shift work
biological Enlightenment
The body has its own natural waking/sleeping clock called the “circadian rhythm.” This means a person wants to be active when it’s light, and rest when it’s dark. Here’s what to do to keep shift workers in the right sleep rhythm.
Shift Work
In today's wired world, many of us work all hours of the day or night, which affects our well-being and safety. Fatigue among shift workers is an internationally recognized problem across multiple industries.
Night workers are just as likely as day workers to perform tasks requiring attention to detail, reasoning, decision-making, and other mental skills. Many night workers don't fit the stereotype of the shift worker. Think of actors, musicians, television news anchors, computer programmers, doctors on call, diplomats, business executives, and just about anyone who works long or irregular hours.
What is the impact of shift work?
A night worker, even one who has slept reasonably well, is no more alert between 2 AM and 8 AM than a day worker who has slept only 4 hours per night, 2 nights in a row. The cost of mistakes made by fatigued workers—including lost production, missed days from work, and medical costs—exceeds an estimated $100 billion annually in North America alone.
There are many indicators of fatigue, including:
- Wandering and disconnected thoughts
- Headaches or stomach aches
- Drowsiness during shift and inability to sleep after shift
- Inattention to minor but potentially important details
- Degraded mental abilities (including memory, decision-making & perception)
- Increased distractibility and irritability
- What can be done to lessen the adverse effects of shift work?
- Clinical research now confirms that bright light, in specific wavelengths, can help shift the internal body clock and regulate sleep patterns when used for 30 to 40 minutes upon waking. With proper use of The Litebook®, shift workers and people who work irregular hours can feel more alert, energetic, and, in turn, notice an improvement in on-the-job performance.
General Usage Instructions: The Sunshine System Light is the first personal light therapy product designed to provide specific beneficial rays of the sun with no UV light.
- Position the Sunshine System Light approximately 12 to 24 inches (30-60 cm) from your face, and offset it to a 30 to 45 degree angle, like sunlight coming in a window.
- Direct the Sunshine System Light beam at your eyes. Your eyes must be open to achieve the benefit.
- To provide benefit, the Sunshine System Light beam is very bright – like the sun. As with the sun, you do not stare at the Sunshine System Light, although it is not harmful to glance at it occasionally.
- Typically, you will know when you have received sufficient light. Most feel a sense of heightened alertness, energy, and/or mood.
Additional Help and Resources:
- Use the Sunshine System Light at the start of your day, whatever hour that may be, and again part way into your shift if you feel the need for an energy boost.
- Do not use the Sunshine System Light, or get exposure to bright sunlight, at the end of your shift if that is your normal sleep time for that work cycle. The bright light will confuse your body into thinking it should be alert, when in fact you want to be gearing down for sleep.
- On your way home from your shift, wear wrap-around style sunglasses, to shield your eyes from sunlight. This will signal your body that it is the end of your day.
