Viter Energy Blog

For many types of workers, the night shift entails a struggle to stay awake. If you're a doctor scurrying around an emergency room or a police officer on foot patrol, the chances of falling asleep are slim to none.

But if you're a security guard in a small town or are on a low-activity watch and are on the graveyard shift, you might have a lot of trouble staying awake.

Firefighters keep busy, even in small towns. The work of cooking their meals, maintaining and cleaning the fire station, equipment, and trucks is never-ending. And if it's a big town, there are emergency calls every day, sometimes all day.

The stress of always being on call for structure fires, medical emergencies, hazardous materials spills, and technical rescues is high.

And then consider the danger and excitement of the calls firefighters make, and the stress can really go through the roof.

Being a lawyer is so stressful that 44 percent of practicing attorneys wouldn't recommend the field to a young person.

Stress can wreck your general quality of life, provoke anger, cause you to drink, and even ruin your sex life (egads!). And it's like a feedback loop: The more of these types of problems you have, the more stress you experience.

Read on for the signs of stress and burnout and how to deal with them.

Coffee beans are very stable chemically, even when roasted. That means coffee beans don't lose much caffeine in the roasting process.

However, light-roasted coffee beans are denser and heavier because they lose less water, so they have more caffeine per bean.

Dark-roasted coffee beans are less dense and weigh less. So you need to use a bigger volume of dark beans to get the same amount of caffeine in an equal volume of light-roasted beans.

But be cautioned, if you use a larger volume of dark beans, you are likely to have a very strong pot of coffee.

Do you want the police officer handling your problem to have just 4 to 6 hours of disturbed sleep? Caffeine can help, but it is not a cure-all for chronic sleep loss.

Police Chief Magazine reports [2]:

Sleep deprivation has a litany of unintended consequences, which include

Say you have a big meeting or exam the next day, and you foolishly over-caffeinated when you need to get a good night's sleep. Or you have the jitters, sour stomach, and a racing heart from too much of a good thing.

Several articles on the Internet give tips on how to de-caffeineate, so to speak.

Invigorating caffeine is known for increasing alertness of those who take it. Scientific research has been showing that it also increases reaction time in do-or-die situations.

Caffeine may also reduce fatigue and allow athletes to train harder.

And a relatively high dose of caffeine may deliver as much benefit in increasing alertness and improving reaction times as methamphetamine or modanifil.

Some gamers swear by caffeine. But many websites are saying you need to get the right amount of caffeine.

Too little, and it will not invigorate you, and you may end up with slowed reflexes and a propensity to nod off just when you need to be most awake.

Too much caffeine, and you could get anxiety, or a racing heart, or a sour stomach.

What is a gamer to do??

Business Insider says studies have shown a marked mental improvement among those who spend time outside. Depression and anxiety and other mental problems all are eased by spending time in nature. Couple your outdoor activities with exercise, and you will really find an improvement.

Some people say multitasking wastes time and reduces the quality of work. But what are you to do if you have multiple tasks and you need to get them done all around the same time?

We're going to give you some tips for multitasking, but be advised that your best bet is to focus on one task in any given time frame.

If you find yourself wanting to catch some Z's during long Zoom meetings, read on for advice on how to stay alert and focused. After all, you don't want to offend others by seeming bored or even nodding off.

If you don't think the meeting will contribute to your understanding or productivity, decline to participate. Some meetings are mandatory if you are not at or near the top of the organizational chart, but where possible avoid meetings that have proven unproductive in the past.