When we talk about the health hazards of working nights, we could be talking about two different things. The first is all the health depredations that arise from working irregular hours (i.e., sometimes nights) and rotating. The second is the simply the health hazards of being awake and engaging in activities at the time when we are biologically programmed to sleep – and doing that for an extended period of time.
The first problem is, unfortunately, part and parcel with working in healthcare. Healthcare jobs have the advantage of flexible hours – even if there are a lot of them – but you generally cannot stay on the one shift for an extended period of time. This means that many healthcare workers, all over the country, are engaging in pretty irregular hours, picking up overtime here, switching to the nightshift there. This certainly comes with more challenges than working continual nightshifts.
Health Jobs Nationwide, an online recruitment service offering medical jobs, say that one of the reasons for this could be the talent shortage that is afflicting the market right now. It has been demonstrated that this causes a high turnover of staff in some institutions, thereby meaning that proper healthcare teams (teams which share overtime and nightshifts equally) have less chance of forming.
Making Changes
One of the best ways of dealing with a hectic and variable work schedule is to make changes to make it less hectic. And one of the simplest ways to do this is to avoid taking shifts last minute (except when necessary), thereby giving you a fairly long transition period over which to get used to new sleeping hours and to reset your body clock. No one should be expected to work shifts that are changing all the time, thereby preventing workers from ever getting settled.
However, after you have done this, you are faced with the inevitable situation of still having to work nights. If you’ve ensured that these nightwork periods are long enough for you to settle into and that you get adequate breaks from them, then you’ve already done a lot. Nevertheless, the nightshift will come along sooner or later.
Health Dangers of the Night Shift
One of the best ways to tackle challenging nightshifts then is to learn about all the ways they affect your health. For each specific health effect, there is usually something you can do to ameliorate the damage.
Not Enough Sleep
The statistics are there – nightshift workers do not get enough sleep. This is because picking up sleep during the day is simply harder (and not just because of light and noise). For the first couple of “sleepless days” on the nightshift, you’ll find it hard getting to sleep. But even once your body has adjusted, sleep during the day just isn’t as efficient as sleep at night.
Diabetes and Obesity
To keep going through those long nights, especially if you are tired because of lack of sleep or are still adjusting, it’s likely that as a healthcare worker you will power through the shift with sugary snacks and drinks. Need we say more?
Circadian Rhythm Disruption and Cancer
Specifically, it is the function of the pineal gland which is affected by a disrupted circadian rhythm. This gland produces melatonin – well known for its sleep aiding properties – but it is also effective against tumor growth. That’s one line of defense you certainly don’t want to give up.
There is no getting around the risks of nightshifts. However, by arranging your working life properly and doing what you can to ameliorate the effects, you can get through it – as millions of the healthcare workers do every day… or night.