Night Shift Health Effects – Today, when everyone wants to prove themselves better than others, there is significant competition in every industry, and every industry is trying to put as much of a workforce to work as they can to meet the deadlines and their goals. They start 24-hour shifts consisting of two or three, most likely day and night shifts, to achieve these goals. However, most of us are still not good with the night shift, and to earn a livelihood, most people have to join the night shifts.
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However, switching directly from the day to the night shift can have many health effects on your body. This article will tell you about night shift health effects and the practical solutions to save yourself from dangerous health issues. Working the night shift for a long time forces our body to work against the natural circadian rhythms, and it is not a good idea to work against Mother Nature. Day and night have their specific roles and effects on our health. Night has become a time to sleep and get rest. Let’s learn about the night shift health effects on our bodies.
Night Shift Health Effects
Interferes with natural sleep rhythms
Sleep is one of the most essential elements of our life, as it helps remove toxins from the body, manages the repair of cells and tissues, reduces stress, and makes our body more active and energized for the next day. However, working on the night shift can disrupt this natural process, and thus, these night shift health effects can further lead to various serious health issues.
Increases risk of breast cancer
One of the severe night shift health effects for women is that the women who are working during the night are at a greater risk of breast cancer as compared to the women who work day shifts.
Increases risk of heart attack
Research published in the British Medical Journal has revealed that one of the severe night shift health effects is that people who work the night shift have a 7 percent higher risk of getting heart attacks as compared to others. The study did not reveal the actual reason why people in the shift are more prone to heart attacks. Still, it has been suggested that the disruption of the sleep cycle can affect blood circulation and blood pressure, which might be the reason behind the risk of increasing heart attacks in the employees of the night shifts.
Increases risk of depression
One of the severe night shift health effects is also linked to mental health. Various studies have confirmed that people who work at night have a significant impact on their mood; they are at higher risks of stress and depression, and also they get frustrated very quickly.
Increases risk of workplace injury
When working the night shift, you work against your body’s natural inclination, which turns off consciousness and mobility. One severe night shift health effect is that you can force yourself to wake, but your body wants to shut down and rest. So, forcing your body to work reduces your abilities to focus, productivity, attention, and fine motor skills. When you cannot work with your proper attention, it can raise the risk of workplace injuries.
Changes your metabolism
Your hormones have a significant impact on your metabolism. One is leptin, a vital hormone in managing your blood sugar, weight, and insulin levels. Still, when you work at night, you have to suffer from various night shift health effects as it interferes with the production of the essential hormones in your body, which causes various health concerns.
Increases risk of obesity and diabetes
One of the severe health effects of the night shift is linked to weight. Working at night and sleeping during the day leads to increasing risks of diabetes and obesity due to an imbalance in hormone production. The main thing is that no matter how healthy you eat, the hormone imbalance will increase your risk of obesity and diabetes.
Increases risk of gastrointestinal problems
if you are working the night shift for a long time, then you might also suffer from gastrointestinal problems like ulcers and diarrhea. This is also one of the severe night shift health effects, which compounds with other problems and leads to more dangerous health issues.
Suppresses melatonin
When you work at night, your body gets the light of the day, which reverses the light and suppresses melatonin production and release. Melatonin hormone is responsible for managing the sleep-wake cycle of the body. So, when you force yourself to sleep during the day, your body tends to produce less melatonin, affecting the quality of your sleep. As a result of night shift health effects, you will not be able to get deep and quality sleep, which also disrupts your repair and restoration process of the body, which may lead to long-term sleep deprivation, which is unsuitable for your overall health.
How to Combat the Night Shift Health Effects?
- Switch to the night shift slowly.
- Eat a healthy diet
- Get some sunlight when you’re not working
- Avoid caffeine
- Nap during breaks
- Sleep in the right environment
- Enlist the help of those you live with
- Avoid nicotine before bed
- Avoid alcohol
- Turn off electronics an hour before going to sleep
Benefits of working night shifts
- Higher pay
- Fewer distractions
- Less competition
- Getting your foot in the door
- Establishing expertise
- More time for education
- Being a team player
- Less stressful commute
- Exercising leadership
- Autonomy
So now you know about all the night shift health effects, you know what the side effects of working at night are and also the benefits of the night shift, so it is solely at you what your current requirements if you want to work in less distraction and earn more money, night shift is for you. But then you will have to suffer long-term health effects. So it’s all up to you what you want to do. We can advise you. So, if our information has helped you in any way, or you want us to cover any other topic, please let us know in the comment section below.
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