3 w. ago
The perfect way to look after your health if you work shifts
There are many knock-on effects of working nights or early mornings, and often employers could do more to protect staff. But there are small, simple changes that can make all the difference• Sign up here to get the whole series straight to your inboxApproximately 8.7 million people in the UK work night shifts, but humans are not meant to be awake at night. “It goes against our natural circadian cycle,” says Steven Lockley, visiting professor at the Surrey Sleep Research Centre, University of Surrey. “We have a clock in the hypothalamus in the brain, and that clock has evolved to control many aspects of our physiology.” This includes metabolism and immune system, hormones, and heart, lung and brain function. “We’ve evolved to be awake in the daytime and asleep at night. When we do shift work, we’re going against what our natural rhythms want us to do.”This is true not just for those who work in the dead of night, but for those who work early and evening shifts. It means, says Lockley...
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