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Working the Night Shift Increases the Risk of Diabetes
Research from Harvard/Brigham and Women's Hospital shows that working hours that go against your body’s natural rhythm can increase the risk of both obesity and diabetes(1). Nearly 8.6 million Americans work the night shift, which includes factory workers, hospital staff, policemen, firefighters, pilots, road crews and truck drivers, among others.
The researchers examined how the body’s biological clock, known as its circadian rhythm, is affected by night shift working. Participants slept during the day and were awake at night, and many suffered the following consequences:
- Blood sugar spikes and insulin resistance, similar to that observed in diabetics.
- Increases in insulin levels, but no reduction in blood sugar levels.
- Lowered leptin levels. Leptin is a hormone that promotes calorie burning and a feeling of fullness, so lowered levels result in food cravings and reduced calorie expenditure.
- Poorer sleep quality.
- Higher blood pressure.
"In the long run, the physiological impact of shift work on several markers involved in the regulation of body weight -- leptin, insulin, cortisol -- seems to contribute to the increased risk for the development of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity," said study author Frank Scheer, an instructor of medicine in the division of sleep medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston.
What’s even more ominous, in animal studies, long-term exposure to reversed day-night schedules resulted in premature deathii.
The degree of risk seems to be associated with the degree of schedule alteration. In other words, those people who work more hours “off schedule”, through the night for example, are at greater risk of diabetes and other problems than people who work just a few hours during the night. Also, some people may be more susceptible to health problems due to shift work than others. People with sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, which have already been independently associated with a greater risk of diabetes, may have an even higher risk of health problems than those without sleep disorders.
This new research adds to the mounting evidence that the quality of our sleep is strongly associated with our overall health and well being, and that sleep problems can increase the risk of serious illnesses such as diabetes. If you work the night shift or are suffering any form of sleep alteration, it’s worth your time to discuss the possible consequences and treatment options with your physician or a qualified sleep professional.