Life goes in shifts, and often we find ourselves having to shift gears. Why is there shifting in life? Because there are times when we realize that we are not in control of our lives – someone else is calling the shots. We figure this out just as we think we have a plan laid out for ourselves. When that happens, often something gets in the way that makes us shift our plan and adjust.

Shift work is the same way. Many of us currently have shift work, and may othes of us had it at one time or another in our lives. Food service, healthcare and public safety are among the most prevalent industries that have shift work for their employees.

[Image courtesy of Flickr user Amanda Kumm via a Creative Commons license]

[Image courtesy of Flickr user Amanda Kumm via a Creative Commons license]

And of course, shift work isn’t quite so shifty if you are one of the senior members of the staff. Usually the more seniority you have, the more say you have in working a more consistent schedule that fits into your life best. If you are a newbie, odds are high that you will work whatever shifts on whatever days that you will be needed – which usually includes holidays and key weekends, because the most senior people generally will not want to work those shifts.

Of course, what that means is that the majority of your workforce will be working variable shifts from week to week or day to day, and there has been a growing amount of evidence that varying shift work affects sleep patterns, which leads to workers being tired, more unproductive, with slower brain function and even other health issues such as diabetes or cardiovascular problems.

You see, the body rejuvenates during what is called its circadian rhythms during sleep. When workers are working variable shifts and their sleep patterns are affected so they don’t go to bed or get up at the same time, and they don’t get the same hours of sleep every night – that lack of rejuvenation can adversely affect the body and lead to issues that can impact workers’ overall productivity while on the job.

To help workers with changes in shifts and to b able to offset the impacts with the right amount of sleep, the UCLA Sleep Disorders Center provides us all with some advice about how to get adequate sleep even around variously changing work schedules:

  • If working an evening or overnight shift schedule that is ending, the last several nights you should got to sleep and wake up one to two hours later than usual. If you work 11 p.m.-7 a.m. for example, and you are usually in bed by 8 a.m., stay up until 9 or 10 a.m. and get the normal amount of sleep.
  • On the other hand, before your new schedule starts, make adjustments so that you don’t lack sleep. Allow yourself time to make the adjustments so that the right amount of sleep is your priority, not the numbers of hours you’re awake.
  • When finishing a night shift, wear dark sunglasses or shades to protect your eyes from sunlight or other bright lights.
  • Keep the same sleep schedule every day, even on your days off, during your schedule. This will help your “body clock” line up with the work schedule.

It is generally agreed by many sleep researchers and experts that the fewest disruptions to sleep patterns makes for healthier workers, so teaching and training shift workers about how to adjust to changing schedules can be important in maintaining efficiency and productivity in your workforce. For more, check out this link.