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Krysta Webb

Nate Hellmers

ENG 1201.5B0

20 July 2021

How does working overnight affect a person's body and mental health over time

Most adults can remember that all-night study session, been out drinking all night,

Netflix binge-watching kind of a night. What accompanies those nights of fun is the dreaded

next day of fatigue, headaches, upset stomach, and drowsiness. Now think about if this was

the feeling you got to feel every morning because of your job. Over 15 million American's

have to deal with that feeling daily (Work 2019). When employees are offered an overnight

position, they may be tempted to take it for incentives like a pay raise, sign-on bonus, less

structure, and a slower night. These benefits are not always worth the long-term consequences

of an individual's body or mental health. Consider that night-shift workers run a higher risk of

cardiovascular disease, consent fatigue, weakened immune system, and strained relationships.

Every person has a circadian rhythm. Gets ran the biological clock by our light cycles of

day and night (Circadian Rhythms 2021). It can affect things from how a person eats, their body

temperature, and hormones. Some will see circadian rhythm mentioned when people talk about

their sleep patterns or jet lag because of the effects on the body's light cycle (Circadian Rhythms

2021). Shift changes in work, using cell phones, anything that shifts the body's dynamic can

change the circadian rhythm (Circadian Rhythms 2021). It does this by changing the natural

sleep/wake cycle by staying up all night and sleeping during the day (Tharumalay 48). This is

why a person feels groggy after a long fight, or stays up all night after switching time zones.

Even when there would be time to make it somewhere, chances are, during the event, someone
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will be groggy and withdrawn. When there are changes in someone’s sleep pattern, people can

start to notice issues. They may eat more and feel more fatigued, start to exercise less, and get

signs of anxiety or depression (Griffen 2010).

Fig. 1 the effects of night shift (Nature news)

There is also a possibility that working overnight can lead to shiftwork sleep disorder,

also known as SWSD. This sleep condition happens to people who work out of the traditional

(Shift). It can cause a variety of effects like issues sleeping, staying asleep, or constantly being

sleepy. These symptoms can lead to poor coping skills, drug and alcohol addiction, mood issues,

accidents, and many more (Shift). Some may get confused with other disorders or brushed off to

the side as typical everyday issues, so you always want to have strange things checked out to be

on the safe side. The people who work overnight tend to get about one-four hours less than a

regular dayshift worker (Shift). The sad part is that the recommended hours of sleep are about

eight. That means a night worker can lose up to twenty-eight hours of sleep in just a week. For

the month, that could equal five days of sleep a person can lose.
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Various studies have shown that interrupting the circadian system puts night workers at a

higher chance of having severe health complications (Tharumalay 55). Going against the

biological clock of your body affects alertness, performance, and internal (Tharumalay 48). Even

though these can seem like small issues when a person does this for years, it takes a toll on the

body. Nurses that report doing overnights for most of their career were shown to develop Shift

Work Disorder, which shows insomnia, depression, and anxiety. These nurses also rate high on a

self-rated Depression Scale (Tharumalay 52). As rated by the Insomnia Severity Index and

Epworth Sleepiness Scale, night workers were shown to have over 50% of significant insomnia

(Tharumalay 52). All of this can be tied back into interrupting the circadian system.

Working overnight can make even the most sociable person seem fatigued, irritable,

withdrawn, and easily angered. A study done in Germany looked at groups of nursing that

worked an overnight shift of 11 p.m. - 6 a.m. They did not notice a strong connection between

depression and overnight work. They felt several factors could play a part, including a person's

mental health to start with. However, they saw that a lack of sleep could make for a bad mood,

and fatigue which people can see as signs of early depression (Angerer 2017). It can lead to

insomnia, which is a symptom of depression (Tharumalay 52). Bipolar is a disorder that changes

how a person thinks reacts, energy, and how the function (Tharumalay 52). Bipolar or bipolar

depression can be linked to disruptions of the circadian rhythm cycle. These symptoms are

geared towards people that before night shift did not have these symptoms. Being on a night shift

constantly throws off the body’s 24-hour cycle. Tharumalay 52).

