Shift work is a fundamental part of many industries, such as healthcare, law enforcement, shipping, and transportation. Shift work is best described as working outside of normal daytime hours and rotating between irregular schedules. Because of this erratic nature, sleep deprivation has been observed as a consequence of shift work. Although previous studies have identified the sleep-related problems of this workstyle, the diverse health issues have been severely underrepresented. As such, it is crucial to understand how decreased sleep quality and quantity alter our physiology and increase our risk of developing long-term diseases.
It has been proposed that extended shifts lead to elevated levels of cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine. Due to this consistently stressed state, these hormones play a role in increasing blood pressure, which gradually damages the blood vessels and increases the chances of developing serious cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, the secretion of melatonin, a hormone involved in sleep regulation, is reduced due to extended light exposure at work. As a result, our sleep patterns and circadian rhythm are disrupted, which leads to metabolic difficulties and impaired cognitive function. These consequences are more immediately observed since workers have difficulty concentrating and are more prone to making errors. In the long run, these cumulative disturbances in our physiology increase our chances of developing chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and kidney failure.
Ethical issues arise because, despite these concerning health problems, we need these people to continue working through the night to maintain the luxuries and necessities that so many of us depend on. Without people tirelessly working in shipping and transportation, many of our goods would take much longer to arrive at our doorsteps, stores, and industries. Additionally, emergencies can happen at any time, so we need 24-hour clinics and hotlines. However, is it worth the risk of jeopardizing people’s health and forcing them to continue working with the chance of them making more mistakes, especially if those jobs hold a lot of responsibility? Even though many companies compensate these jobs with higher wages or overtime, I argue that this solution only fuels more burnout, which further deteriorates these people’s health. Rather, we ought to open more positions to alleviate the workload and decrease the shift lengths. Whether that requires decreasing some barriers to entry or increasing funding, these are necessary steps if we are to continue living with these conveniences.
Lunde, L. K., Skare, Ø., Mamen, A., Sirnes, P. A., Aass, H. C. D., Øvstebø, R., Goffeng, E., Matre, D., Nielsen, P., Heglum, H. S. A., Hammer, S. E., & Skogstad, M. (2020). Cardiovascular Health Effects of Shift Work with Long Working Hours and Night Shifts: Study Protocol for a Three-Year Prospective Follow-Up Study on Industrial Workers. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(2), 589. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17020589
Zhang, H., Wang, J., Zhang, S., Tong, S., Hu, J., Che, Y., Zhuo, L., Wang, P., Geng, R., Zhou, Y., Wang, P., Zhan, S., & Li, B. (2023). Relationship between night shift and sleep problems, risk of metabolic abnormalities of nurses: a 2 years follow-up retrospective analysis in the National Nurse Health Study (NNHS). International archives of occupational and environmental health, 96(10), 1361–1371. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-023-02014-2
I found your post to be very interesting! Especially for the facts and points that you went into regarding the lack of sleep and regular sleeping patterns. For instance, you mentioned that an increase in regular sleep can lead to increased production of epinephrine and cortisol. I was always course about why our bodies would increase the production of these hormones, especially if they are harmful to us if they get overproduced and are produced too frequently. My idea for this increase of production was this is our body's attempt to keep our very own bodies moving and functioning, especially in a time when our bodies are programmed to sleep. I also like your idea of breaking up nightshifts into many of their shifts for night-time workers, but wouldn't this just cause more stress for more workers who start to take up the new nightshift positioning?
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting topic and one that should be talked about much more than it is. I used to work at a pharmacy and would sometimes work 12-13 hour shifts during Flu and Covid season. It was extremely stressful and found that a lot of times, even though I was extremely exhausted, I wasn't able to get a full 8 hours of sleep. However, the point you made of needing people to work these shifts in order to keep many industries alive, is very true and something that unfortunately is required. I did like the point of breaking up night shifts into shorter shifts. It could potentially decrease the stress that many of these employees suffer.
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