|
Sleepless nights. A letter to the editor.
You know we have Secretaries Day, Groundhog Day, April Fools' Day, Veteran's Day, and all the other prominent days on our calendar that we celebrate, but there is no special day to recognize or honor the shift worker who provides goods and services for all normal-sleeping people. As we enjoy our normal evenings, holidays, and sleep-filled nights, the shift workers are on the job. Police on the beat, doctors and nurses at the hospital, the waitress at the local diner, utility workers and all the other folks who work behind the scenes providing for our needs while we sleep or relax.
There has been some study led by the National Commission on Sleep Disorders and some of the findings follow: There is an endangerment of the health and safety of many Americans. There are learning and memory problems, motor skills can become impaired, resistance to disease drops, and accidents increase, to name a few. Sometimes these folks lack the energy to even enjoy the simplest things in life.
For those shift workers who chose their respective hours, or those who have no choice at all, or for those who have been forced inordinately, let's give them a break and recognize them on the calendar.
Oh yeah! We must not forget to mention those people who have worked all night to bring you this edition of the newspaper.
|
I have three caregivers that I keep up all night asking them to turn me, to urinate, or scratch an itch or keep me warm etc., 10 to 15 times a night. This is been going on for over 20 years and, somehow, I get enough sleep, but they don't. It's tough work at low pay, but I'm sure glad they do it, because without them, I wouldn't be writing this.
Ron