A RECENT study found that working a job with irregular shifts comes with a price tag greater than the challenge in adjusting sleeping patterns: doing so has a long-term effect on cognitive abilities.
The study, published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, revealed shift work can impair memory, speed and selective attention abilities.
Researchers from the University of Swansea and University of Toulouse initially conducted the study with 3,232 participants, 1,484 of which had worked shift jobs. Participants were examined on three separate occasions – 1996, 2001 and 2006 – but only a total of 1,197 were seen on all those instances.
At the time the first tests were conducted, participants were 32, 42, 52 and 62 years old.
Findings indicated that those employed in shift work jobs for more than 10 years had brains that aged 6 ½ years and declined as much in intellectual abilities.
“The cognitive impairment observed in the present study may have important safety consequences not only for the individuals concerned, but also for society as a whole given the increasing number of jobs in high hazard situations that are performed at night,” researchers wrote in the study.
Shift work is also similar to chronic jet lag, which disrupts the circadian rhythm, can affect one’s social life and increase health problems.
Human sleep patterns are dictated by the circadian rhythm, which typically drives people to be awake when the sun is out and sleepy during the night. This biological clock also controls the release of hormones, body temperature and blood pressure, among other processes.
Disruptions of the rhythm can cause physiological stress, according to the study. Additionally, it is suggested that shift jobs may leave workers more susceptible to a deficiency Vitamin D due to lack of exposure to sunlight. This can affect the brain and ability to think.
Although the repercussions of irregular shift jobs are chronic, researchers found that it is possible to counter them by opting for a job with daytime hours. However, the study states it takes at least five years for the reversal to manifest.
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Weekend November 8-11, 2014 Sec. D pg.1)