did you hear?

[Mulan]

Did you hear on the news yesterday, people that work 11 to 12 hours are more apt to die of a heart attack than those that work 7-8 hour shifts?

[CCL RN, RN]

I have far, FAR more stress in my 8hr cath lab job than I do with my 12hr ICU job...

[LegzRN]

Was this just one study? I need to see p values, confidence intervals, sample size, methods, and limitations before I make a decision.

Wait, are you telling me that if I work 12's I get 4 days off, but if I work 8's, I only get 2 days off?

BRING ON THE STEMI! TAKE ME TO THE CATHLAB BABY WOOOO!

[martymoose, BSN, RN]

I find when i do the 12s which are 14s, that i spend 3 of the 4 days off recovering. At least a heart attack might be quick as one poster stated. lets get this over with.no cath lab for me :-}

[gentlegiver, ASN, LPN, RN]

http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/04/04/long.work.hours.heart.attack.risk/index.html?hpt=Sbin

This is the link to the CNN posting on this study.

[AnaCatRN]

I know that after working 4 or 5 (or more) 12-hour night shifts in a row, I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack. There aren't enough night nurses at my agency, so I'm a little overworked.

Seriously, though, are they saying this is true for all shifts or mostly night shifts? I know that most people who work nights are not night people, and that (working nights when you're not a night person) has been shown to be a health risk in itself.

I do believe that working 12 hour shifts is a bad idea (although I do it). I read a few articles stating that there are risks to working long shifts, especially when several are worked in a row. It has been shown to cause accidents, increase health risks, and lower productivity. It's certainly not news.

[APRN., DNP, RN, APRN, NP]

"The study, a new analysis of a larger, long-running study known as Whitehall II, followed more than 7,000 healthy, middle-aged civil servants in the U.K. for an average of 12 years. More than half (54 percent) of the participants reported working seven to eight hours a day, while roughly 15 percent and 10 percent said they worked 10- and 11-hour days"

"What's more, the type of work, and how much you enjoy it, may make a big difference, Kopecky says. While sitting behind a desk for 11 hours may be unhealthy, farmers are notorious for working 12 or even 14 long, hard hours a day -- and they tend to live longer than average, he says"

Interesting, but it sounds like they need to factor in for several variables such as ethnicity and the like

[mama_d, BSN, RN]

I think I'll continue to take my chances working 12 hour nights with a team that is overall solid and experienced, rather than days (8s or 12s) where there's not so much teamwork or experience and you're pretty much on your own. (Speaking of my work situation only...not trying to start a shift war debate :) )

[TexMex22]

I remember reading a couple of articles about this (can't remember where now) -- they talked about how working nights messes with the body's ability to deeply rest and recover. If you work at night, sleep during the day, your circadian clock gets totally screwed up -- sleep problems can start occuring, which can affects mood, brain chemistry, functionality, etc.

I know when my s.o. was working rotating shifts after he came off nights, he would be a zombie for a couple of days coming back off nights until he slept and switched back over to the day shift sleep schedule. He was always tired. Never looked rested. Plus the amount of caffeine and junk food ingested to stay awake during the night is awful for some ppl.