September 11, 2024

shift work

Sleep literacy in Australian Health Professionals

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Inadequate sleep is a significant public health issue. A recent parliamentary report recommended that the Australian government assesses the sleep knowledge of health professionals, and develops effective training mechanisms to improve the knowledge of primary healthcare practitioners in diagnosing and managing sleep health problems.

If you are a fully qualified medical practitioner, nurse, psychologist, social worker, occupational therapist, pharmacist or dentist working in Australia, you are invited to participate in this research study, which aims to survey knowledge, practices, and attitudes towards sleep in Australian Health Professionals. For more information please contact the Chief Investigator Dr Cele Richardson at +61 8 6488 3141 or cele.richardson@uwa.edu.au

To participate in the study, visit http://uwa.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9vqPKwckURT4YpD

Participants will gain access to a sleep toolkit, which may assist with the management of sleep in their clinical practice.

Approval to conduct this research has been provided by the University of Western Australia, in accordance with its ethics review and approval procedures.

No link between night shift work and breast cancer: study

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A British study of more than 100,000 women over ten years finds “no overall link” between cancer and night work.

A link between night shift work and breast cancer risk was first proposed 30 years ago. Studies since then have been inconclusive.

The Institute of Cancer Research in Britain conducted the latest study. It was published in the peer-reviewed British Journal of Cancer.

“In our new study we found no overall link between women having done night shift work in the last 10 years and their risk of breast cancer, regardless of the different types of work they did involving night shifts, and the age at which they started such work,” the researchers said.

They also found no significant difference in risk relating to the type of night shift work, the age at which the work was started, or whether it began before or after a first pregnancy.

Delyth Morgan, chief executive at Breast Cancer Care and Breast Cancer Now, which funded the study, said: “We hope these findings will help reassure the hundreds of thousands of women working night shifts that it’s unlikely their job patterns are increasing their risk of breast cancer.”

This article was originally published in the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association publication, Lamp. 

Shift work a risk to heart disease and diabetes: study

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As nurses and midwives, shift work has become the norm for most of our profession. New research has shed more light on what the long-term effects of this can be upon heart health and diabetes.

While many studies have shown that shift work is associated with heart and metabolic diseases, new research in Experimental Physiology has clarified how shift work can have a long-term effect on the risk of diabetes and heart disease.

The study specifically suggested that shift work has a negative impact on the way triglycerides – a type of fat – is broken down, as well as on the way sugar is utilised in our bodies. Both of these increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes because they affect how our body processes sugar and fat.

Researchers at the University College of Medical Sciences, University of Delhi conducted the research on two groups of healthcare workers. The first group included nurses, doctors and other healthcare workers aged 20 to 40 of both sexes who had not done night shift in the last one year or ever and had normal blood sugar levels. The second group was of the same professional background and age, but involved in rotational night shift duties (more than 4 nights duties per month at least for last one year) and had normal blood sugar levels.

Blood sugar levels were measured using an oral glucose tolerance test. Then, after 12 hours of overnight fasting, participants were given a high fat meal. Fasting insulin levels, and triglyceride levels, after fasting and after the meal, were measured in all of the study participants. These were compared between health care workers with and without night shift duties.

The study’s lead author, SV Madhu, said that the study provided “a better understanding of why shift work is associated, in the long-term, with heart and metabolic diseases, helping us work towards reducing the incidence of heart disease, diabetes and obesity in the future.”

This article was originally published in the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association publication, Lamp. 

12 hour shifts affect sleeping patterns – but not error rates

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Research has found that nurses working 12 hour rotational shifts had less sleep and more disrupted sleep than their counterparts working 8 hour shifts.

The research, conducted by Dr Ann Rheaume RN from Canada’s University of Moncton, assessed 28 nurses working the two different rotational shifts, and assessed their sleep and performance using actigraphy, a sleep diary and an after work questionnaire.

The study found that nurses who worked 12 hour shifts had less total sleep time and less sleep efficiency than those working 8 hour days. They also found that those on 12 hour shifts tended to nap more than their counterparts.

The study wasn’t all bad news for 12 hour shift nurses though. The study found no evidence of differences between 12 hour and 8 hour nurses when it came to cognitive errors. The study thus concluded that there was no evidence to indicate that an increase of cognitive errors could be associated with differing shift lengths.

So there you have it! If you’re the kind of nurse or midwife who loves a good 12 hour shift, just know that while you might be affecting your sleeping patterns, your ability to do your work shouldn’t be too badly affected – according to these researchers at least!

7 Tips for Nurses and Midwives Who Sleep During the Day

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We know that most nurses and midwives will work night shifts at some stage in their careers. Here’s our best tips for helping you get to sleep during the day

  1. Avoid light before going to bed

Light tells your body that it’s time to wake up, so it’s best to avoid it as much as possible right before bed. Also try to avoid sunlight on your way out of work, tint your car windows and wear dark glasses on your drive home.

  1. Darken your bedroom

Having blockout blinds or curtains can really help, as well as having dark walls. Alternatively, grab a pair of eye masks!

  1. Block out noise

Try and block out noise as much as you can. Grab a pair of earplugs or ear muffs. Alternatively, try something like white noise, soft music or a fan to block out outside noises that might wake you up.

  1. Keep people informed

Everyone hates being woken up by someone else. Try stopping this by letting everyone know that you’re off to bed. Lock your doors, put up a “Do Not Disturb” sign. Make sure you also turn your mobile off or set it to silent.

  1. Slow down on the coffee!

Well, maybe just towards the end of your shift. Caffeine might be great at keeping you up at work, but it’ll also keep you up when trying to sleep. Try having one at the start of your shift, maybe one in the middle, and steer clear towards the end.

  1. Avoid Alcohol before bed

Alcohol might make you feel sleepy, but it can also keep you awake. Try replacing your nightcap with a chamomile tea.

  1. Have a sleep schedule – and stick to it

Good habits lead to good sleep.

Get sleeping people! We all know how much nurses and midwives love it!

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