Being fatigue, in a bad mood, or frustrated can directly change how a person makes

decisions or interacts with their peers (Price 2011). A person can come off as rude just because

they lack the motivation for conversation. This can change how their peers view them and could
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hurt promotions. For people that are in relationships, this can bring stress onto the marriage. It

can cause two people to be on opposite schedules. If one spouse works days and the other works

nights, you only may be able to cross paths. Spouses that do manage to get free time are likely to

be frustrated and tired. Things like this can lead to higher break-up or divorce rates

(betterhealth). Finding a work-life balance can become very difficult on this schedule. This can

lead to having a hard time balancing money or making time to do basic things like grocery

shopping.

Stress level on an overnight shift is normally going to be higher. This can be rolled into a

person's everyday life. Even though everyone tries to leave work at work, it is not always that

easy to separate the two. A report in 2004 showed that most people who worked overnight were

more likely to start to abuse drugs and alcohol than employees that worked regular dayshift

hours (Price 2011). Getting into an addiction, even one as simple as smoking comes with its own

health and safety risk. This is seen as a coping mechanism for people to get through the day.

Caffeine addictions to energy drinks and soda are popular coping methods. Most overnight

workers are seen with some kind of caffeinated beverage.

Individuals that tend to work the off shifts have higher chances of miscarriage and

pregnancy issues (Later 2015). There are even links to interrupting women's menstrual cycles

(Work 2019) The CDC recommends to not working during normal sleeping hours through

pregnancy. One of issues with shift work is the amount of stress it can cause on the body, which

can lead to complications or delayed menstrual cycles (Work 2019). There is hope that if a

person can change their circadian rhythm to be more in turned with an overnight schedule that it

could lower some of the effects. (Price 2011). Keeping your circadian rhythm on track can be as

simple as keeping your schedule on your days off. A huge issue in people that work not only
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night shift but also rotating shifts between days and nights is that there is no way to slightly

adjust it when a work schedule is flipped around constantly.

Working an overnight shift can lead a person to feel isolated (Griffin 2010). When trying

to sleep during the day, it can mean missing friends and families have functions. Overnight

workers have to choose between adequate sleep, and missing events. Family might think that

sleeping during the day is selfish or inconsiderate. A person is more likely to interrupt their sleep

to go to their kid's game or the family reunion and just pick up a coffee on the way. This can be

how a caffeine addiction gets started; it also is not a healthy habitat. Many people say, "I can

sleep when I am dead." That is a motto for many of the people to make it through their life.

During a daytime schedule, trying to plan around events or do them in the evening is somewhat

more manageable. For a daytime worker, going home in the evenings to prepare meals, have

conversation or relax is typically easier because that person is more aware and awake then a

night worker would be. If a night worker is up at 2 p.m. chances are it happened so a person had

a chance to get something done, or spend time with loved ones instead of sleeping all day.

Staying up through the night can add to lousy eating habits, leading a person to weight

gain (Griffin 2010). Obesity leads to serious complications, even death. Overall night employee

had higher BMIs and weight circumference. Overnight employees had over three times the

relations with obesity outside of age (Brum). They way an overnight shift can mess with your

stomach is by having a person's meals out of whack. Breakfast can be eaten at 2 a.m. and not eat

again until dinner at 6 p.m. It can be easy to snack through the night, whether it is from boredom

or a way to stay awake. Working overnight has been linked to lower leptin levels, which is the

primary hormone regulating our appetite (Griffin 2010). This hormone being lower can give the

feeling of being hungry even if a person is not. When you are working nights, it can be harder to
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find the motivation to go to the gym. A higher risk of obesity can run directly into a higher link

for Type 2 Diabetes (Griffin 2010). Along with weight gain, higher levels of cholesterol are seen

in the body, and can lead to heart blockages and strokes (Griffin 2010)

Metabolism regulates most of our body's hormone levels. Your body temperature will

typically rise during the day, causing a higher metabolism rate, while at night, it decreases,

leading to a lower metabolism rate (betterhealth). Working all night can mess with the hormones

noradrenaline and acetylcholine (neurotransmitters). Changes in your natural melatonin levels

can happen, which is the primary hormone in sleep regulation. Your body will start to rise in

temperature as the night goes on; this is one of the reasons overnight workers sometimes have a

hard time falling asleep in the morning (Betterhealth).

