CPAP or Oral Appliance can do for your sleep.

I see and treat a lot of people for sleep apnea that will start out telling me "oh, I'm tired because I have kids at home" or "I'm tired because of my job", etc. Turns out that they are tired because the can't get a good quality sleep.

It doesn't matter how many hours of sleep you get, it there is no quality to it, you will have problems.

Talk to your MD or possibly your Dentist about it.

But to be honest, a lot of MDs are not real knowledgeable in this area.
Nor are a lot of dentists.

Dave

 

[okietom]

This subject is clse to my heart too. I have worked some kind of shift work most of my life. I worked for 3M/Imation for 22years. Huge corporate polcies. They had a safety first mantra.

If you scratched your finger and a drop of blood came out they went nuts until there was no longer any possibility the operator could scratch their finger again.

They would then make their workers do shift work that included 12 hour shifts that rotated every two weeks. Those shifts were known to cause stress and contribute to all kinds of illnesses and they did that because it made managing the workforce easier for them.

There are many employers that do the same thing. Hospitals do it. You would think that a hospital would know better.

Problems with shift work get worse as you age. It also doesn't effect everyone and the effects are not the same for those it does affect. It was very noticeable to me that smokers were less bothered by the shift work than none smokers. I don't know why but that was how it was on my job.

12 hour shifts are also a problem. There is less recovery time from repitition and noise. A noise level that requires no ear plugs in eight hours may require them in a twelve hour shift.

If an employer needs to rotate shifts the minimum time on each shift should be six months. It takes many people up to three months for their circadian rhythm to adjust. Any job that rotates a shorter amount of time than what it takes for your rhythm to adjust to those hours will take time off of your life. A one year rotation would be better.

I hate to say this but a few law suits over shift disorder would make companies rethink the rotating shift work.

Sorry, but people that just work an evening or night shift don't usually suffer as bad as those that rotate.

Yes, i have had many of the same sleep problems as the rest of you.

 

[dennishoddy]

Based on what you have said, my first question would be have you ever been tested for sleep apnea?

Your symptoms sound a lot like sleep apnea.

Good sleep hygiene helps, melatonin works, but you might be surprised at what a CPAP or Oral Appliance can do for your sleep.

I see and treat a lot of people for sleep apnea that will start out telling me "oh, I'm tired because I have kids at home" or "I'm tired because of my job", etc. Turns out that they are tired because the can't get a good quality sleep.

It doesn't matter how many hours of sleep you get, it there is no quality to it, you will have problems.

Talk to your MD or possibly your Dentist about it.

But to be honest, a lot of MDs are not real knowledgeable in this area.
Nor are a lot of dentists.

Dave

This may be your issue. Sleep apnea is a real deal. there is help out there, and its typically successful.

I worked shift work in the military, and a little afterward, but always days from then on, except for call outs. In the Plant maintenance business, call outs are very common when there is no nigh shift maintenance support. Most of the guys have some excuse for not answering the phone at 2am, but I always did. The OT put good food on the table and paid for some fun things the family could enjoy.

Sometimes it was just a drive to the plant, a 20 minute fix, and back home, but then you have to get back in to the sleep mode. The older I got, the harder it got.

In 2002-2004, my average OT was 900 hours a year to finish special projects in a major plant overhaul. It just about killed me. Couldn't ever get a sustained sleep period, lived by cat naps at breaks and lunch periods, etc.

After that, the average was 250 hours per year. Better, but still sucked getting a couple of troubled sleep hours and still having to work the normal shift to keep from using vacation or sick leave.

This retirement gig has taken away all the stress, and I sleep like a baby again.

 

[dieseltech09]

I work rotating shifts of 8 twelve hour days, 4 days off and 8 twelve hour nights 4 days off and then start all over again. I take Melatonin to adjust the first couple of days after my night hitch. I have sleep apnea and the CPap machine helps me get a few good hours of sleep.

 

[aeropb]

turn on a fantasy baseball podcast. you'll be asleep in no time

 

[jbrentn]

My wife brought up sleep apnea this morning. I do snore. I'm going to try better sleep hygiene, then look into getting a sleep study.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

 

[NightShade]

My wife brought up sleep apnea this morning. I do snore. I'm going to try better sleep hygiene, then look into getting a sleep study.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

The sleep hygiene will take time as you have to get used to the idea and you may even want to go so far as to rearrange the bedroom to make the transition better/more helpful/faster. It sounds odd but part of it is the whole your unconscious mind knows the surroundings thing.

Oh and just remembered if you are a coffee or soda drinker no caffeine after your morning time. That means no cup of coffee or soda at lunch or afterwards. That can cause major problems as well and you should have at least 8 hours before bed caffeine free.

 

[UnSafe]

The term "Shift work disorder" has evolved into a (Billable!) ICD code: "Circadian rhythm sleep disorder, shift work type", which was created about the same time that Provigil got approved for the treatment of SWD, later replaced by Nuvigil. Both were developed as non amphetamine meds to keep narcoleptic people awake. Sales increased dramatically despite the cost (Many insurers won't pay for it, if it's prescribed for SWD). Bottom line- It's legal (Prescribed) speed, with all the side effects- palpitations, insomnia, dependence, etc.. Really not one of the best ideas in the long run, but it makes for big pharmacy profits and another source of drugs that slip into the illicit world. Very popular among college students that struggle to focus.

The "Shift work" part of circadian rhythm issues is a voluntary one (For most)- We choose to work or participate in activities that disrupt our normal sleep/ wake cycle. If it gets bad enough to the point that it's causing safety, medical or severe social problems, the "treatment" is to stop the aggravating activity- Stop changing shifts/ enforce sleep and rest patterns. Agree with the above posts about getting screened for sleep apnea, reading up on sleep hygiene and creating a time and place for uninterrupted rest.

I'm horrible about it all. I rarely sleep for more than 4-5 hrs at a time, lived on naps for weeks- months at a time while in the Army and as a lazy old retiree, still work on/off 24 hr shifts with naps on off days.