Does shift work shorten your lifespan?

Previous studies have shown that working the graveyard shift places you at a greater risk for heart attacks and may even shorten your life span. Scientists know that part of the reason may be work that alters natural sleep-wake cycles impacts circadian rhythms, interfering with your body's physiological rhythms.

How many years does shift work take off your life?

Shift work increased the risk of death from any cause by 11 percent in nurses who worked rotating shifts for at least five years.

How does shift work affect your life?

"Researchers have found that shift work is linked to an increased risk of heart attacks, ulcers, depression, obesity and high blood pressure, along with sleep problems, such as trouble falling asleep, trouble staying asleep and excessive sleepiness," he said.

Does shift work affect your health?

Shift work has also been linked with metabolic syndrome, a combination of health problems like high blood pressure, high blood sugar, obesity, and unhealthy cholesterol levels. It's a serious risk factor for diabetes, heart attacks, and stroke.

Why do night shifts shorten your life?

Night Shift Can Shorten Your Life

Working against what our body knows is normal and disrupting the body's natural rhythm. This causes our body to become stressed, leading to high blood pressure, elevated heart rate and disruption of our hormones as our body tries to cope.

Ask Jim: Is It Better to Work Only Night Shifts, or Bounce Back and Forth?

Is working overnight unhealthy?

Night shift work disrupts the body's circadian rhythms, or 24-hour internal “clock” that controls sleep-wake cycles. It increases the risk of developing diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. Studies have shown that eating at night, as many nightshift workers do, impairs the body's ability to process sugar, or glucose.

What is the best shift to work?

So, what is the best shift to work? For most, the morning shift (approximately 7am-3pm) is best as it allows for a productive workday whilst not sabotaging time away from your loved ones. It is least likely to negatively impact your health as gaining adequate sleep and vitamin D is achievable for most.

Does night shift make you older?

Abstract. Sleep deprivation and the consequent circadian clock disruption has become an emergent health question being associated with premature aging and earlier chronic diseases onset. Night-shift work leads to circadian clock misalignment, which is linked to several age-related diseases.

Are 24 hour shifts healthy?

Studies show 24-hour shift work leads to significant wear and tear on workers' bodies and minds. Some 60 percent of health-care workers report moderate to severe levels of fatigue, the second highest rate of all industries. 1 Shift workers' job performance and family life can be heavily impacted by such stress.

Is Rotating shift work unhealthy?

The Institute for Work and Health (IWH) reports that there is strong evidence that night, evening, rotating and irregular shifts are associated with in increased risk of occupational injury. This risk is associated with worker fatigue, and less supervision and co-worker support during non-daytime shifts.

How long should I sleep before a 12 hour shift?

Most would suggest that getting anywhere from 3 hours sleep to 20 minutes before a shift will give you enough of a boost to remain productive and not get in a bad mood. BUT of course, we are not all the same. Some need more than 3+ hours while others are okay with a 15 minutes power nap, often fuelled with coffee.

What are the two major symptoms of shift work disorder?

Are night shifts worth it?

The reasons to work night shift include items like increased pay, reduced competition on the job, coworkers who can relate, greater vacation flexibility, autonomy, less distractions and an ability to run errands when everyone else is working.

Does working nights cause depression?

A review of studies on night work and mental health by medical researchers indicated that people who work the night shift have a greater risk of depression. The increase is a whopping 42 percent.

What are the side effects of working night shift?

Does night shift affect hormones?

Within night shift workers, 6-sulfatoxymelatonin levels were lower and reproductive hormone levels were higher during daytime sleep and nighttime work, relative to nighttime sleep (P < 0.05).

Is a 24hr shift legal?

By law, employers must keep records of night workers' hours to show they do not work more than an average of 8 hours in any 24-hour period. The 8-hour average cannot be used and night workers must never work for more than 8 hours in any 24-hour period if the work involves: special hazards.

Why do firefighters have 24-hour shifts?

This explains why employees who live greater distances away from their fire stations prefer 24-hour shifts. Another reason why the 24-hour shift is popular with employees is because employees are usually afforded downtime while not training, responding to emergencies or conducting other fire department related duties.

How do you survive a 24-hour shift?

Does overworking make you age faster?

It all adds up to chronic stress and “research is proving that chronic stress can speed up the cellular aging process in our bodies, and make us look older than we are,” she adds. So if your job is all about sitting and stressing, take a long, hard look in the mirror.

Does manual labor age faster?

Perhaps their most important finding from the data is that the rate at which health deteriorates with age is faster in manual occupations than in non-manual occupations.

Should night shift workers take vitamin D?

Nutritional supplements

Based on numerous studies, night shift workers should consider taking 2000-5000 IU/d vitamin D3 and raising serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels to 40-60 ng/ml. This may help to compensate for the effects on bone density of reduced sun exposure.

Are 12-hour shifts better than 8?

If you work 12-hour shifts, you have the advantage of enjoying twice as many days off each year compared to those who have 8-hour shifts. This allows for more free time to enjoy your hobbies, spend time with family, and take vacations more frequently.

What is the healthiest work schedule?

In general, 8-hour shifts are preferable to 12-hour shifts. Circadian physiology suggests that morning shifts should begin no earlier than 8:00 am for the physiological best fit to circadian rhythmicity.

Are 12-hour shifts worth it?

General Advantages of 12-Hour Shifts

This can be helpful for continuity as well as quality. Twelve-hour shifts may allow some companies to hire fewer people, depending on the circumstances. This small staff reduction can be extremely helpful for companies.