In recent years, many studies have popped up on the risks associated with shift work, and especially at night. Obesity, overweight, depression, diabetes, sleep disorders, … People working shift schedules, different from the traditional 8 am-6pm, see their biological clocks go awry and increase the risk of metabolic diseases in particular.
“Offset workers are particularly exposed to sleep disorders, as their work requires them to work at night, in a flexible, prolonged or hourly rotation”, underlines Marjory Givens, doctor at the University of the Winsconsion School of Medicine and Public Health in the United States. “The shifted workers tend to be men, people from minorities, individuals with a low level of education and generally work in hospitals, in the production sector or in the maritime transport industries. “
These findings come straight from a study published in the specialized journal Sleep Health, based on data from 1,593 people. These were subjected to health examinations, including a physical exam to calculate the body mass index (BMI) and a home interview.
After analysis, the data reveals that staggered workers are more likely to be overweight or obese than those with standard work schedules (47.9% vs. 34.7%). They suffer more from sleep disorders such as insomnia (23.6% vs. 16.3%), lack of sleep (53% against 42.9%) or even nocturnal awakenings (31.8% against 24.4%).
Metabolic problems that can be alleviated by getting enough sleep
Dr Givens and his team found that sleep disorders were positively associated with overweight and obesity as well as metabolic diseases (diabetes, cholesterol). The association is all the stronger when shifted workers sleep less than 7 hours a day. Thus, while sleep problems alone cannot explain the prevalence of diabetes and overweight among shift workers, they could play a major role. In this direction, adequate and good quality sleep could help decrease the risk of weight problem and metabolic disease.
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