12 Health Risks of Working in Shifts

With most of the current generation employed in call centers, the concept of 'Normal Working Hours' has gone for a complete toss. "Normal" hours of work are generally considered from 9 am to 5 pm with hours left for recreation and rest. According to the human body clock, rest is a night time activity, work a daytime activity. But most youngsters, who work in shift timings have messed it up completely.

National Sleep Foundation categorize shift workers as anyone who works outside a steady 9 to 5 schedule. Most youngsters work in rotational shifts which can be either continuous, running 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, or semi-continuous, running 2 or 3 shifts per day with or without weekends. As the popularity of shift work grows, so does the disturbance created in the lives of these workers and their families. Those who participate in shift work forcefully change their biological clock resulting in adverse problems on their health.

The particular health risks of shift work include:

1. Chronic Fatigue: The human body has an internal clock -- called the circadian rhythm -- that depends on the sun. Shift work disturbs that internal clock leading to chronic fatigue. According to a research published by NASA, the human body clock cannot adjust to days that deviate from 24 hours.
2. Sleep Problems: On an average, shift workers get two to three hours less sleep than their counterparts. Just being tired is not enough to ensure a good sleep. If your body is not accustomed to sleeping at a particular time, it can be hard to sleep properly. The human body clock of shift workers (especially fluctuating shift ones) cannot adapt to their lifestyle resulting in sleep problems and dependency on sleeping pills.
3. Gastrointestinal Problems: Gastrointestinal dysfunctions such as peptic ulcers, abdominal pain, constipation, and diarrhea are very common in shift-workers. This is mainly because of unusual eating times and lack of eating facilities available during the night shift. The body needs at least 8 hours of rest in which it tries to digest the meals at night. But shift-workers don't get that period resulting in digestion problems eventually resulting in abdominal problems.
4. Obesity: Irregular eating habits coupled with constant consumption of fatty greasy foods and a desk job puts you at a high risk of obesity. Shift work has been associated with a higher propensity for developing nutritional problems and obesity. Shoft workers find it harder to exercise regularly, and may be prone to eat junk food out of a handy vending machine. Also, research has shown that shift workers seems to have lower levels of leptin -- a hormone which helps control appetite and satiety -- which can increase appetite and may decrease activity levels, potentially contributing to obesity. Thus, night workers feel hungrier and eat more than day workers.
5. Cardiovascular Problems: Shift work puts you at a risk of various cardiovascular problems. A study of Swedish men with a history of heart attack showed they were significantly more likely to have been shift workers than those men without a history of heart attack. One research also found that shift work seems to raise the risk of cardiovascular disease by 40 percent.
6. Increased Risk of Cancer: Long-term night shift workers probably have an elevated risk of breast cancer (by as much as 50 percent) and a potentially elevated risk of colorectal and prostate cancer. Researchers suggest that this carcinogenic activity is due to the disrupted circadian rhythm. Experimental studies further reported that reduced melatonin levels (a hormone and a known tumor suppressant generally produced at night), commonly seen in shift workers at night, increases incidence of growth of tumors.
7. Increased Risk of Diabetes: Harvard and Brigham's Women's Hospital in Boston's study showed that three out of eight shift workers showed insulin resistance and an increase in blood sugar. Another study conducted by Japanese researchers found that shift workers -- specifically, those who worked 16-hour shifts -- had a 50% higher incidence of diabetes than day workers. Additionally, people with sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, which have already been independently associated with a greater risk of diabetes, may have an even higher risk of diabetes than those without sleep disorders.
8. Risk of Epilepsy: The sleep deprivation caused by shift work may increase the risk of epilepsy in pre-disposed people.
9. Mental Disorders: People who change shifts every few days have all kinds of problems related to memory and learning. Their concentration levels are very low. One study reported the average onset period for mental illness in shift workers as less than four years.
10. Increase Risk of Accidents: The lack of concentration levels in a graveyard shift can result in many on-the-job accidents which can prove fatal.
11. Increase Risk of Depression and Mood Disorders: Many shift workers may be at increased risk of developing affective mood disorder. Studies have shown that the imposed time shifts may lead to the development of clinical depression in vulnerable individuals. A 2007 study found that night workers had significantly lower levels of serotonin (a brain chemical that plays a key role in mood) when compared to day workers.
12. Problems in Social Life: Shift workers have more problem in their family life as they get less time to spend with spouses and children. Shift workers report more tensions and pressures on their married life. They hardly get time to participate in leisurely activities such as picnics with their family. The lack of regular social contact can lead to feelings of loneliness and isolation.

Of course, not everyone that works at night will show these symptoms. Your body clock can reset itself for early morning sleeping hours and being fully awake in the middle of the night. But doing so will eventually cause a lot of problems for you in the long run.