The consequences of disrupted sleep patterns experienced by members of the health care team
Sleep is a state of the body that is characterized by the inactivity of the brain and partial or complete unconsciousness. Sleep plays a very important role in our bodies. Different people may require different times or durations of sleep. But generally, many adults sleep for an average of 7-9 hours daily while younger people sleep for longer periods or durations.
The current world is characterized by many commitments and busy schedules which make some people think that it may be wise to sleep as little time as possible in order to spare some time to meet their busy schedules. This is a misconception of the functions of sleep just as something which is a luxury but not as a necessity. Psychologists argue that sleep is just as important as other activities like eating and doing sex (Cooper, Quick, and Schabracq, 2009. pp.82-98).
In a health care team, there are many ways in which the members may experience sleep disruptions. Different members of the team may have different interruptions of their sleep, which may lead to different sleep patterns. Some may be disrupted by their children who wake them up in the middle of the night; others may be disrupted by television sets, others by noisy neighborhoods or neighbors, others by snoring sleeping mates, as well as poor sleeping habits like taking a long day time nap or the consumption of alcohol before sleep (Cooper, et al, 2009. pp.82-98).
The effects of these disruptions of sleep can be detrimental to the performance of the team. First of all, the sleep disruption may lead to a lack of coordination in the team because some members would be fatigued during the working hours, which would interfere with their functioning and concentration in the activities of the team.
The sleep disruption may also affect the team by lowering its creativity and problem-solving skills. This is because the disruption of sleep of the team members would lead to poor quality and quantity sleep, which would lead to lowered thinking capacity and also to slow the ability to think first and increase sharpness. It would also affect the team by the fact that some members would have reduced memory, and would not be able to remember things easily thereby increasing their chances of repeating mistakes due to the fact that sleep disruption makes people have reduced memory (Cooper, et al, 2009. pp.82-98).
The disruption of sleep would also affect the team in that many team members would be less motivated and have reduced morale in the activities of the team, thereby reducing the synergy which is necessary for the stability and progress of the team in its activities. The team may end up in a mess because many or some of the members may lose interest in the team’s work or do as little as possible due to their fatigue, while others do a lot of the team’s work. This may lead to a situation whereby the team may become divided and have the culture of “I”, instead of “we”. When this happens, it would lead to the division of the teams’ tasks into small bits each to be done by an individual member of the team, which may lead to shoddy performances as well as the disappearance of the teams’ spirit, motivation, and inspiration, which are very crucial in the success of any team in its activities.
Achieving good quality sleep by a shift worker working a permanent night shift
Sleep, as I have mentioned earlier, is a very important component in our lives. good quality and quantity sleep enables us to function optimally, be energetic, brilliant, alert, and above all, be in a balanced mood and able to resist stress. Low quality and quantity of sleep make us prone to many problems like stress, lack of concentration, poor judgment making, poor problem-solving skills, and lowered creativity and brain sharpness. It is therefore very important for us to have good quality and quantity sleep (The weekly source of African American political and entertainment news, 2000.pp.32-45).
The time of the sleep does not matter in determining the quality of sleep. This means that a person may sleep at any time of the day or night, depending on his or her work schedule or patterns. If I were to be a shift worker working on a permanent nightshift, I would use various strategies to ensure that I’m able to have good quality sleep. One of the strategies is to develop a regular sleeping schedule. I would ensure that I sleep at 9 am and wake up at 5 pm every day.
I would also ensure that I don’t take heavy meals because they would interfere with the quality of my sleep. I would be taking light meals some hours before sleep, and ensure that I take a warm bath before I go to bed. The other strategy would be to minimize the amount of noise and light in the bedroom as much as possible. I would ensure that the windows and the doors are completely shut and that the TV is off. (The weekly source of African American political and entertainment news, 2000.pp.32-45).
Finally, I would ensure that I’m stress-free. This is because stress interferes with the ability of a person to sleep soundly because of the mental instability brought about by the fluctuating thoughts, which disturb the mind. Stress may make a person stay long before falling asleep or fall asleep very first, and wake up in the middle of sleep and have a problem in falling asleep again.
For me to remain alert at work, I would be taking a cup of coffee in the middle of the night. The coffee would increase my mental activity and enable me to stay vigilant. I would also ensure that where I work I have a radio or a TV for stimulating my mind and increase my alertness. I would also ensure that I engage my fellow workers in conversations so that no one could feel isolated and therefore be tempted to have a nap.
Before I go to the night shift, I would ensure that I take a cold bath and wear clothes that are not heavy, because wearing heavy clothes would stimulate my body to go to sleep. Lastly not least, I would ensure that I eat enough food, especially rich in carbohydrates, which would provide me with energy and keep my body in a state of activity up to the morning. When all these are done, the end product would be enjoyable work, free from stress, and full of mental stability.
It would actually make no difference with those who work during the day time. The worst I could do is to get other engagements during the day time instead of going to sleep. This discussion has therefore demonstrated that the time of sleep does not matter, but the manner in which we sleep does influence the quality and quantity of our sleep (The weekly source of African American political and entertainment news, 2000.pp.32-45).
Reference List
Cooper, C.L., Quick, J.C., and Schabracq, M.J.(2009). International Handbook of Work and Health Psychology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons. pp.82-98.
The weekly source of African American political and entertainment news. (2000).Experts Speak on how to get Good Quality Sleep. Chicago, IL: Johnson Publishing Company.pp.32-45.