Several
modern day adults do not work the typical 9 to 5 jobs in today’s world. An
expert “Vera Onana” wrote about the host of health problems that could be faced
by such employees working in the night shift..
In May 2016, a study targeted at identifying the health problems
and social implications of night shift duties among nurses in a general
hospital in Nigeria, advocated that health education on good sleep hygiene and
introduction of naps during duty hours may be useful in reducing the negative
impact of night shift duties. That conclusion was reached based on the findings
of the research as published in the Journal of Scientific Research and Reports.
Team of experts from University of Uyo Teaching
Hospital discovered while carrying out research for the study that the top five
problems reported by the night shift workers were fatigue, headache, body pains, reduced family time and falling asleep
on duty.
However, night shifts are not synonymous with only nurses in the
world today. We live in a 24/7 world. From around-the-clock patient care in
hospitals to overnight services in hotels and restaurants, the publishing and
production in media houses as well as the security agencies and outfits.
There is work to be done from sundown to sunrise and for more employees, that
means working shifts.
Shift work, may have become a social and economic necessity, but,
according to researchers, it may not necessarily be a benign one, most
especially the night shift.
In today’s hustle and bustle, some adult workers have come to see
sleep as an indulgence in the face of many bills to pay. But according to sleep
experts, sleep is as essential as breathing and eating. It is that time when
the brain processes what it has done during the day and lay down memories. It
is also the time when the body carries out some basic maintenance.
“Though night shift workers may claim to get plenty of sleep, it
may be at the wrong time,” said Adebunmi Akiniyi.
It is always being assumed that the human body clock would adapt
to the demands of working at night, but one of Britain’s leading sleep experts,
Professor Russell Foster, from Oxford University, said “the really
extraordinary finding across a whole range of different studies, is that you
don’t adapt”.
Research on the effects of shift work on health goes back for
decades,” said Dr Ron Saunders, a senior scientist at the Institute for Work
and Health (IWH).
According to researchers, a shift worker, particularly one who
works nights, functions on a schedule that is not “natural” and the effects of
constantly changing schedules can upset one’s circadian rhythm (the 24-hour
body cycle), cause sleep deprivation and disorders of the gastrointestinal and
cardiovascular systems, make existing disorders worse and disrupt family and
social life.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has
concluded that shift work that involves circadian disruption should be
considered a Group 2A carcinogen and probably carcinogenic to humans. Group 2A
means that its conclusion was based on limited evidence of carcinogenicity in
humans and sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals.
IARC based their conclusion on studies on long-term night workers
who have shown a higher risk of breast cancer than women who do not work at
night.
Aside from the risk of cancer, night shift jobs that disrupt the
normal 24-hour cycle of the human body have been discovered by researchers to
be responsible for a range of other health problems while increasing the risk
of some.
Researchers say that gastrointestinal and digestive problems such
as indigestion, heartburn, stomachache and loss of appetite are more common
among rotating shift workers and night workers than among day workers. It is
less clear if more serious conditions such as peptic ulcers are more common in
shift workers. The irregular work, sleep and eating schedules are not helpful
for the proper care of ulcers.
“Given the irregularity in type and timing of meals, it is not
surprising that the night worker is more likely to have a poorer diet. At
night, the loss of appetite often leads to increased snacking on “junk” food
rather than eating a full, well-balanced meal. Feelings of fatigue may
encourage the consumption of beverages with caffeine (coffee, cola) to help the
worker stay awake.”
Asides from that, in another study in the journal SLEEP, a team of
researchers found out that though shift work may not absolutely be associated
with cardiovascular disease, the heart rate and blood pressure have been shown
to follow the circadian rhythm.
Therefore, any life-style that affects the cycle may directly
affect an individual’s cardiovascular health.
Working the night shift could also provoke negative metabolic
changes. It could lead to lower levels of leptin, the hormone known to play a
role in regulating weight, as well as affect blood sugar and insulin levels,
Health.com, reported.
The findings of a research published in 2009 in the journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest that these changes
could lead to a higher risk of serious health conditions like diabetes and
heart disease.
Source:
tribuneonlineng
No comments:
Post a Comment