When a person has worked overnight and constantly gone against the circadian rhythm,

and the higher than average levels of stress can lead to hypertension, also known as high blood

pressure. Blood pressure normally varies in a twenty-four-hour period; the night schedule causes

atypical variations. These put night workers at a higher chance of damaging the heart, kidney,

and brain (Mosendane 2018). A second factor is cardiovascular disease. Additionally, a high

lipid count can occur. Overnight workers tend to have high counts of lipid and triacylglycerol

levels, which in turn can be a sign of high cholesterol (Mosendane 2018).

When looking at the obesity rates and the diabetes rates, there is a higher level among

night shift workers. In the study "Shift work and its effect on the cardiovascular system,"

Mosendane asserts that the amount of daylight and day exposure directly affects BMI (BMI). It

also shows that 15.9% of the food consumed is released throughout the day, but at night only

10% is released (Mosendane 2018). Diabetes is a lifelong condition if it gets acquired in

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adulthood. This could cause a need for insulin shots. Undiagnosed or untreated diabetes can lead

to a diabetic coma,

Another common issue with light amount third shifters is the higher chance of car

accidents and work accidents (Griffin 2010). The University of Missouri did a study and noticed

that people who have shift work sleep disorder have a 300% likelihood of crashing compared to

a dayshift worker. Insomnia can lead to about a 30% high risk of crashing (Blanco 2021). When

thinking about how tired a person is on the road after being up all night, the senses can be

impaired. At that point, getting behind the wheel becomes a danger to themselves and the other

individuals on the road. Driving can lead to a person's death or an innocent bystander getting

hurt. If that does not happen, someone can face other serious consequences. These can include

hefty fines, jail time, or it can lead to job lose.

Most overnight workers get off around the 6 a.m. mark. In the figure below, you can see

a 24-hour time from noon-noon where a person’s level of impairment could be. If you notice that

at 6 a.m., the level is severely impaired. This is a scary thought considered that is around the time

most night workers are starting to leave work. It is also the time the day shifters are coming into

work but those employees would have just had a full night’s sleep.

Fig 2. Level of a drivers impairment through the day (Schaible, Ronald D)

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Work accidents, especially in factories or healthcare facilities, can be hazardous. In

healthcare, the stakes are high for turning out a wrong result, sticking the wrong patient, or

messing up labels or names. Forgetting medications or mixing up patients is a common error that

the person normally would not do; however, the lack of sleep and lack of awareness that can

come with overnight shifts can impair memory and reflexes. In factories, machines can be

broken leading to a write up. On the other hand, an employee can get hurt because they are not

clear-headed. That even could lead to loss of job, loss of body parts, or fines from some jobs.

Working overnight can take a toll on a person's physical and mental health. It does this

through various factors ranging from health problems like obesity to higher divorce rates. Some

people swear by the benefits or night shifts; others love the extra money. I work the third shift

and do it for the money. After one year of night shifts, I can see the effects that it has had on my

body along with my coworkers. I have had to pull over before making it home; I have seen

coworkers miss their favorite things because they cannot muster up enough energy. I feel the

quilt effects of sleeping during the day when I could be hanging out with my kids. This causes

me to wake up at like 2 p.m. and get about 4-5 hours of sleep a day.
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However, I have coworkers who love the third shift. They felt like they had more time

during the day. Some with young families said they did not have to take extra time off work by

working overnight. These included taking time off for doctor visits, parent/teacher conferences

things of that nature. They were able to go to drink enough caffeine to get going. Most of my

coworkers at some point have worked on other shifts. It seemed that night shift did not have any

major downfalls that they felt warrant going back to dayshift. The ones that were in serious

relationships that worked opposite schedules said that it helped them because they could offset

the cost of daycare or a babysitter. They said the time apart actually helped their relationships

because they could get time apart and were not constantly together, this allowed them to work on

themselves.

