Night shift is disrupting our health
Night shift constantly causes insomnia and fatigue, decreases body resistance. Suggestions for shift workers to sleep and stay as healthy as possible ...
Dr. View Demet's Full Profile
There is a lot of research and a lot of research on the health problems created by shift work. Come to see that the work of the human body in the work of the shift, although there are so many articles dealing with the shift you are not ashamed to work there is a system. So, the only solution in order to avoid these health problems is not to suggest shift work!
AH WHERE HE HEALTHY NIGHT SLEEPS!
The human organism has a pattern of being awake during the day and resting and sleeping during the night. Our biological clock; adjusts the body rhythm to the light-dark cycle. Hormonal changes are experienced if the cycle is broken. Parallel to hormonal changes, the rhythm of the body also deteriorates.
Normally a person should sleep 6-9 hours a day. The minimum required sleep time is 6.5 hours. The most common problem of shift workers is sleep disturbances and difficulties in sleeping. According to American Sleep Disorders Association data, 5 million people are experiencing sleep disturbance due to shift work. 70 percent of shift workers have difficulty falling asleep. Alternately, shift workers sleep 1 to 4 hours shorter than their sleep at night when they have to sleep during the day. The reason is simple; trying to sleep day and night duty is not very suitable for human nature. The body reacts. But there are other factors. According to research, shift workers use alcohol more often to fall asleep more easily, consume a lot of cigarettes, consume more caffeine products to stay awake and keep fit.
Due to inability to sleep as a result of shift work, chronic stress, constant anxiety or depression increase, while the state of alertness is reduced. People who work at night often complain of fatigue and drowsiness. Drowsiness is most noticeable in the morning hours (05.00-07.00). According to research, two-thirds of the night shift employees said they had slept against their will during the time they worked. A quarter of the night workers say they struggle with slumber.
During daytime, heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, respiratory rate, mental efficiency work synchronously, activity levels are at the highest level during the day. At night, the lowest level. The body temperature, which is low in the morning, increases continuously in the afternoon and becomes low again at night. Shift work disrupts this internal integrity. The effort to stand up against the deterioration causes the body to become more tired. And dear reader, remember that a very tired body can not sleep. He can't sleep, so he gets tired!
SLEEP RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SHIFT WORKERS
I demand the prohibition of shift work. But as a doctor, I need to give you some advice, right? Here you go:
- If you are working shifts, it is very important to make the room where you go to sleep during the daylight hours dark. Don't eat or drink just before you go to sleep; especially that tea coffee never! If you need something to drink buttermilk, kefir.
- You can block your ears with a cotton swab.
- Adjust the temperature of your bedroom in the daytime thinking that your body temperature will increase. Ideal is 20-22 degrees.
- Returning to the left side while sleeping and sleeping with a pillow between the legs can make it easier to go to sleep by reducing the pressure on the back.
- Remember that there is no sleeping medication that gives natural sleep. All sleep medications have varying degrees of side effects and can be addictive when used for a long time, and their effects may be reduced over time, so you may need to increase your dosage. Sage softens the nerves, relaxes the stretched muscles. Facilitates the transition to sleep. To brew the sage, place a teaspoon of sage in a glass of boiling water. After brewing for 10 minutes, you can drink your tea by sweetening with honey.
- When you leave work in the morning, wear dark sunglasses, stay as light as possible, try to reach your bed as soon as possible. Thus, try to reduce the effect of sunlight that directs our bodies not to sleep by affecting the hormones that regulate the clock within us.
DAMAGE TO THE HEART
Research shows that the risk of coronary heart disease in night workers is almost twice as high as in daytime workers. The risk increases with longer working hours. In addition to shift work, many other factors (such as conflicts in the workplace, lack of decision-making power, walking during the day or standing during work) cause ischemic heart disease.
VERY DIFFICULT TO SHUTDOWN SHIFT
Shift workers experience indigestion, abdominal tension and pain, stomach gas, diarrhea or constipation. The frequency of stomach ulcers is also high among shift workers. A study with employees working in different shifts reveals that duodenal ulcers are twice as high in shift workers as in daytime workers.
