by Sandi Mann
Night-time shift workers are expected to be alert when their brain is secreting melatonin and yet to sleep during the day when it is not. People rarely sleep during the day for the same amount of time as they would at night; daytime sleep is typically one-and-a-half to two hours shorter than a nocturnal sleep period and it is REM that is the casualty. In addition, society is built around the expectation that we sleep at night; there are thus noises and activity during the day that make sleep for the shift worker difficult. This compounds their difficulties. The night worker must contend not only with the dip in energy levels and alertness that are the result of circadian rhythms but also with sleep deprivation from poor-quality daytime sleep.
Many attempts are made to reduce the impact of shift work by moderating shift patterns in terms of how many nights in a row an individual is expected to work. Long patterns (e.g. four to six weeks) would seem to be the best in terms of circadian desynchronization; these allow circadian rhythms to be adjusted and time to get used to the new pattern before readjusting again. It takes about ten days for the body to adjust to night-shift work. The optimum pattern would be to always work nights, of course, since then there is no readjustment needed (but the social and emotional effects are likely to be too detrimental for most people).
Alternatively, it might be best to just do the occasional night shift so that the body never has to actually adjust. Working four to seven night shifts in a row is generally thought to be the worse possible shift pattern, resulting in someone who is permanently ‘desynchronized’ – never really adjusting to either night or day wakefulness.
Dig deeper
National Sleep Foundation (United States):
http://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-disorders-problems
Journalistic article: ‘Why shift work is linked to so many health problems such as cancer and diabetes: Study finds it damages 1,500 genes’:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2542780/Working-shifts-damage-1-500-genes-New-finding-explain-shift-work-associated-health-problems.html
British Society of Clinical and Academic Hypnosis:
http://www.bscah.com
Fact-check
1 During sleep we:
a Are always paralysed
b Snore
c Are relaxed
d Always dream
2 Which of the followings statements about sleep is correct?
a We experience non-REM sleep once during the night
b Once we are in deep REM sleep we stay in it until we wake
c We sleep in cycles each lasting three hours
d We sleep in cycles of around 90 minutes in four to five cycles per night of REM and non-REM (NREM).
3 Which of the following statements about dreams is correct?
a Dreams are voluntary
b Each dream can last up to 30 minutes
c We are more likely to recall a dream if we are woken up during non-REM sleep
d If we don’t recall a dream it is because we are subconsciously suppressing it
4 Which of the following is not a theory of dreams?
a Psychoanalytic Theory of Dreams
b Activation-Synthesis Model
c Rehearsal Theory
d Evolutionary Theory of Dreams
5 Insomnia can involve:
a Difficulty getting to sleep
b Difficulty staying a sleep, characterized by frequent awakenings or problems returning to sleep after awakenings
c Early-morning awakening with inability to return to sleep
d All of the above
6 Which of the following is a name associated with hypnosis?
a Franz Mesmer
b James Braid
c Carl Jung
d Dr Récamier
7 What is hypnosis?
a A miracle cure for many problems
b A deep state of relaxation
c A deep sleep
d Dangerous
8 Which of the following statements about shift work is correct?
a Fewer and fewer people are doing shift work these days
b Shift work causes circadian rhythms to get out of sync
c Shift workers sleep the same amount as non-shift workers but at different times
d It is rare to get ill from shift work
9 Shift workers are more likely than non-shift workers to:
a Smoke
b Be slim
c Eat fruit and vegetables
d Have stable relationships
10 The best shift-work pattern to have is:
a Two nights a week
b Three nights a week
c One week of nights followed by one week of days
d Four weeks of nights followed by four weeks of days
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Answers to fact-checks
CHAPTER 1
1 d
2 c
3 c
4 a
5 d
6 a
7 d
8 d
9 a
10 d
CHAPTER 2
1 b
2 a
3 c
4 d
5 c
6 a
7 d
8 d
9 a
10 d
CHAPTER 3
1 c
2 d
3 b
4 a
5 d
6 c
7 d
8 d
9 c
10 c
CHAPTER 4
1 a
2 b
3 b
4 a
5 c
6 d
7 d
8 a
9 c
10 d
CHAPTER 5
1 d
2 b
3 c
4 a
5 b
6 a
7 c
8 d
9 b
10 d
CHAPTER 6
1 a
2 d
3 c
4 c
5 d
6 b
7 d
8 d
9 b
10 a
CHAPTER 7
1 c
2 d
3 c
4 a
5 d
6 d
7 b
8 c
9 d
10 a
CHAPTER 8
1 d
2 c
3 a
&nbs
p; 4 d
5 d
6 b
7 d
8 b
9 a
10 d
CHAPTER 9
1 a
2 d
3 b
4 a
5 b
6 d
7 a
8 a
9 d
10 d
CHAPTER 10
1 b
2 d
3 c
4 a
5 c
6 a
7 a
8 d
9 b
10 d
CHAPTER 11
1 c
2 c
3 d
4 c
5 c
6 a
7 a
8 b
9 c
10 a
CHAPTER 12
1 a
2 b
3 a
4 d
5 a
6 a
7 c
8 c
9 b
10 d
CHAPTER 13
1 a
2 d
3 a
4 b
5 a
6 b
7 d
8 a
9 d
10 d
CHAPTER 14
1 d
2 b
3 a
4 c
5 d
6 c
7 c
8 d
9 c
10 a
CHAPTER 15
1 c
2 d
3 b
4 d
5 a
6 c
7 d
8 b
9 d
10 d
CHAPTER 16
1 c
2 d
3 c
4 a
5 d
6 c
7 d
8 a
9 c
10 b
CHAPTER 17
1 c
2 a
3 d
4 b
5 a
6 a
7 b
8 d
9 a
10 d
CHAPTER 18
1 c
2 d
3 b
4 d
5 d
6 c
7 b
8 b
9 a
10 d
First published in Great Britain in 2016 by John Murray Learning. An Hachette UK company.
Copyright © Sandi Mann 2016
The right of Sandi Mann to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.