August/1998
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WORKING THE SHIFT: A SELF-HEALTH GUIDE
Colin Shapiro, MD, PhD; Ronald Heslegrave, PhD; Joanne Beyers, MA, RD; Louise Picard, BScN, MSc(A) Joli Joco Publications, Inc., 1997 300 John St., P.O. Box 87581, Thornhill, Ontario, Canada L3T7R3 112 pages, paperback, $19.95
Reviewed by Lynne Lamberg
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This book has an unusual feature that compels even a casual
browser to keep turning pages: high quality 4-color artwork and
photos displayed in magazine-style layout. Colored graphics make it
easy to quickly appreciate such topics as the decline in deep sleep
with age or the different reasons men and women work shifts.
Charts clarify even complex ideas, such as the advantages and
disadvantages of sleeping in the morning immediately after the night
shift is over, versus sleeping in the afternoon or early evening before
going to work. The necessity to fit the graphics on 5" by 8.5" pages,
however, unfortunately means that the typeface used for captions
and some of the charts is miniscule.
The authors, all Canadians, are, respectively, a physician,
psychologist, dietician, and nurse. The group's combined expertise
has produced a well-written and comprehensive overview of
biological rhythms and their implications for shift workers'
performance, sleep, driving safety, health, and family life. Bulleted
lists, common in magazines, less so in books, contribute to the
book's fast pace.
The authors' suggestions are tempered by extensive experience.
They acknowledge individual differences, and their advice goes well
beyond "the usual." When sleep is slow in coming, for example, they
advise: "Squint your eyes in the dim light and focus on an object in
your room. Try to close your eyes as much as possible while keeping
focused on the barely visible object. For some," they note, "closing
their eyes switches on all sorts of thoughts of things they should do.
This technique will solve this problem."
The book also includes recipes for healthy eating, some adapted to a
shift worker's life. One of them: "Gone all afternoon stew."
An error in the appendix needs correcting: the address of the
National Sleep Foundation is several years out of date. (It's now in
Washington DC).
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