Module 15 Flashcards
What are non-standard shifts and how many Canadians does it apply to?
- Shifts not within 9-5 (+/- 1 hr), Mon-Fri
- 27% of the workforce
What are the different shift parameters?
- Pattern
- Speed of shift rotation
- Direction of shift rotation
- Shift length
- Shift changeover times
- Shift recovery time
The highest amount of work injuries happen ______
During evening or night
What is an odds ratio?
The odds of something occurring at a certain time of day, divided by those odds at any time of day
What are the 3 problem areas regarding night shifts?
Productivity, safety, and health impacts
Why do night workers experience more accidents?
- Chronic sleep restriction, which impairs cognitive functioning
- Alertness/attention is impaired at night due to circadian rhythms
What is the most common complaint of shift workers?
Insufficient sleep
Why does sleep onset insomnia occur in shift workers?
Partial adaptation to the previous night shift, turning the worker into a severe night owl
Why is it hard for shift workers to get enough sleep?
- The circadian clock promotes waking during the day
- After a few hours of sleep, accumulated sleep need is lessened so it is harder to stay asleep
What is a way to increase nap effectiveness during night shifts?
Drink caffeine right before the nap, in order to keep the nap to around an hour and counter sleep inertia effects
By how much are shift workers’ chances of developing cardiovascular disease probably increased?
40%
Why might the night shift affect GI disease?
Organs used in digestion are controlled by a circadian clock, and shift workers eat when these organs are dormant
Lower levels of leptin will _____
Increase body weight
Why might shift work be a risk factor for metabolic disease?
- Physiological effects of disrupted sleep
- Disrupted circadian rhythms
- Mistiming of mealtimes
How might shiftwork become a carcinogen?
Nocturnal light suppresses melatonin
How might clock genes be important for tumour suppression?
By regulating activity of cell cycle genes and tumour suppressor genes
Longer shifts are associated with ____ depressive episodes in men and ____ depressive episodes in women
- less
- more
What is seasonal affective disorder and how does shift work affect it?
- Depression that begins in the fall and remits in spring/summer
- Lack of light exposure may cause SAD in shift workers
What is Shiftwork Sleep Disorder and how do shiftworkers with SSD compare to those without it?
- Sleep onset/maintenance insomnia with severely impaired alertness on night shifts
- Workers with SSD have higher rates of ulcers and depression, and more severe symptoms
Why might shift work be a risk factor for substance abuse?
Sleep restriction increases self-administration of addictive drugs
How can light be used to phase delay shift workers?
Light pulses prior to body temperature minimum
When must melatonin be taken to phase advance a clock?
In the evening
What is chronotherapeutics?
The effort to incorporate circadian biology into medicine
How can circadian biology affect medicine?
- Diagnosis
- Vulnerability to adverse health effects
- Treatment efficacy
- Treatment side effects
- Pathophysiology
What diseases/disorders are shift workers more susceptible to?
- Cardiovascular disease
- Gastrointestinal disease
- Metabolic disorders
- Cancer (including breast cancer)
- Depression
- Substance abuse
- Adverse fertility/pregnancy outcomes
- Worsened social/family life
