The ideal rotating shift?

I just read a new study that claims that ‘working rotating shifts is not as potentially unhealthy as it used to be’. What? Is there such a thing?


I wonder if those who conducted the research have ever worked a rotating shift in their life??! It seems that there is now a more ‘ideal’ formula for rotating your day and NOC shifts. Instead of working 2 weeks of days and then 2 weeks of nights this article ‘claims’ there is now a trend to work day-day-night-night then five days off in a row. I like the adjective they used in the article I read though. They called this trend of rotating shifts more ‘humane’.


I must admit, I’m glad to see research is being conducted on ways to minimize the detrimental effects of shift work. I don’t think they will ever eliminate the health risks involved with ‘flipping’ your circadian rhythm.


When I read the word ‘humane’ I immediately blurted out ‘Darn right!’. Working a NOC shift has got to be a warped zombie-apocalypse training scheme in my book. I don’t know about you, but working ANY type of NOC shift turned my brain into much and pretty much guaranteed all my autonomic bodily functions would short-circuit. I couldn’t see straight, I could stand without swaying and stringing more than two words together to form a comprehensible sentence just wasn’t possible. I remember feeling like I had the ‘flu’ every month when I had to do the shift ‘flip’. My hats off to those that can ‘flip’ with minimal damage.


It probably didn’t help that I have chronic insomnia and I am such a light sleeper. So much of light sleeper than a kitten walking on a newly installed carpet woke me from my sleep (true story). When I would work nights every trick in the book to help you sleep would not work for me, since the wind blowing outside would wake me up.


*sigh*


This would explain why I don’t work nights anymore.