Q: Could you shed any information on the possible harmful effects of alternating day and night shift work for the older worker? Thank you.

A: Sleep patterns vary from person to person. Some of us can put our heads down in the evening and get a good night’s rest. Others sleep for an hour or two, awaken for as long. They may get out of bed, eat, read a book or begin a project and ultimately return to the bedroom to go back to sleep. I prefer evenings when my house is quiet, dark, and conducive to getting quality rest. I have family members that feel they must sleep with a television on and providing light and noise. When the TV is turned off, they awaken and cannot get back to sleep. I’ve yet to determine how they can awaken in the middle of a show and not want to finish watching it, despite the fact that the clock indicates it’s 2 AM!
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