Does Shift Work Create Health Problems for Individuals?

Does Shift Work Create Health Problems for Individuals?
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Does Shift Work Create Health Problems for Individuals?
Did you know that we spend about a third of our lives sleeping? If you live up to 90 years, you will spend about 30 years of those sleeping. However, you may sleep less if you engage in shift work at some point in your life. Studies have shown that shift work has detrimental effects on sleep. With 20% of American and European workers engaging in shift work (Ferri et al., 2016), there is a high number of people that are affected. Enough sleep is imperative for normal body function and disruptions can lead to unwanted health consequences. According to Ferri, et al. (2016) shift work disrupts circadian rhythms, which leads to alterations of sleep as well as biological functions. It is important to note that circadian rhythm affects one’s alertness as well as other functions (Kalat, 2017). This paper argues that shift work causes significant health problems including gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, overweight and obesity, depression, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases (CVD).
One of the major health problems associated with shift work is GI symptoms. According to Knutsson and Bøggild (2010), individuals that engage in shift work face an increased risk of GI symptoms. The GI diseases mentioned by the authors include diseases of the duodenum, stomach, esophagus, ileum, and rectum. Inflammatory bowel diseases and peptic ulcers are also associated with shift work. Therefore, it is evident that shift work affects normal GI movements. It is important to take into account that these symptoms can affect one’s normal functioning, including sleeping. This may further cause other health problems since the normal sleep pattern is interrupted. Therefore, GI symptoms are a major health risk associated with shift work.
Shift work also causes overweight and obesity. It is public knowledge that one of the top global health problems is obesity. Shift work thus contributes to one of the key health challenges globally. According to Antunes, Levandovski, Dantas, Caumo, and Hidalgo (2010), the effect of shift work on metabolism supports a pathway for obesity development. The authors note that shift workers tend to gain more weight compared to workers under the regular schedule. The normal behaviors of human beings, feeding being among them, follow a circadian pattern. The metabolism disturbance that results from shift work may increase food consumption. The result of this is overweight and obesity. It is important to note that these conditions increase the risk of other diseases such as heart disease and CVD. Therefore, shift work is associated with obesity and overweight, which are key health problems.
Another significant health problem associated with shift work is depression. While shift work is integral in the operations of many industries, it increases the risk of depression, which can affect employee performance. A study by Moon, Lee, Lee, Lee, and Kim (2015) examined the prevalence of depression among wo...