These effects on the digestive system are related to factors such as stress and workload. However, eating habits can worsen such problems. Complaints are more common in shifts due to changes in food patterns and incompatibility of the timing of enzymes released from the intestine. Cigarette smoking may also have an effect on the digestive system. Shift workers have difficulty in accessing healthy foods due to working hours, tendency to snack on their feet, as a result of complaints such as indigestion, loss of appetite, diarrhea and constipation. Shift work also prevents natural gastric defense. Helicobacter pylori infection is more common among shift workers than in daytime workers.
NUTRITION RECOMMENDATIONS
· Adequate and balanced nutrition is very important for shift workers. You can request arrangements for a warm and nutritious food in the workplace. Place your meals in the same order as you do during the day. Regardless of which time of day you wake up, the first meal is breakfast, starting with the heavy food will force your digestive system. Avoid fast and ready foods. Take nutritious food from home to work if necessary. Reduce salty foods. Minimize coffee, tea.
· Drinking plenty of water for night shift workers reduces stomach and intestinal problems. It is helpful to avoid excessive use of acid neutralizing pills (antacids), tranquilizers and sleeping pills. Remember, aspirin, rheumatism medications, smoking can cause ulcers or make ulcers difficult to heal.
INCREASES THE CANCER RISK
There are many studies that reveal that the incidence of breast and prostate cancer is high in men and women who start working after dark. So much so that at the end of 2007, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (UKAA), an organization of the World Health Organization (WHO), included working at night in the list of “those with probable carcinogenic effects”. So, why work at night increases the risk of cancer? The level of aton melatonin ”hormone, which suppresses tumor growth and gives sleep, is lower than that of people working under artificial lighting at night. In addition, falling asleep makes the immune system vulnerable. It renders the body weak in battle against potential cancer cells.
Women working in night shifts have a 60 percent higher risk of developing breast cancer than working in day shifts. The risk increases as the number of years and weekly working hours between these hours increases. Because exposure to light at night is associated with the risk of breast cancer. This increase in the risk of developing breast cancer stems from insufficient production of the hormone melatonin. The hormone melatonin is produced mainly during night's sleep. It also has antioxidant properties. When exposed to night light, melatonin hormone produced during the night is suppressed. This is effective in the formation of breast cancer.
I have an excuse, I am a shift worker!
According to the studies, shift disorders are more common in mood disorders, depression and psychiatric problems compared to those working continuously. They also generally have a more tense and irritable temperament. Among shift workers, absenteeism and workday losses due to illnesses are also more frequent.
Deterioration in body rhythm due to being awake during unusual hours or working at night and sleeping during the day is one of the most important causes of increased work stress with shift work. This condition causes high blood pressure, cancer, depression, ulcers and heart diseases. According to the surveys conducted among the employees, while the daytime workers are the least stressful, the shift shifts are mostly stressed. Jobs that expect workers to perform tasks or tasks beyond their abilities, which do not allow them to manage themselves, are highly stressful, causing depression. Stress in shift workers may also be due to reduced sociality due to the loss of family and friend relationships.
At a time when the brain and body need sleep, forcing itself to stay awake and trying to fulfill the task in the workplace forces the central nervous system and hormonal balance. Even the recovery processes in the days following shifts and night work may be insufficient.
Accidents increase in night work. The consequences of work accidents at night are also more severe. Decreased attention at night and chronic fatigue can cause this condition.
NUMBER OF SHIFT EMPLOYEE
Women working in night shifts in the industry suffer more from irregular menstrual cycles and menstrual pain. In women working on night shifts, the development of the unborn baby is delayed and the risk of miscarriage increases. According to a study, the probability of pregnancy termination in laboratory staff working shifts 3.2 times higher during pregnancy, 1.4 times higher in hospital workers. Irregular working hours during pregnancy also cause the birth weight of babies to be lower than it should be.
OTHER
· The probability of having MS for at least three years of shift work before the age of 20 increases by almost 50 percent.
· Vitamin D deficiency occurs because night shift workers benefit from sunlight. Vitamin D deficiency is directly linked to brain functions.
· Shift work can prematurely age the brain and blunt mental skills. But you can reduce this risk if you maintain a sleep-wake pattern.
Shift work also increases the likelihood of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes, the most common type of diabetes in the community, is a disease with serious consequences, including risk of blindness, heart attack and stroke, damage to nerve and blood vessels, and even loss of limbs. Deterioration of the biological clock, waist circumference measures, hormones and sleep by affecting the risk of developing type 2 diabetes is thought to increase.
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