Is working daytime the same as working nighttime?

Day 56

The idea of working nights theoretically sounds brilliant with abundant amount of time available for self during the daytime. I have worked nights for a long period of time and my wife worked days. The most common argument in my household was “I work the same amount of time in the day you work at night, but why are you more tired than I am?” An exceptionally valid question, technically I should sleep straight for eight hours in the day and become functional just like the daytime workers.

So here is my question: Is working daytime the same as working nighttime?

In our argument, one of the biggest points I would address was the pattern of sleep? Do you think people that work at night sleep the same way people work during the day? People working during the day can ideally sleep for straight six to eight hours at night. Is it possible for the people working at night sleep straight for six to eight hours, or is their sleep pattern intermittent into smaller segments?  

I would say most of the people working nights would agree that they sleep in segments. They will sleep for couple of hours after work and then wake up and then sleep for couple of hours before going to their work. What is the biggest problem with segmented sleep? The biggest problem with segmented sleep is the inability to achieve the complete sleep cycle. Without the complete sleep cycle, people working the nights would face a higher fatigue ratio in comparison to the people working days. There is additional risk of gaining weight because of eating to compensate the fatigueless level. 

Do you think people working nights have to use medications like Benadryl or sleeping pills to get a good day sleep? What are the potential variations in the body because of the adaptations to the changing sleep pattern during the day? What is the interference of sunlight or daylight affecting the quality of sleep for the people sleeping during the day? Because of the segmented sleep, is it possible for the people working nights sleeping longer to cope with the disturbed sleep?

“A good sleep cannot potentially cure my problems but definitely recharge my mind and body to face the problems”

~Lenji Jacob

Reference

Picture: https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRW9PH1t92fB47pTA_HNXiIQ_uMIRU-xdPBgxSZQ7GWxfL3nlTf0STwy71d7g

What is the Emergency room crisis with internet and media?

Day 55

I am dedicating this blog to the members of the healthcare organization who contribute a major part of their life in saving lives of the people in crisis. 

I have worked very close in the Emergency Department as the first point of contact. I had the opportunity to interact with some of the best health care providers, nurses, technicians, health administrative professionals, etc. The organization observed patients visiting the emergency room department for treatments from complains like the common cold to the critical cardiac arrest. Ideally for every patient their personal sickness outweighs the sickness of the other patients, but for an emergency room professional the weight of the sickness is measured based on the life threatening emergency. Unfortunately the average emergency room wait in the country is four to five hours, and during episodes of bottleneck effect the wait times could become higher. With internet availability and media shows like ER, House, Grey’s Anatomy, etc. we have many self-diagnosed patients with the expectation of response based on the televised medical drama shows. One of the most prominent questions in the ER is “How long is the wait”

So here is my question: What is the Emergency room crisis with internet and media?

What is the true meaning of an emergency health crisis? Does not a true emergency health crisis constitute a life-threatening health crisis? When did common cold become a life threatening crisis?  Was the ideology of Emergency Medical Treatment to create the Emergency Room an extended doctor’s office visit or an alternative to doctor’s office?

According to EMTALA the definition of an emergency is classified as the following

 “An emergency medical condition is defined as a condition manifesting itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity (including severe pain) such that the absence of immediate medical attention could reasonably be expected to result in placing the individual's health [or the health of an unborn child] in serious jeopardy, serious impairment to bodily functions, or serious dysfunction of bodily organs."

What is the level of appreciation for an emergency room clinical member? I had witnessed emergency room nurses called names after providing the best patient care in the scope of their duty because of the wait times in the emergency room. Why does this happen? Does this happen because of the television Medical drama? Why doesn't the telecast medical drama focus on some of the elements like emergency room waits, scopes of duty of the triage nurse, front desk administrative professional, or any other member in the first line of contact? Why the health care workers are penalized for providing the best health care service but may have a low rating in the third-party surveys because of the extended wait times?

“As emergency room members we have listened to your complains, we have saved your lives, we have provided comfort, care and compassion, we have cleaned you when required, and all this act is done without a prescription and in return we just ask you to appreciate”

~Lenji Jacob

References:

EMTALA (2012) how does EMTALA define an emergency?  American College of Emergency Physicians Retrieved September 24, 2012, from http://www.acep.org/content.aspx?id=25936

Picture: http://media.commercialappeal.com/media/img/photos/2010/04/05/04a_t607.jpg

When have you disconnected with the world to connect with nature?

Day 54

 After promising my wife for almost four years, we decided to take a day trip to Skyline drive at the Shenandoah National Park Virginia. The skyline was approximately 105 miles with a driving speed to 30 miles per hour. We left our home at 3:30 am to be in time to see the sun peeking out through the mountain valley. To my surprise at 6:30 in the morning the park had many visitors. Luckily today was an excellent day for this excursion with great fall like weather with some change of colors that were peeking through. Approximately every two miles, there was an overlook that displayed mesmerizing scenic display of the mountains. The symphony of nature was creating a meditating effect.

