As a healthcare worker, getting a good night's sleep can be a challenge due to irregular schedules, long working hours, and high levels of stress. However, quality sleep is crucial for maintaining good physical and mental health, as well as ensuring optimal performance in your demanding profession. In this blog post, we will explore effective strategies and habits that can help healthcare workers prioritize and improve their sleep.
Shift workers, or those who work long hours at increased risk for drowsy driving. Drowsy driving is one of the leading causes of car accidents in the United States. However, it's more difficult to determine the exact prevalence due to the discretion of drowsy driving.
You may feel like you are stuck at a crossroad. You're tired, but you have to get home, right? Maybe you've worked over 24-hours if you work in a profession such as medicine. These crazy shifts may fall outside of your normal sleep hours, making it very hard to get enough rest before falling asleep. Continue reading to learn some tips for how to stay alert while driving home when you're tired.
Even though it's important to get eight hours of sleep throughout the night, those working night shifts, unfortunately, do not have that possibility. In fact, working night shift often comes with increased wages and reduced administrative hassle. For some families, it actually allows them more flexibility with children and other family obligations.
So, if you are someone who is required to work night shifts, sometimes, staying up can be hard. But, in order to not lose your job, or worse, have a severe accident, it's crucial to learn how to stay awake. Continue reading for tips for staying awake during night shifts.
As a flight crew, meaning a pilot or flight attendant, good sleep can be hard to come by. Flying, whether private or commercial, can make getting a good night's rest seem nearly impossible. The times can be at odd hours, and long hours. The job itself is physically and mentally draining with all the flying, dealing with customers, and trying to make sure that everyone is safe.
But, considering the alertness that is required for a job like flying, sleep is very important. A lack of sleep can lead to issues with focusing and concentration. But as a customer who is 30,000 miles in the air, the last thing you want to hear is that your pilot only slept a few hours.
Therefore, it's important as a member of a flight crew, no matter your role, that you manage to get a good night's rest. Continue reading to find out how to get good sleep as a crew.
It's no secret that our entire world is becoming increasingly digital by the moment. Sleep apps are just the latest representation of this new way of life. But how exactly do sleep apps track sleep?
Well, the sleeptech market is growing. Research and Markets estimates that the sleep-tech-device revenue will increase from $12.9 B - $49.9 B from 2020 to 2030. More and more people are paying attention to their health and turning to wearables, sleep tracker apps and other accessories that can be used to help everyone get a good night's sleep.
Day sleepers, however, have a different set of needs and challenges. Nontraditional sleepers, like shift workers, create an additional challenge to the way companies collect data and offer sleep recommendations. Continue reading to see how some sleep apps are accounting for day sleeper's routines and what is to come.
Shift work sleeping disorder is a circadian rhythm disorder that causes sleep deprivation as a result of doing shift work. It's not uncommon for people to experience sleep problems when they work irregular, long, or night shifts. When this happens, it is called shift work sleep disorder.
Not everyone who works outside of the typical M-F, 9-5 shift develops this disorder, but it a frequent occurrence for people living Alaska given the relatively high number of shift work occupations here.
Many people have felt that scary feeling of drifting slightly to sleep while driving, only to perk up with a start. Or that scary feeling of hearing though warning on the side rumbling your tires. Especially for shift workers, sleeping at the wheel is one of the main causes of death.
If you drive often, work as a commercial truck driver, or have a longer commute, these tips and tricks could be highly useful for you
Shift work sleeping disorder, also known as shift work sleep disorder (SWSD), is a disruptive circadian rhythm disorder that stems from the demands of shift work. While not everyone who works non-traditional hours experiences this disorder, it is common enough among those who work irregular, long, or night shifts to warrant its own classification.
SWSD causes sleep deprivation, leading to a range of symptoms that align with those of sleep deprivation itself:
Sleep deprivation poses significant risks, including a decrease in life expectancy, a lower quality of life, and various health complications. In the following sections, we will delve further into the specific risks associated with shift work sleep disorder.
Stay tuned to learn more about the potential consequences of SWSD.
Do you work hours outside of the “typical” 8-5 business day? Do you work days on and then days off? If so, then you are like millions of Americans who are considered shift workers. Especially in Alaska, the summer season often means a large influx of shift work.
Shift workers include:Do any of these look familiar? While shift work comes with certain perks, such as better pay for similar jobs and the ability to get stretches of time with no work, shift workers are also at a disadvantage when it comes to long-term health and sleep outcomes.
Someone who is a shift worker doesn't work typical hours and days. This means either working non-typical hours (8ish-5ish), working rotation work (changing shifts), or working many days on followed by many days off. Especially in Alaska, summer time means a large number of seasonal shift-work jobs.
Shift workers include:
Shift work can be beneficial for several reasons: higher pay for less desirable shifts, flexibility with scheduling, and longer periods without work. However, shift work can also make it more challenging for these individuals to have normal sleep schedules. Please continue reading to learn more about what shift work sleep disorder is, and how to overcome it as a shift worker.