Adjusting to a Change in Work Shifts

For American workers who suffer from difficulty with sleep deprivation, the culprit may lie in what is known as the circadian system. As a physiological mechanism naturally occurring in each of us, the circadian system works to maintain and regulate our energy levels, allowing for peak energy in the morning with declines, progressively, into the evening. For the American shift worker, the circadian system can be a leading culprit in work related injuries and accidents. For this reason, employers and employees should work together to become educated in the natural processes of the circadian system and methods to improve energy and sleep in preparation for second and third shift employment.

Second and third shift employees are on a never ending quest to find methods to adjust the circadian system naturally. This task can be challenging, simply because the circadian system is involved in the energy processes of our bodies and impacts our body temperatures and processes of digestion. For this reason, employees who work in shift positions, usually second and third shift, commonly work in support groups to come up with methods and suggestions to modify their natural circadian system by modifying sleep patterns and dietary intake.

In research, it has been determined that our natural circadian system modifies one hour later each day. This would, then, explain why some employees experience abnormal sleep patterns on varying days of the week. However, for the shift worker, when needing to change shifts, choosing one in which a later start time is offered, will provide for an ideal and most efficient change to the circadian system. This is due to the body's natural ability to modify sleep patterns, naturally, waking one hour later each day. As a result, after eight days, the shift worker moving from first shift to second shift should find the natural circadian system to work in alignment with the change in shift. However, this same circadian system can be detrimental to the employee who is moving in the opposite direction, from second shift back to first shift hours.

In addition to natural changes of the circadian system, many shift workers, once adjusted to sleep patterns, may find energy levels to be quite complex. While most individuals, working first shift, experience a dip in energy levels between 2pm and 4pm, the American shift worker will experience this dip, often in the late evening and early morning hours. As result, many American employers are providing for quite nap rooms in which shift employees are encouraged to engage in power napping, no more than 15 to 20 minutes, in an effort to quell the energy dip and restore alertness for the balance of the shift period.

As with any sleep adjustment, American shift workers tend to run the greatest risk in terms of health and dangerous situations, simply due to lack of quality sleep. In an effort to improve sleep, American shift workers should engage employers in discussions involving methods to adjust circadian systems naturally while providing outlets for shift workers to participate in power napping during periods of low energy levels. In doing so, the efficiency and production of the American shift worker may be enhanced while reducing the number of work related accidents and injuries attributed to sleep deprivation.