So here is my question: When have you disconnected with the world to connect with nature?

Unfortunately for me driving through the park disconnected me from my cellphone because of the lack of service. It was hard for me to check my emails, connect with Facebook and Twitter. Initially annoyed because I felt handicapped without the phone but then the scenic beauty took a hold of me. With the phone away, I actually enjoyed my surroundings in great detail and felt like I was spending some quality time.

 

In this trip we pursued an Apache trail leading us to a waterfall and since it had rained yesterday the whole 1.5mile walk was worth the huffing and puffing. Today I had great opportunities to pursue my photography skills. Strangely there was a feeling of Amish Culture somewhere behind my mind throughout the trip because I felt disconnected from the world.

When is the last time you have disconnected yourself from the world and pursued something that you like to do? In our busy life schedules, do you think a date with nature for a day will help us rejuvenate for more challenges? How about disconnecting ourselves from the world and spending the day with the people we care? 

“Freedom of the mind opens in the peacefulness of the wild rather than in the preoccupied society”

~Lenji Jacob

Do you associate rain with romance or disaster?

Day 53

Kissing in the Rain

My early childhood days were in India which is also a monsoon country. According to the book “Chasing the Monsoon by Alexander Frater” the highest rainfall happens in Cherrapunji, India. This country associates romance with rain, and the Indian cinema that has the maximum film output in the world supports the theme of “Rain and Romance” in the movies. Many of the classic poetry, cinema, songs, pictures, and many more literature in the world associates the concept of “romance and rain” together. Simultaneously rain is companioned with lightening, thunderstorms, tornados, floods that have brought many disasters in the world causing many death and grievances. 

So here is my question: Do you associate rain with romance or disaster?

The question incorporates elements of two different extremes, and the answer would include a biased persuasion from the contributor. Do you think the answer of the question will be influenced by the age group of the contributor? Do you think the answer of the question will be influenced by the gender of the contributor? What do you think the ratio of the answer will outcome? What percentage of influence does media and literature incorporate in answering this question?

I guess the idea of rain and romance is incorporated because rain directly or indirectly stimulates our senses. The smell of the ground after the first rain (smell), a wet exposure included with potential rainbow sightings (vision), getting wet in the rain (touch), a cooler weather (feel), and taste of raindrops (taste). Ironically just not for humans but rain correlates to mating seasons for many of the species.

Hurricane

On the contrary to the idea of romance, recently United States faced the downfall of rain in the form of hurricane Katrina, and hurricane Irene. The hurricanes caused a death ratio of approximately 2000 lives, thousands of injuries, over 100 billion dollars in damages, and high homeless ratio. People had to leave their homes and causing an impact of being stranded. 

“Rain the million droplets falling from the sky can play both the roles of the creator and the destructor” 

~Lenji Jacob

Reference

Picture 1: http://www.romanticlovepictures.com/downloads/Kissing_in_the_rain_with_umbrella1.jpg

Picture 2: http://www.faswd.com/uploads/Hurricane_4_large.jpg

How successful do you think a social life will be with no alcohol?

Day 52

Recently I have been on a mission to incorporate a social life excluding the element of alcohol. The proposition of a social hangout with no alcohol was excellent but emerging the proposition to practice was a whole different animal. The concept of this idea was equivalent to going to Fogo de Chao (Brazilian churrascaria steakhouse) and ordering vegetarian food. With elements like happy hours an average American social hour incorporates alcohol, bars, clubs, etc.

So here is my question: How successful do you think a social life will be with no alcohol?

With an important ingredient of social hour like alcohol being eliminated out of the picture what are chances of having the potential threat of being a social outcast? What is probability of locating friends of sharing the idea of social hour with no alcohol? Does this idea require you to enroll in alcohol free social groups, rather than your old friends? With an honorable decision like eliminating alcohol from the lifestyle to reduce risks like diabetes, obesity, etc. initiates challenges in balancing the social life.

Why is an atmosphere in correlation to alcohol environment such a big part of our social regime? Until I made this commitment to refrain alcohol environments, I had failed to understand that the constituent of alcohol consumed a big part of my social settings. The social contacts and the friend lists had a drastically condensed in size. The social gathering venues had been reduced when the proposition of social hour with no alcohol was executed.

This could be the reason that the US alcohol beverage industry is one of the biggest contributors of the US economy. In a study performed in 2009, it is reported that US alcohol beverage industry contributed 393 billion dollars to the economy (DISCUS, 2009). This could be a reason that the sales taxation increments are always focused on the US alcohol beverage industry with 14 to 25 percent taxation.

"There is a fine line between you drinking alcohol and alcohol drinking you for a social commitment”

~Lenji Jacob

References

Economic Contributions of the Distilled Spirits Industry | DISCUS (2009) Distilled Spirits Council of the United States | DISCUS Retrieved September 22, 2012, from http://www.discus.org/economics/

Picture: https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQcaxsdvIMAq65P2qj8QiefIvHwrE97sbOtRr9u2UlUVP-baT2q