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 Researchers examined data from seven previously published studies of
work schedules and mental health involving a total of 28,438
participants. Overall, shift workers were 28% more likely to
experience mental health problems than people with consistent
weekday work schedules.
"We know that shift-work alters the circadian rhythm, that is our
normal sleep-wake cycle which matches day-night cycle," said Luciana
Torquati, lead author of the study and a researcher at the
University of Exeter in the UK.
"This disruption can make people moody and irritable, and lead to
social isolation as shift-workers time-off matches family and
friend's work and life commitments," Torquati said by email.
In particular, the study found, shift workers were 33% more likely
to have depression than people who didn't work nights or irregular
schedules.
Shift workers also had a higher chance of developing anxiety, but in
this case the difference was too small to rule out the possibility
that it was due to chance.
Women appeared particularly vulnerable to the negative mental health
effects of shift work, researchers report in the American Journal of
Public Health.
Compared to women who worked consistent weekday schedules, women who
worked nights or split shifts were 78% more likely to experience
adverse mental health outcomes.
Men, however, didn't appear to have an increased risk of mental
health issues when they worked nights or irregular schedules.
The study wasn't a controlled experiment designed to prove whether
or how work schedules might directly impact mental health.
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It's possible that people with poor mental health wound up in jobs
with irregular schedules, rather than developing mood disorders
after they started working nights or inconsistent shifts.
Even so, the results suggest that workers and employees should be
aware of the potential for work schedules to impact mental health,
Torquati said.
"Your brain is programmed to sleep during night hours (absence of
light) to recover from all the information it has processed during
the day," Torquati said. "Conversely, day light tells your brain
it's time to be awake and process information."
"With shift-work you turn this cycle upside down: process
information & being awake at night, sleep during the day, and this
means that body functions that follow such cycle are disrupted,"
Torquati added. "This disruption of functions can result in
irritability, nervousness, depressed mood, and ultimately mental
disorders."
It's possible that shift work might be just one aspect of poor
mental health, and people who suffer from symptoms of depression or
other mood disorders should seek treatment, Torquati advised.
Finding time to exercise, get outside during daylight hours, and
spend time with family and friends may also help improve mood and
limit social isolation that can exacerbate depression, Torquati
said.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2ngl4rm American Journal of Public Health,
online September 19, 2019.
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