Considering the impact of shift working on health
Journal article
Authors | Bostock, F. and Mortimore, G. |
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Abstract | Shift work is necessary for the provision of health services, especially in hospitals as it is the only way to provide continuous care to patients. Working at night is inconsistent with the body's biological clock and night shift working hugely disrupts the circadian and sleep wake cycles. In 2020, the World Health Organization classified night shift working as being a ‘probable’ class 2A carcinogen and a number of independent cohort studies of both night workers and shift workers have observed increased incidence of certain cancers. Altered sleep timing, food timing and light exposure typical for shift workers leads to an acute circadian disruption and misalignment of regulatory hormones. This straying from synchronisation has been shown to result in individuals being more vulnerable to a number of chronic health conditions. Night shift work disrupts the normal sleep–wake cycle, often leading to shortened sleep duration and excessive fatigue and the results of this are far reaching. This article will explore the full impact of shift working, questioning if current practices employed within the NHS should continue. |
Keywords | shift work; health services ; chronic health conditions ; night shift ; NHS |
Year | 2024 |
Journal | British Journal of Nursing |
Journal citation | 33 (3), pp. 1-16 |
Publisher | MA Healthcare |
ISSN | 2052-2819 |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.2024.33.3.120 |
Web address (URL) | https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/loi/bjon |
Accepted author manuscript | License All rights reserved File Access Level Controlled |
Output status | Published |
Publication dates | |
Online | 09 Feb 2024 |
Publication process dates | |
Accepted | 19 Dec 2023 |
Deposited | 05 Feb 2024 |
https://repository.derby.ac.uk/item/q4735/considering-the-impact-of-shift-working-on-health
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