Dangers of Night Shift Work

My former career meant working lots of night shifts; one week a month on average. In some ways these were great because it could mean more money and there was often less to do on the graveyard shift; although this was not always the case. On the negative side of the equation it could feel torturous trying to make it through a slow night. Another downside is that there is very little chance of a social life when you are on a completely different schedule to everyone else; not always a bad thing if you want to save money. There are also many negative health consequences associated with people who regular do night work.

The Dangers of Nightshift Work

There have been quite a few studies that suggest working the night shift can increase people's risk of developing cancer. The increased risk is believed to be due to the fact that those who work the night shift have lower levels of melatonin in the blood. A study in The Lancet in 2007 reported that there was a higher rate of breast cancer among female nurses who worked the night shift. Scientists concluded though, that nightshift work was only one of many cancer risk factors.

Night shift work has been shown to interfere with glucose metabolism. This is supposedly due to inference of normal circadian rhythms; our body's internal clock. The function of the body is tied in with circadian rhythms and at nighttime the internal clock is telling the body to sleep; it is also controlling metabolic functions. This affects glucose metabolism and is believed to increase the risk of developing type two diabetes; non insulin dependent diabetes. There is also evidence of a link between night shift work and cardiovascular disease and this is also tied in with how metabolic function is disrupted by nightshift work.

Night shift workers are believed to have a much higher risk of accidents. This makes sense as tiredness can make people clumsy and more prone to poor decisions. Anyone who has worked one of these shifts will probably have noticed that some people struggle to stay awake during the quite times. In a hospital environment that can alternate between quite and busy, this could potentially mean the possibility that staff are not always performing at their best.

How to Prevent the Dangers of Nightshift Work

There will always be the need for people to work on the nightshift. Professions like nursing rely on the ability to provide twenty-four hour care. Hopefully more will be done to ensure that those working the graveyard shift are not putting their own health at risk.

Sources

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170783.php

http://www.nursezone.com/Nursing-News-Events/more-news.aspx?articleId=28972http://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20071130/night_shift-work-may-cause-cancer