The Health Risks Threatening Night Shift Workers

Work when most people are sleeping at night and sleep when people work, is associated with the risk of various diseases in the body when the routine is done continuously. Working at night can affect and interfere with the circadian rhythms (biological processes of the human body) for 24 hours.

According to Barbara Philips, medical director of the sleep laboratory at the University of Kentucky, these activities make the quality of sleep for the worse. These conditions resulted in the secretion of hormones in the body.

He said that the night shift workers consistently do not get enough sleep for 1-3 hours within 24 hours as compared to non-shift workers. His night shift workers may be more fragmented and of poor quality. Philips explained that working at night or sleep deprivation can lead to risk of various health problems.

He added that the night shift workers are at increased risk of obesity, breast cancer in women, prostate cancer in men, diabetes, pregnancy complications, ulcers, and heart disease.

A 2012 study published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine show that working at night can increase the risk of cancer in women by 40 percent. This Suervei involve 18,500 women in Denmark who worked evenings starting from 1964 to 1999.

Risks associated with diabetes, a study in 2013 published in the same journal, shows that working at night can increase the risk of diabetes by 9 percent. This risk is mainly due to not eating well and changes the body's metabolism due to work at night.

Philips says that sleep a night can reduce the production of the sleep hormone (melatonin). In fact, these hormones are known to prevent cancer.

Elsewhere, Stephanie Dailey, assistant professor of psychology and behavioral sciences from Argosy University, Arlington, Virginia, said that working at night is not only affects physical health, but also mental and emotional person. According to him, someone who works in the evenings it will be easier to feel anxiety and cognitive abilities decline.

He explained that the ability tends to decrease the ability to pay attention to (focus) and it will be an issue for many sectors of work that requires precision. In addition, the cognitive abilities will also be decreased so that it can affect your work.

Dailey said they were working on the night shift is also known to have higher stress levels. Generally they are more prone to anxiety and depression.

To get good quality sleep, he suggested a person to sleep and wake up at the same time each day. But avoid working at night in a long time.