Shift Work and health issuesThe studies on the effects of shift work on my health led me to know more about my sleep problems. I found some things quite unpleasant, including sleep apnea, that made me wondering if it's worth it to continue to work in shifts. I was not expecting that sleep apnea and shifts work to have a certain connection. The more I learned about it, the more I started to think that my job was not for me.
But what is the problem in working in shifts? Think about sleep deprivation and working instead of sleeping. Can you work 12 hours, from six o'clock in the evening until six o'clock in the next morning? How about working with this schedule in every night?Do you think it's easy for your body to support the disturbance of the biological clock without consequences ? The side effects of shift work on health
However, it is estimated that up to third of all shift workers suffer symptoms significant enough to meet the criteria for shifts work sleep disorder. It is clear that the risk of accidents is increased during the night. Many of the world's most serious disasters, such as Chernobyl, Three Mile Island or Union Carbide chemical plant in Bhopal, India, are partially attributed to fatigue and night work-related performance failures.In general, shift workers are at greater risk of gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and reproductive disturbance, and... cancer. Wow! Cancer! I never thought that is possible ! And I know a lot of shift workers who don't have cancer. Then I learned that there are some contributing factors to this increased risk, such as:
Eating meal during shift hours could result in abnormally timed pancreatic responses, which might increase the risk of diabetes and heart disease. In other word, when your body clock is disrupted by different activities instead of sleeping, it may appear a mutation of clock genes with an increased tumor development and cancer.
Well, work shifts varies considerably in work hours, frequency, type of work, etc. My type of work was the graveyard shifts work, or all night work schedule. This schedule results in the greatest sleep loss, which arises from a desynchronization between the work schedule and the worker's body clocks. I couldn't sleep anymore at home, and I couldn't work anymore at my job. I was thinking about taking melatonin pills, but then couldn't avoid the advice from my doctor related to melatonin side effects.My body clock was broken and I felt very tired every day. And when I found that I have a moderate sleep apnea, I decided to quit my job. Click here if you want to learn more about sleep apnea and shift work.If you want to know all my story you can go to about me page and read all about it. Return from Shift Work to Sleep Apnea Home Page
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