#NIGHT SHIFT NURSES AND DEPRESSION PLUS#

Here are the top four health risks to watch out for. It’s also a topic where researchers are constantly learning new information, such as the changes night shift work can make at a genetic level. There are many night shift nursing health risks that have been highlighted through research. Top 4 Night Shift Nursing Health Risks to Look Out For

So now let’s look at the main health problems that night shift nurses experience. Anyone who has pulled an all-nighter knows how that feels. When we move around, eat, and sleep when our bodies are not supposed to, the clock gets confused and all our signals about what to do when get out of whack. It also regulates our appetite, hormones, heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, brain activity and body temperature. It tells us when it’s time to go to sleep and wake up. Our circadian rhythm is basically our 24-hour body clock. We are designed to sleep at night and be awake during the day, so staying up all night knocks us out of our circadian rhythm. The bottom line is that humans are not nocturnal. Why Does Night Shift Work Cause Health Problems? It’s scary-sounding stuff, so let’s look at why working at night poses these sorts of health risks. Women who work graveyard shifts are also more likely to suffer from miscarriages and all night shift workers are more likely to be involved in accidents. It’s not just long-term effects on health that are the issue. Risks of cardiovascular disease and lung cancer were also high. And it is backed up by fact – a team of international researchers who followed 75,000 female registered nurses in the United States for 22 years found that 11% of those who had worked night shifts for more than six years had a shortened lifespan. It is widely accepted that people who regularly work at night have poorer long-term health outcomes than the rest of the population. Is Working the Night Shift Dangerous to your Health?

#NIGHT SHIFT NURSES AND DEPRESSION PLUS#

In this article, we’ll cover four of the main night shift nursing health risks, plus ways to mitigate them.įirstly let’s look at how significant the risk of working night shifts is. Love night shift or hate it, even if you consider yourself a night owl and love penalty rates, working the night shift has some disadvantages, including potentially negatively impacting your physical and mental health.

Night shift nurses and depression