{"id":28400,"date":"2018-10-17T07:00:25","date_gmt":"2018-10-17T07:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/restonic.com\/sin-categorizar\/work-nights-good-sleep-health-3720"},"modified":"2018-10-17T07:00:25","modified_gmt":"2018-10-17T07:00:25","slug":"work-nights-good-sleep-health-3720","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/restonic.com\/es\/blog-es\/work-nights-good-sleep-health-3720","title":{"rendered":"If You Work Nights, Smart Sleep Habits will Help Maintain Good Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"stressShift workers may have a higher risk of serious health problems\u2013learn how to buck the trend with an attitude shift<\/h2>\n

While much of America\u2019s work force is in a 9-to-5-kind-of-groove, there are a great number of people\u2013an estimated 22 million Americans\u2013who work night and afternoon shifts. They\u2019re up in the wee hours of the morning doing things like baking bread, driving truck, doing maintenance, patrolling neighbourhoods, keeping production lines ticking along, fighting fires, taking care of patients, stocking shelves and serving customers at 24-hour establishments. The downside of their schedule is that their sleep, and in turn, their health suffers.<\/p>\n

Health challenges associated with working shifts<\/h2>\n

The scientific data amassed over the past few decades doesn\u2019t paint a rosy picture of health and wellness for most shift workers. For starters, their erratic sleep-wake cycle causes lower insulin resistance and they face an increased risk of diabetes (as much as 42%). They also face a higher incidence of breast cancer, cardiovascular disease<\/a>, ulcers and reproductive issues. Another study<\/a>\u00a0determined that working shifts harmed brain health because of disrupted circadian rhythms.<\/p>\n

The good news is that the damage can be reversed over time.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause shift workers\u2019 schedules are always changing, and in particular their sleep schedules, it\u2019s imperative they take a proactive approach to their health,\u201d says Amanda Hudye, president and founder, SleepWell Consulting Inc., a Canadian company that develops customized health and fatigue management programs for corporations and individuals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen our bodies are consistently short on sleep, often our immune system is compromised.\u00a0We are four times more likely to catch the common cold or flu. Our reaction time is delayed; our cognitive functioning is also impaired when we are not reaching our basal sleep need (the individual amount of sleep necessary for operate at our best).\u201d<\/p>\n

She points out that when we fall short on sleep, there\u2019s a higher risk we experience the negative outcomes related to sleep deprivation<\/a>, including our inability to come to work \u2018fit for work\u2019 and work safely, experiencing poor mental health (especially depression), the inability to control mood and chronic health conditions \u2013 to name a few.<\/p>\n

Savvy strategies to maintain wellness if working shifts is your reality<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s not all doom and gloom. Many workers for whom nights and afternoons are their norm have been able to cope well and maintain good health<\/a>. How do they do it? What habits have they adopted that you or the person in your life who works shifts can adopt?<\/p>\n

\"IfHudye outlines four helpful steps that can make a positive impact on the wellness of shift workers.<\/p>\n