Night Shifts and Your Health

It is estimated that about 15 million Americans are shift workers. This could be a consistent night shift or a rotating shift schedule. My husband, for one, works swing shift where he switches between days and nights. In a society where we are sleep deprived anyway, this is definitely not helping the situation.

Not having a regular schedule makes it hard to ensure that you are getting adequate sleep. For night shift workers it is especially difficult to get sound sleep during the day. There are more noises, more light, and of course your body working against you. Other people around the shift worker, including family and friends, usually have different schedule. Most events occur during the day and they may want to participate, which prevents them from getting adequate sleep as well.

Our bodies have an internal clock called a circadian rhythm. This is displayed in patterns for things like eating, sleeping, body temperature, brain wave activity, hormone production, and cell regeneration within a 24 hour cycle. Disrupting this clock has been shown to increase cancer rates and obesity. Being exposed to light when your body is expecting it to be dark has been shown to increase melatonin production, which can allow cancer colonies to flourish. Shift workers do not usually have a consistent eating schedule so they tend to have increased hunger which works the pancreas harder to produce insulin and this in turn will cause fat storage.

Just like regular daily employees that set a schedule, shift workers need to do the same thing and just be consistent. Try to get enough sleep which may include napping before work. Dark curtains or shades can trick your body into resting better if it is not exposed to the light. Eating well will help as well. Many digestive issues, including ulcers, can occur due to the stress that is on the body when working shifts. Caffeine should not be used for energy. This can interfere with your sleep quality and good sleep is what your body usually lacks for energy.

Be sure that you are not letting your shift work job get the best of your health. Take charge of your life and make it work for you. Be sure that you give your body the rest and nutrients that it needs and it will continue to work well for you.

Katherine Hobson. 6 Ways to Make Working the Night Shift Less Hazardous to Your Health. http://www.usnews.com/health/family-health/sleep/articles/2009/12/04/6-ways-to-make-working-the-night-shift-less-hazardous-to-your-health.html?PageNr=1

Circadian rhythm. Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circadian_rhythm