Health Risks Of Graveyard Shift

Graveyard shift is a most common work schedule nowadays. Many people who is working as security guards, police, military, doctors and nurses have long been assigned to this work schedule. And as the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Industry in the Philippines arises, the number of Filipinos working on a graveyard shift has grown rapidly. Some people are also working on a "home-based jobs" which is servicing clients overseas and is also on a night shift schedule due to the time difference.




However, most people working on this kind of schedule aren't fully aware about the risks this working hours may have brought to their health. Below are the common possible health risk a regular graveyard worker may acquire.


1. Sleep Disorder

Persons who got fewer than six hours of sleep a day had more than a doubled risk of bad quality sleep. This means that rotating shifts have lower levels of the feel-good hormone serotonin leading to disturbed sleep patterns.

Since our bodies and brains nature is to relax and cool down and to spring back into action in the morning, it doesn't matter whether you get enough sleep during the daytime.

2. High Risk of Diabetes

Based on the conducted research on shift work and diabetes , men in particular will more likely to develop this kind of disease when working on irregular hours.

During night shift, your body may reduce tolerance and increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Based on studies, blood glucose level were 16% higher on a night shift compared to a daytime shift although the intake of meals were identical. Insulin levels of night-shift workers were 40% - 50% higher between 80 to 90 minutes after their meal compare to a daytime worker.

Read: Night Work May Impair Glucose Tolerance

3. Obesity

Lack of sleep or sleeping against your body's natural biological clock could increase the risk of developing diabetes or becoming obese.

An individual who is working at night often have a hard time sleeping at day and can face circadian disruption and insufficient sleep. This could lead to a decrease in resting metabolic rate and higher blood sugar levels after eating. These body changes increases the chance to obtain 10 pounds of weight each year.

4. Breast Cancer Risk

Women working on a night-shift increases the chance of having breast cancer by 30% according to International Journal of Cancer .

Even though night shift work itself doesn't appear to be a main cause of breast cancer, still you will be more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer due to the changes in your body. Also women who are working at night shifts are more likely to be overweight or obese than to those who don't. This can also increase the risk of breast cancer as well as other diseases.

5. Increases The Risk of Heart Attack

Night shift work may increase the risk of unhealthy lifestyle due to our body clock's nature to sleep at night. When a person experience sleepiness working at night, he/she may choose to smoke and eat poor quality food to make him/her awake. This could result to a high level of cholesterol and high blood pressure in the body.

6. High Risk of Workplace Injury

Working on night shift may double the risk of suffering a workplace injury.

Due to the disruption of normal sleep, a person may experience drowsiness and fatigue which can lead to lack of mental focus and a big chance of injury.

7. Depression

Studies shows that working on night shift or shifting schedules could have a great impact on our mental health. According to the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, night shift workers are most likely to experience Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) than non shift workers with a higher rate for women than for men.

A person may experience mood swings, hot temper and being emotional.


Though there are perks on working on night shift like higher pay (night differentials), it is also associated with occupation safety and health concerns.