Shift Work & Its Impact On Health

Shift work is an employment practice designed to make use 24 hours of the clock. Shift work could have a serious impact on our health at least in two ways. Some of it may have to do with the lifestyle that shift worker maintains. The rest has to do with his biology.In terms of lifestyle, working odd hours leads to some obvious problems. People who do shift work tend to have sleep disturbances and sleep loss. They might feel isolated, since their jobs cut them off from their friends and families. They might find it harder to exercise regularly and may be prone to eat junk foods. A significant part of the problem with shift work is physiological. On a fundamental level, being awake at odd or irregular hours fights with our biological rhythms. Shift work disrupts the circadian rhythm - our internal body clock that is keyed to natural daylight and darkness. Because circadian rhythm affects how the body functions, disrupting it can throw everything out of whack - including our cardiovascular system, metabolism, digestion, immune system, and hormonal balance. That appears to have serious consequences.Thus shift work can lead to various short term & long term complications.