Do you put extra hours in at work? Do you pick up extra shifts to generate overtime pay? Does the ever-growing pile of work on your desk cause you to stay late? Do you cut yourself short on sleep because of the pressures and demands of work?
If you do, you're like plenty of other working adults who are logging long hours, coping with work-related stress, and generally not getting enough rest. Overwork and little sleep can affect every aspect of our lives, from relationships, job performance and daily well-being to our fundamental health. A new study suggests that difficult and demanding work schedules also can contribute to obesity.
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine investigated the association between obesity and work schedules among 1,700 women nurses. Among the nurses in the study, 700 were determined to have unfavorable, or adverse, work schedules. The remaining 1,000 nurses were considered to have favorable work schedules. Researchers then examined the incidence of obesity among each group, and factors related to health behaviors, home demands, and work demands that might contribute to obesity. They found a majority of nurses were overweight or obese, and that work schedules appeared to influence the risk factors that contributed to weight problems.
Nursing is a demanding and high-stakes profession. While nurses are on the front lines of caring for patients' health and well-being, many are also likely to be working long hours, working evenings and overnight, or on schedules that rotate between day and night. In this regard, nurses are like the millions of Americans who are employed in shift work -- jobs that require workers to keep irregular schedules, which often require them to work during nighttime hours and to sleep during some portion of the day.
Shift work poses a number of well-documented challenges to health and to sleep. Shift workers are more likely than regular workers to suffer from disrupted and low sleep. They are also at elevated risk for chronic diseases such as diabetes. Shift work is common among jobs that involve public health and public safety, from police and firefighters to transportation workers, doctors, EMTs, and yes, nurses.
We also know a lot about the connection between the lack of sleep and weight problems. Not getting enough sleep causes hormonal changes that stimulate appetite. Being short on sleep prompts changes in the brain that make junk food even more attractive than it already is. Sleep deprivation lowers metabolism and diminishes the judgment and willpower necessary to make smart food choices. Sleeping less often translates into weighing more, over the long term.
We all have different work demands, different schedules, and different challenges related to our jobs. One thing we have in common? To the extent that our work conditions are interfering with our sleep, they may also be negatively affecting our weight.
VOCABULARY:
Shift: (the period of time worked by such a group-a group of workers who work for a specific period)
Overtime pay: pago por horas extraordinarias
Schedule: a list of tasks to be performed, esp within a set period. Timetable (horario, programa, plan)
High-stakes : used to describe a situation that has a lot of risk and in which someone is likely to either get or lose an advantage, a lot of money, etc.
In this regard: a este respecto, en este sentido
Shift work: trabajo por turnos
Prompt: (cause) dar pie a, provoca
Disrupted sleep: perturbación del sueño, sueño interrumpido.
Deprivation: being without ( carencia, privación)
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