Nightshift and working nights may be hazardous to your health!!
I worked nights for thirty five years. I am very interested in some current studies that state working nights can disrupt your body chemistry. This causes a higher incident of breast cancer. There are also a number of other health problems that are being blamed for poor health in people who work nights.
Toiling inside under lights decreases melanin which is responsible for regulating the body’s biological clocks and hormones. One of the hormones which is increased is estrogen. This hormone in large dosages raises the likelihood of breast cancer. Though this study is not conclusive it does show that night workers are at risk. There has not been a study on our male counterparts in the nursing field, so no information is available.
After reading this I had to flash back to my own two breast surgeries and wonder if they were inevitable because of me working nights. Or could a little thing like changing my work hours have prevented them?
If breast cancer is not enough, there is depression, emotional problems, gastrointestinal disorders, cardiac incidents and pregnancy mishaps.
I was trying to have a normal life while working nights, however this was impossible. I remember trying to fulfill my duties as a night nurse while balancing my life as a wife and mother. Little to no sleep was the name of the game. As for a social life, that did not exist. How can you do anything when they occur during those hours you treasure to get some much needed sleep? This would cause anything but the most patient and thoroughly understanding mate to become frustrated.
Should a nurse work nights for long extended periods of time? This is a question only time and more investigation can answer. But if I had known what was in store for me possibly because of working nights, I would have thought long and hard about continuing to do so!