Do you work night shifts or just sleep deprived? I think you should know this...
You would sometimes hear people say things like ‘I function
better at night’ or ‘I am a morning person’. This is as a result of their
body’s ‘circadian rhythm’ which is the natural functional pattern following the
normal 24 hours where it knows to sleep at night, wake up when it is bright and
even when to eat…all in the brain. It is what the body has come to know over
time, and when that rhythm is disturbed, people may start to feel like they are
not functioning right. This also gives an explanation for what happens when you
travel to a different time zone and you say you are ‘jet lagged’. It is because
your circadian rhythm has been disturbed and your body needs time to adjust to the
new situation.
Like every other ‘disturbance’ to the body, working night
shifts and depriving your body of sleep has an effect over time if not properly
managed. I have friends who work night shifts and I find myself worrying about
their health.
The most common problem with working night shifts and
messing up your circadian rhythm is lack of sleep and lack of sleep over a
period of time leads to, not only being ‘slow’ in function, but also to:
- Inability for the insulin in the body to adequately act on sugar, which could lead to obesity diabetes
- Reduction in the production of growth hormones
- Possibility of miscarriages in women and problems with conceiving as a result of reduced production of a hormone called melatonin that usually helps to regulate the reproductive cycle
- Blood pressure problems and heart problems.
- Ultimately, depending on how your body works, cancers may develop.
Take note that not everyone would experience these very
scary things, so no need to panic and quit your job. Some people build
tolerance for these effects over time because their bodies gradually adjust to
the conditions, while some are just generally stronger than others. Therefore,
there usually are no consequences but since everyone is different, I think it
is still important that you should make sure that you are healthy.
As a solution, employers should conduct surveys to make sure
their employees are given adequate days off. On a personal level, be sure to
check with your doctor to get medicine as needed and to make sure your body is
holding up, or better still, quit your job if you must. We need you alive!
This is really informative, Lucia. I am starting to regard my sleep as more than luxury but an actual necessity. Thank you for simplifying and passing along important info at the same time. This is stuff that I might have otherwise been afraid to find out from big academic journals. Great job, thank you!!
ReplyDeleteI am glad you got something out of it. You are very welcome and thank you for reading.
DeleteThank you Uju for this eye opener, as it enlightening to those of us who work night shift. I have learnt something new today.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to know you got something out of it. You are very welcome and thank you for reading.
DeleteEducative! I just had to come check this out 'cos my kind of school work means I stay up late almost everyday. So how many hours of sleep then is healthy and how about sleeping in the day & working all night?
ReplyDeleteHi there! So 8 hours of sleep is the ideal, and yes, you can sleep all day and work all night. The only problem with that is you have to maintain that schedule and be consistent with it. Once you try to switch it up, your body is gonna be upset...lol.
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