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Night shifts strongly impact how and when you eat, sleep, exercise and maintain relationships with your friends and family.
Night shifts can lead to certain cancers.
In several sectors, night shifts are an essential part of their normal workday. Businesses work through the night to create as much output as feasible while meeting market expectations. Therefore, many employees are bound to work during these irregular hours for longer durations at the office or from home. But do you know that working late shifts like these could hamper your overall health and well-being?
Night shifts strongly impact how and when you eat, sleep, exercise, and maintain relationships with your friends and family. Here we have mentioned some of the negative side effects that individuals working on a nonstandard schedule might suffer. Take a look.
Hampers Your Sleep Cycle
Sleep is an essential part of your life to make your body work properly. While you sleep, your body eliminates toxins, heals injuries, and relieves stress. Working the night shift disrupts these vital functions. This can result in a variety of illnesses such as metabolic problems, heart diseases, obesity, and even certain cancers.
Risk Of Depression
Several studies have found that people working night shifts are more likely to experience depression and anxiety. Night shifts can disturb a person’s circadian cycle, resulting in fewer hours of sleep and increased fatigue. Poor sleep has been linked to higher depression and the two can form a vicious cycle.
Risk Of Obesity
Night shifts can lead to poor sleep quality which can further increase the risk of obesity in individuals. Not getting enough sleep can decrease leptin levels in the body, which might make you feel hungry and more prone to eating excessive food.
Certain Cancers
Night shifts could also be a possible risk factor for Vitamin D deficiency which could result in osteomalacia (misshapen bones) or certain cancers like Breast Cancer, Colon Cancer, and Prostate Cancer.
Cardiovascular Diseases
Working a longer or irregular schedule may increase your risk of heart disease and stroke. According to research, women who have worked rotating night shifts for five or more years are more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than women who have never worked night shifts.
However, despite these issues, companies ask their employees to work night or rotational shifts to meet the output. But how do we take care of our health during these challenging shifts? Here are some tips that you can follow.
Get Enough Sleep
Try getting at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep regularly. Make your sleep a priority and maintain a healthy sleeping schedule.
Eat Well
Eating healthy snacks during the evening time or in between your shift timings could help you get all the essential nutrients.
Exercise
It could be challenging to follow a proper workout schedule if you work during the night. In this case, you can incorporate small periods of action throughout the day, such as taking the stairs instead of the lift or performing squats and lunges during downtime.
Get Some Sunlight
Go for a walk in the garden, exercise outdoors, or even just sit and read a book under the sunlight as it can provide your body with the vitamin D it needs to keep you healthy.
Try incorporating these lifestyle tips now if you work night shifts.
