I work the night shift as a registered nurse at a local hospital. My hours are 7p-7a, three days a week. I can’t complain too much. I get four days off every week, many times three consecutive days off. Aside from some inconveniences, I’ve wondered if these hours are having a negative effect on me as a woman. Can night shift jobs be bad for women’s health?
The difference between day and night
Since humans have evolved to be night time sleepers, our bodies prepare for rest mode when it gets dark. At night, our body temperature and heart rate decrease and we secrete a hormone called melatonin to aid in sleeping. During daylight hours, melatonin levels decrease and our heart rate and body temperature increase. This biological cycle operates on a 24 hour period known as circadian rhythm. So is it any wonder that people who work night shift jobs, like me, have to make physical adjustments to accommodate our work schedules?
What the evidence says
I’ve actually come across several concerns regarding night shift jobs and women’s health. Just this year alone, two separate studies were published by the International Journal of Cancer (IJC) and Occupational and Environmental Medicine that found the risk for breast cancer increases in women who work night shift jobs. And in December 2011, PLOS Medicine published a study that found a link between night shift work and an increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes. I found this study especially troubling since nurses were the study participants!
How does this affect me?
Sometimes it pays to read beyond the headlines. For example, the PLOS study found the increased risk for diabetes was “partly mediated” through gaining weight. However, I have a healthy body mass index, I exercise regularly, and I eat a mostly healthy diet of whole grains, fruits and veggies, and no meat. The IJC study found the breast cancer link played a bigger role in women who started working nights just before their first full-term pregnancy. I’m 41 years old. I don’t plan on having kids.
Night shift jobs and women’s health: What’s a gal to do?
If you’re a woman who works a night shift job, speak to your health care provider about any health concerns. It may be in your best interest to decline a night shift job depending on your situation.
My advice for women who do night shift work:
Try to keep a consistent sleep/wake schedule
Buy room darkening shades and curtains so you can sleep during the day
Use melatonin supplements as a sleep aide
Avoid caffeine/energy drinks later in your shift
Turn your phone off while you sleep
Bring healthy snacks to work like granola bars, fruit, and yogurt
Sources:
Wiley Online Library: International Journal of Cancer, Night work and breast cancer: A population-based case-control study in France (the CECILE study), June 26, 2012
HuffingtonPost.com, Shift Work Again Linked With Breast Cancer Risk, July 1, 2012
PLOS Medicine, Rotating Night Shift Work and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: Two Prospective Cohort Studies in Women, December 6, 2011
National Sleep Foundation, Sleep Drive and Your Body Clock
