Exposure to light at night lowers cognitive function

Over the years I have written several posts about the effects of working third shift (or night shift) on workers' health.  There is a growing body of evidence that supports the idea that employees who work third shift can suffer from a cadre of health problems that their day shift counterparts won't suffer from, merely from working at night and sleeping during the day.

I just read an article about a study from Johns Hopkins University that found that regular exposure to bright lights at night can subject you to anxiety, depression and lower cognitive from.  From the article:

Basically, what we found is that chronic exposure to bright light — even the kind of light you experience in your own living room at home or in the workplace at night if you are a shift worker — elevates levels of a certain stress hormone in the body, which results in depression and lowers cognitive function,” said Samer Hattar, a biology professor in the Johns Hopkins University’s Krieger School of Arts and Sciences.

More evidence on the dangers of 2nd and 3rd Shifts

From ABCNews.com:

More bad news for late-shift workers: Their odd hours may be raising their risk of heart attack and stroke.  So says a new, large-scale study in the British Medical Journal that adds these two problems -- which fit into a broader category known as vascular disease -- to the previously known risks of shift work. Previous research had suggested that working the graveyard shift, the swing shift or any irregular shift other than the traditional 9-to-5 is linked to high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity. 

British and Canadian researchers analyzed the findings of 34 studies that included more than 2 million people who had work schedules including anything other than regular daytime hours. They found that shift work was linked to a 23 percent increased risk of heart attack and a 5 percent increased risk of stroke. Those working night shifts seemed to be at the highest risk.  The study authors said it pays for workers to know that their jobs may put them at increased risk. 

A variety of factors -- not just the shift work itself -- could be culprit in increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke for people in those occupations. A lack of sleep, poor eating habits and lower levels of physical activity could plague those who work irregular hours and drive up the risk of vascular disease. 

Dr. Robert Bonow, professor of medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and past president of the American Heart Association, said it's possible that people working jobs requiring shift work may be economically disadvantaged and have less access to health care -- two factors generally associated with unfavorable health outcomes.

For years I've been fascinated by the growing evidence of the negative health affects associated with shift work.  It seems to make sense when workers' sleep patterns are constantly disrupted. Interesting stuff.  I'll keep an eye out on any new studies/articles and post them when I see them.

Shift workers 'risking' Type 2 diabetes and obesity

This article from BBC News is fascinating.  Over the past several years we've been seeing several studies about shift work and its effects on the body.  One that comes to mind is the relation between shift work and cancer.  But there just hasn't been any hard evidence yet.  I think we're coming closer to at least determining some of the risks of shift work and abnormal sleep patterns.  Now...how am I going to prove that someone's Type 2 Diabetes is work related...hmmmmm...thinking...thinking..... 

Shift workers getting too little sleep at the wrong time of day may be increasing their risk of diabetes and obesity, according to researchers.The team is calling for more measures to reduce the impact of shift working following the results of its study.

Researchers controlled the lives of 21 people, including meal and bedtimes.
The results, published in Science Translational Medicine, showed changes to normal sleep meant the body struggled to control sugar levels.Some participants even developed early symptoms of diabetes within weeks.

Lead researcher Dr Orfeu Buxton said: "We think these results support the findings from studies showing that, in people with a pre-diabetic condition, shift workers who stay awake at night are much more likely to progress to full-on diabetes than day workers. "Since night workers often have a hard time sleeping during the day, they can face both circadian [body clock] disruption working at night and insufficient sleep during the day. "The evidence is clear that getting enough sleep is important for health, and that sleep should be at night for best effect."