Like high cholesterol, high blood pressure and obesity are the key perks of the unhealthy lifestyle that the night shift guys are facing in today’s time.
Researchers who reviewed 34 studies of more than 2 million people found that shift workers are also more likely to have a heart attack or stroke. The relationship is probably causal, but it is difficult to say that on the basis of observational studies alone,” says study researcher Daniel G. Hackam, MD, PhD.
He is an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Western Ontario, Canada. So, exactly the shift work increases the risk for heart attack and stroke but the relation between night shift and the heart attack is not fully understood. It may disrupt the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle.
Shift workers may also be more likely to smoke and eat an unhealthy diet. And they may be less likely to get regular physical activity. In the study, shift work was defined as:
- Night shifts
- Rotating shifts
- Split shifts
- Any non-daytime schedule
The night workers are more prone to heart attacks and strokes, mainly in the starting 10-15 years of job.Now, if we compare the health of day workers with the shift workers then we get to know that shift workers were:
- 23% more likely to have a heart attack
- 5% more likely to have a stroke
- They were not more likely to die compared to day workers.
These findings were held up when the researchers took into account unhealthy behaviors and other factors that increase heart attack and stroke risk. So, according to the researcher hackam “Prevention is key. If you are a shift worker, know your cardiovascular risk factors cold.
Go see your family doctor and get an annual physical. And ask for measurement of your blood pressure, waist circumference, cholesterol, triglycerides, and fasting blood sugar.”
Hackam also suggest these tips for health:
- Adopt a healthier lifestyle, including taking healthy food to work.
- Take regular “relaxation” breaks.
- Quit smoking.
- Exercise.
According to the Glenn Jacobowitz, MD, the shift workers are a high-risk group. He is an associate professor of surgery and vice chief of vascular surgery at New York University Langone Medical Center in New York City.
“Anyone who is a shift worker probably warrants medical monitoring every six to 12 months,” he says. These visits should include checking for high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes risk.
Now, if we talk about the risk to the brain of a Shift Worker then the according to the findings Steven H. Feinsilver, MD the director of the Center for Sleep Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City is Shift workers get less sleep than people who work a daytime schedule and the uneven and the bad sleep is very bad for you and is related to the shift work of the workers.
So, in the present times most people can’t quit their jobs but shift workers aren’t powerless, just to stay away from the ill effects of bad sleep , get the darkest, best sunglasses you can find for going home in the morning so you avoid exposure to natural light.
Make sure your bedroom is cave-like — dark, quiet, and cool. “When it’s time to wake, turn on every light you can find,” he says. These techniques can help trick your brain feel like it is night or morning so that you can get adequate sleep.
