Challenges of Your Towboat Work Life

Circadian Cycles

Research shows there are significant health and safety issues associated with shiftwork, particularly night and early morning shifts, that can have undesirable consequences for workers, including disruption of the internal body clock.  The body clock of humans is daytime oriented. We are designed to work in the daytime and sleep at night. The internal body clock, or "circadian clock," is responsible for this. It causes a regular 24-hour cycle of our various body and mental functions. This variation is referred to as the "circadian rhythm."  Body temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, respiration and adrenaline normally rise during the day and fall at night. It is these changes which affect behavior, alertness, reaction time and mental capacity. 

Disruption of these natural body cycles can lead to sleep difficulties and fatigue. These problems can, in turn, affect work performance, increasing the likelihood of errors and accidents, and might even affect your overall health.  Reducing risks associated with around the clock watch standing and fatigue can improve your health, safety and general well-being by reducing sickness, injuries and accidents, and increasing your work efficiency and quality.

Nighttime Watches

When standing especially the back watch, try to keep the same sleep and wake times each day. This will help regulate your circadian rhythm, improve your sleep quality. It will also help you stay alert during your watch. Shut off the phone during your sleep hours. Let family and friends know when your sleep hours are so they are not trying to call. Shutout any light sources that will come into your room as the day progresses. 

Sunlight is a potent stimulator of the circadian rhythm.  Even if your eyes are closed, the sunlight coming into the room tells your brain that it's daytime. Yet, your body can be exhausted and you're trying to sleep. This discrepancy is not healthy for your body's sleep pattern.  The body likes to operate on a routine schedule. It likes to know what to expect in terms of production of certain hormones.  When you expose yourself to sunlight some times during the week, but not others -- sleeping at nighttime, some nights and then during daytime at others - your body can have difficulty knowing what to anticipate and when to produce those transmitters and neurochemicals for sleep, digestion and proper functioning of the human body.

Regular, restful sleep is crucial for the body's repair cycle. The body's ability to recover and recuperate from cellular damage during the day is affected by the night shift since the purpose of sleep is for rest and repair. If our sleep schedule is irregular, the repair that's supposed to happen at nighttime doesn't occur as designed.  Remember, rest itself is beneficial, even if you are not actually asleep.  Don't get upset if you can't sleep right away.  Relax, read a book, watch TV.  Don't drink excess liquid before going to bed, and try to avoid coffee or other caffeinated drinks before bedtime. 

Diet and Exercise

General physical fitness is important, and exercise and a well-balanced diet can help any adjustment.  Make an effort to increase your physical activity during leisure time and day's off.  Because the activity of the digestive system is reduced at night, indigestion, heartburn and constipation may occur if you eat heavy meals too late. You might try having two meals at regular times, and a light meal at the end of one of your watches.   The effects of a meal may tend to decrease alertness in the second part of the watch so it's better to eat before you become fatigued. Avoid meals heavy in calories or with a high fat content because they take longer to digest and may make you feel drowsy.  Try snacking on fresh fruit or lighter foods to provide energy, but not cause fatigue.

Home and Social Life

Just as your body follows a rhythm, so does your social and family life. Once again, the returning after twenty days of standing a watch, towboaters have a challenge. When you are awake, everyone else is sleeping; when you are ready for that nap, the family is ready to go. Try to talk with your family ahead of time about problems that could result from returning from the watch schedule and look for solutions.  Adjust to the household routine where possible. Give your partner or children the opportunity of making suggestions about how you can fit into their activities. Take over some household duties on days off. 

Normal social interactions with family and friends are so important that people may cut down their sleep time so they can take part in customary social activities. This can affect work and family time in a negative way. Let your friends know when you are free.  Use your free daytime when others are working for activities you like to do by yourself and do some of the jobs that might otherwise interfere with social occasions. See if there are others on shiftwork who will join you in daytime activities. 

Heading Home

When you do get off your rotation and go home, remember to be particularly careful when driving home after the night watch. Keep your mind active by listening to the radio. Even in winter, be wary of using the car heater as you may become drowsy in a warm car. 

Who to see for help

Leadership and management must go hand in hand. They are not the same thing but must be linked together and be complementary to each other. In an effort to separate the two it is likely to cause more problems than it solves.

THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A LEADER AND A MANAGER

A LEADER:

• Deals more with people on a personal basis.
• Creates a vision and the strategy to achieve the vision.
• Establishes good relationships with the people around them.
• Teaches others how to do things, at times beyond the person's belief.
• Listens and ask for others opinions.
• Is capable of learning from others and admitting mistakes.
• Takes risks and assume responsibility for their actions.
• Motivates others and helps to overcome barriers.
• Communicates directions in such a way to all crew members that cooperation is needed, is understood, accepts it and acts upon it.
• Sees the people around them as having the ability to always improve and achieve goals.

 A MANAGER:

• Deals with control and coordination, time management, resources, budget and finances
• Establishes goals and strategies for their group
• Is a good organizer and knows which people to assign to given tasks.
• Provides policy and procedures to guide the group.
• Is a problem solver and plans and organizes for variations from a task.
• Works within a structured plan or formula. Not a risk taker.
• Sets up timetables to check results and provides necessary feedback for execution of a plan.