Thrive, No Matter What Your Schedule Looks Like
Most shift workers simply survive their schedule...
The number of people working night shifts and other irregular shedules is on the rise. And it’s no longer unique to essential services like healthcare and utilities. Businesses see twenty-four hour operations as a way to increase profits, and customers now expect round-the-clock access to goods and services.
For society at large, this is great news. But for those of us who alter our schedules to keep the machine chugging, it poses a big problem. Shift work forces us to oppose our body’s natural circadian rhythms, creating a number of immediate issues: poor sleep, lack of energy, irritability, and difficulty with personal relationships to name a few.
And then there are the long-term effects. Conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, obesity, and depression are all more prevalent among shift workers.
Anyone who’s serious about their health should probably avoid night shifts. It’s a nice thought. But of course there are other factors to consider – compensation and job availability chief among them. Which is why shift work will continue to be a part of my life for the foreseeable future. Besides, someone has to do it. In fact, to maintain our current 24/7 society, millions of people have to do it.
Shift work isn’t going away anytime soon. Not for me, not for millions of others.
But there is some good news. Shift work is only associated with poor health and relationship quality. And, as any statistician will tell you: correlation does not equal causation.
So if these negative consequences aren’t guaranteed, the question is:
What can we do about it?
The art of thriving within your shift schedule
As we navigate our shift work schedules, we face unique challenges that the typical day worker will never fully understand. But that just means we have to increase our focus on a few key areas:
- Physical Health: Limiting circadian disruption and chronic sleep loss is our best strategy for mitigating the negative effects of shift work. But we’ll want to pull every lever we can to truly optimize our health.
- Mental Health: A healthy mind is just as important as a healthy body. Our work creates a mismatch between our schedules and those of friends and family. This can lead to increased social isolation and the accompanying mental health issues. The lack of daylight doesn’t help either.
- Financial Health: When people talk about the drawbacks of shift work, finances aren’t usually the major source of concern. But you don’t want to work night shifts forever. And the earlier you get out the better. It’s time to start planning your exit.
These unique challenges are why HealthShift exists. One weekly email with the top hand-picked resources for living a long, healthy, and prosperous life – no matter what your schedule looks like.
Thrive, Shift Schedule Be Damned:
NO SPAM. NO FLUFF. NO CHARGE. UNSUBSCRIBE ANYTIME.
It starts with quality information
There’s no denying that shift work can make certain aspects of life more challenging. But I believe that access to good information is all we need to make better decisions – decisions that will drastically improve our health and overall life satisfaction.
Fortunately there’s plenty of great information out there. The problem is finding it. There’s a sea of poor, fluffy, and misleading information released every day. You don’t have time to find the solid, research-based signals among all the noise. And employers are notoriously bad at providing any kind of training to help us better cope with our schedules.
That’s where HealthShift comes in. I deliver only the best, most authoritative selections each week by email. Sign up below to join, and let’s get started.
Stay healthy-
Jason Glenn
HealthShift