Final answer:
To cope with the stress of consecutive shifts, especially in rotating shift work common in healthcare, seeking support and practicing self-care is recommended. This includes methods like decompression activities after work, critical evaluation of household chores, regular exercise, and scheduling short breaks to maintain productivity.
Step-by-step explanation:
When dealing with the stress of working consecutive shifts, such as in the context of healthcare professionals who often work rotating shifts, it's important to adopt effective coping strategies. Rather than increasing caffeine intake or ignoring the pressure, which could worsen stress levels and impact health, option C is the most effective approach: Seek support from colleagues and practice self-care. This could include creating a buffer between work and home with activities like a brief walk or listening to music, determining which household chores are critical, and letting the rest go, as well as scheduling in exercise and brief breaks throughout the day. When it comes to rotating shift work, these strategies can help in managing the consequent disruptions to circadian cycles and help reduce sleep problems, depression, anxiety, and agitation.