NATS ATCO Questions

[classicwings]

so its just as well we don't have to mix much with the great unwashed at the shops, golf course etc.

Fair enough Air Traffic is a highly skilled job to work in but please do bear in mind that there are other professionals out there such as GP's, Doctors, Surgeons, Solicitors, Surveyors and Executive Managers who do just work the standard 9-5 working week and are excluded from the unwashed masses...........

[CAP493]

It is his contention that anyone over 50 should not be doing night shifts as part of a regular rotating shift pattern as it is injurious to your health.

I think your GP is basically correct.

Unfortunately, ATC (as with many other H24 professions and jobs) requires 24/7 shift working and so this is an unrealistic aspiration.

That said, there's absolutely no doubt that recovery time increases beyond age 40 and that beyond age 50 it's debateable whether someone ever fully recovers from night working unless they take leave or some other significantly longer break between their shift cycles.

The one advantage that ATC has over most other night shift professions (particularly the medical professions) is "SRATCOH" (mandated in the UK since 1989) or similar duty time restrictions where these are imposed by the State regulator, and the fact that the duty times and rest periods are both prescribed and (in all responsible employers' ATC units) strictly applied. The best H24 ATC shift cycles move backwards from mornings through afternoons to nights - this has been determined as being the least onerous on and most easily accommodated by, the body's circadium rhythm.

That said - and despite the various social advantages of having time off during the 'day' or 'week' - the jury's probably still out as regards the long-term impact on people's health of working regular night shifts over a 30 to 40-year ATC career, simply because you'd need to study people who began this regime in the 1960s and 1970s and I'm not sure it's being done/has yet been done; and other aspects of the individual's lifestyle would also need to be taken into account.

Be interesting to see the data and conclusions, though...

[Jumbo Driver]

Around 30 years of longhaul flying has left me little better at dealing with shift/night/timezone effects. I realise that flying usually has timezone changes whereas ATC shift patterns do not, however I feel there are significant similarities so my comments should be pertinent. I think, essentially, I learned two fundamental points over the years:

1) You generally find the the best (or perhaps least worst) way to deal with each work/rest pattern by trial and error. Everyone is different and what suits one may not necessarily suit another. For example some can rest, or even sleep, in anticipation of a night duty but many (including me) cannot.

2) The effects do certainly become more pronounced with advancing years. I agree with DC10RealMan and CAP493 that around the age of 40 the body becomes less tolerant of disruptive sleep/work patterns and recovery times both during and after such work patterns start to get longer; thereafter, and certainly by age 50, the effects progressively increase such that shift work (particularly nights) can then have a significant life effect.

I also agree with CAP493 when he says:

The best H24 ATC shift cycles move backwards from mornings through afternoons to nights - this has been determined as being the least onerous on and most easily accommodated by, the body's circadian rhythm.

In my experience the human body generally adapts more readily to a sleep pattern which involves lengthening the 24-hour day, rather than to one which shortens it.

There is some interesting aeromedical reading (if you can stay awake long enough!) in a couple of Aerospace Medical Association research articles, namely Clockwise and Counterclockwise Rotating Shifts: Effects on Sleep Duration, Timing, and Quality and Rapid Counterclockwise Shift Rotation in Air Traffic Control: Effects on Sleep and Night Work. Both are free to download, in either HTML or pdf.


JD