![]() One study showed that night shift work contributed to higher rates of heart disease among police officers. The ongoing disruption of a person's natural circadian rhythms has also been linked to cardiovascular disease, obesity, digestive problems, and diabetes. A 2012 study in the American Journal of Epidemiology reported that men who work at night are three times as likely to develop prostate cancer as are day workers. Interestingly, shift workers in the study who described themselves as night owls had lower rates of ovarian cancer, suggesting that individuals who sync well with shift work are at lower risk of disease. Elevated levels of estrogen are linked to increased risk of reproductive cancers. Melatonin in turn regulates pituitary and ovarian hormones including estrogen. Melatonin production usually occurs at night and is compromised under artificial light. While no one is sure of the cause, it's thought that suppressed levels of the hormone melatonin put workers at risk. In 2007, shift work was listed by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer as a "probable carcinogen." Researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle found that women who work the night shift have a 49 percent increased risk of being diagnosed with early-stage ovarian cancer. The long-term physical health effects associated with working nights are well-documented. You're facing additional stress, but you have fewer ways to cope with it." But when you're working the night shift, you lose that. When day shift workers get home, we do things that relax us, like go out to eat or grab a drink with a friend. "When you work at night, you're cut off from friends and family, you have little social support, your diet may not be as healthy. Less apparent but equally deleterious to well-being is the emotional toll of night shift work. "Lack of sleep causes great stress in night shift workers," says Ballard. Human beings are wired to rest at night and wake up energized. "You're fighting against your body's natural circadian rhythms," says David Ballard, the director of the Center for Organizational Excellence and Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program at the American Psychological Association. When you work the night shift, you're not just losing sleep. But imagine working all night long and then trying to fall asleep in broad daylight, as lawn mowers are revved, dishwashers are unloaded, and your family putters through the house. Everyone can relate to pushing through the day after a terrible night's sleep.
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