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Workers find ways to make night shifts work

Energy drinks give some the boost they need to keep going

It’s 2:30 a.m. at the Wal-Mart in Meridian. Do you know where your energy drink is?

Many Wal-Mart employees and thousands of other overnight workers across the Treasure Valley likely are yawning and tipping their cans at the same time. Many of Boise’s biggest employers are 24-hour operations.

Many workers get extra pay to make up for the stress of staying alert during the wee hours before dawn and managing sleep schedules to stay in sync with family and friends who are creatures of the day.

At Wal-Mart, 2:30 a.m. is the time, give or take a half-hour, when many of the 80 or so people who stock shelves and serve customers on the overnight shift feel the full weight of the night.

It’s time to break out cans of Full Throttle or Rockstar energy drinks, among others.

Jeremy Grandstaff and his girlfriend, Amber, who asked that her last name not be used, often drink one each night to help stay focused in the automotive and sporting goods departments, respectively. There are customers all night long, even in their departments. The drinks keep Jeremy and Amber going until the light of a new day as they stock shelves and help customers.

Amber has made a truce with her night-owl job, but she doesn’t recommend it to others. "It wears your body down." But, she added, "I was raised tough."

She believes being a night owl has messed with her memory, among other things.
But the schedule has worked just fine for Jeremy. "At the time, I needed a job, and it worked out," he said. "I have no desire to work days. Right now, it fits my lifestyle."

Nampan Sabino Garza feels about the same. As he mopped the floor in the shoe department, he said energy drinks have no effect on him. He’s been a night-shift worker at Wal-Mart for eight years and likes it because he has free time in the afternoon.

"This way, I go home, get up at 1 o’clock and do whatever I have to do," he said.
Amber has been on the overnight shift since her two children were ages 1 and 4. That was a challenge. "I like my kids not in day care," she said. "That’s the main reason I started working nights."

Her husband worked days, and Amber cared for the kids all day after her night shifts. She catnapped between baby feedings and diaper changes. She locked the door so her 4-year-old wouldn’t wander outside unattended and then turned on the TV to entertain him.

Amber’s catnaps, locked doors and TV are classic ways night-shifters with small children cope, according to Nancy Nadolski, a Boise sleep specialist who has helped night workers turn their sleep cycles upside down.

At 5:30 p.m., Amber’s husband came home and relieved her, giving her two and a half hours of uninterrupted sleep, usually her only block of zzz’s.

Now, she’s a single mother and is still on the night shift. The children stay with a neighbor overnight. She sleeps while the kids are at school. She prides herself on volunteering every week to grade papers at her children’s school. She skips sleep to do it.

Jury still is out

The key to staying alert for many workers on the graveyard — or overnight — shift at Wal-Mart is energy drinks. And they’re not alone.

Are energy drinks the new coffee? Or, with the cocktail of caffeine and herbal ingredients in many of them, will they turn out in the long run to be unhealthy?
"It’s pretty new, and health professionals in general are still researching the long-term effects of the drinks on specific populations," said Elaine Long, a professor in the The key to staying alert for many workers on the graveyard — or overnight — shift at Wal-Mart is energy drinks. And they’re not alone.

Are energy drinks the new coffee? Or, with the cocktail of caffeine and herbal ingredients in many of them, will they turn out in the long run to be unhealthy?

"It’s pretty new, and health professionals in general are still researching the long-term effects of the drinks on specific populations," said Elaine Long, a professor in the Department of Community and Environmental Health at Boise State University.

Long’s class on research methods in the health sciences studied energy drinks such as Monster and Full Throttle.

Among the findings: 35.8 percent of BSU study participants used the drinks to stay awake while studying.

Link to the Boise State students' work (PDF)

What's in those drinks?

Here is some information on common ingredients in energy drinks from an industry Web site, www.energydrinksolutions.com:

- Taurine is an amino acid that your body naturally produces. In an energy drink, however, taurine is not used to stimulate or to give added energy. It is proven to help reduce muscle fatigue and act as a supplement under stress conditions such as illness, physical exertion and injury. An ingredient found in many drinks, taurine acts as a supplement to your body.

- Caffeine: Most drinks contain 70 to 200 milligrams of caffeine, roughly similar to a cup of coffee, depending on how strong it is.

- Caffeine is a stimulant.

- Guarana, which comes from the guarana plant grown in South America, is used to increase alertness and energy.

- Ginseng has some anti-fatigue components and supposedly relieves stress. Ginseng helps to stimulate the hypothalamic and pituitary glands in your body, which secrete adrenal hormones. These are the hormones that increase your energy and give you an adrenaline rush. A standard dose would be 200 milligrams a day, but you can safely take up to 2,000 milligrams.

- L-Carnitine is an amino acid created by your liver and kidneys that boosts your metabolism and energy levels. Also found in some energy drinks, this can supplement your body with an added boost of energy.

- Sugars. Ninety percent of all energy drinks contain a form of sugar, energy for your body.

- B vitamins are also found in many energy drinks. These are vitamins that help to convert sugar into energy.

Source: www.energydrinksolutions.com