Sleep deprivation associated with working during regular sleeping hours, or working shifts, can be detrimental to awareness and alertness. In turn, working around heavy equipment or behind the wheel can be dangerous if you’re not sufficiently alert.
The number of people working night shifts in the United Kingdom has increased by 9% or 275,000 people over the last five years, according to a report released on in October by the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
Diet may help explain shiftwork-related chronic disease risks
February 12, 2014
People who do shiftwork are more likely to have a diet that promotes chronic inflammation — which may partly explain the health risks associated with shiftwork, reports a study in the February Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).
Circadian rhythm disruption, melatonin decrease could be factors
July 10, 2013
A new study has found that working the night shift long-term may double a woman’s risk of breast cancer. The association was found in women who did night shift work for 30 or more years. The researcher team led by Kristan Aronson, a professor of public health sciences at the Queen's Cancer Research Institute at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, found no increased risk among women who worked that shift fewer than 30 years.