Moreover, no one ever complains about extra money because working on an off shift

could double the amount someone makes compared to a daytime shift, which could allow some

people to work fewer hours. Most off shifters say less management equals less stress, no one to

get on him or her constantly, and more freedom on an overnight shift. They said the crews were

usually smaller, so the relationships with coworkers became closer. Extended training on

nightshift allows an employee to become flexible because working on an off shift you normally

are running more with less people. These is something that would not happen if that employee

were on the dayshift schedule.

Therefore, even though there are different viewpoints to working on an overnight shift,

the long-term effects are serious and harmful to the person working and everyone around them.

There are many viewpoints in the news and media, but it all comes down to the person working

the shift. Some people will always be overnight workers by choice or because they think it works

best for them or their families. However, the effects of staying on an overnight shift are not
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going to change. For people predisposed to any of these conditions, it gives an even higher

chance of getting them. By saying yes to money, or yes to no managers, or just agreeing to work

the shift in the first place is not a decision to take lightly. It should be a decision that an

employee takes serious thought into, even make a pro and con list if that helps. After working,

these shifts for too long, a person may not like what they start to hear at checkups, when family

is starting to complain, or when they realize that fatigue has won.

Works Cited

Angerer, Peter, et al. “Night Work and the Risk for Depression.” Deutsches Arzteblatt

International, vol. 114, no. 24, Jul. 2017, pp. 404-411, doi: 10.3238/arztebl.2017.0404.

Accessed 21 July 2021.

Blanco, Sebastian. "Some Night-Shift Workers May Have a 300% Higher Risk of Car Crashes."

Car and Driver, 16 May 2021, www.caranddriver.com/news/a36440068/overnight-shift-

workers-risk-car-crash/. Accessed 21 July 2021.

Brum, MCB, et al. "Night shift work, short sleep, and obesity." Diabetology & Metabolic

Syndrome, vol. 12, no. 13, Feb. 2020, National Library of Medicine, doi:

10.1186/s13098-020-0524-9. Accessed 19 July 2021.

"Circadian Rhythms." National Institute of General Medical Sciences, U.S. Department of

Health and Human Services, www.nigms.nih.gov/education/fact-sheets/Pages/circadian-

rhythms.aspx. Accessed 24 July 2021.

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Griffin, R. Morgan. "Shift Work Health Risks: Heart Disease, Ulcers, Obesity, Diabetes,

Depression, Accidents." WebMD, WebMD, www.webmd.com/sleep-

disorders/features/shift-work. Accessed 21 July 2021.

"Later shifts = more health risks." Nursing, vol. 35, no. 3, Mar. 2005, pp. 34-35, EBSCOhost,

doi: 10.1097/00152193-200503000-00030. Accessed 24 July 2021.

Mosendane, T, et al. "Shift work and its effect on the cardiovascular system." Cardiovascular

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Medicine, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3971766/. Accessed 24 July 2021.

Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-75245-9/figures/1.

Price, Michael. "The Risks of Night Work." Monitor on Psychology, vol. 42, no. 1, Jan. 2011, p.

38, apa.org/monitor/2011/01/night-work. Accessed 24 July 2021.

"Reproductive Health and The Workplace." The National Institute for Occupational Safety and

Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 15 Nov. 2019,

www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/repro/workschedule.html. Accessed 24 July 2021.

"Shift Work Sleep Disorder (SWSD): Symptoms & Treatment." Cleveland Clinic,

my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/12146-shift-work-sleep-disorder. Accessed18 July

2021.

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Schaible, Ronald D. “Shift Work, Sleep Deprivation, and Industrial Accidents - Expert Article.”

Robson Forensic, Robson Forensic, Inc., 18 Dec. 2019,

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www.robsonforensic.com/articles/shift-work-sleep-deprivation-and-industrial-accidents-

expert-article/.

Tharumalay, Ruth D., et al. "The Effects of Circadian Rhythm Disruption towards Metabolic

Stress and Mental Health: A Review." Malaysian Journal of Health Sciences/Jurnal

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