Working night shifts can be demanding, as many night shift workers will recognize. What makes this work so challenging, and how can we improve this? In a recent article, popular Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant spoke with several BioClock researchers about the effects of night work and possible solutions.
Nightshifts and the biological clock
The negative effects of night work are closely related to the biological clock. Normally, it runs in sync with the 24-hour day-night cycle. Every morning, light resets your central clock and, through hormones and nerve signals, prepares your body for a new day, says BioClock researcher Laura Kervezee.
Whether you’re an early bird or a night owl: traditional night work goes against this natural rhythm. This has unpleasant consequences for your health, such as stomach pain, sleep problems, fatigue, and in the long term, an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other metabolic disorders.
Nightshifts of tomorrow
But what if the night work schedule better matched workers’ so-called ‘chronotype’? For example, a late evening shift (8:00 PM–4:00 AM) for night owls and an early morning shift (4:00 AM–12:00 PM) for early birds. Not a bad idea, say BioClock colleagues Marijke Gordijn and Inês Machado. Although this still doesn’t fully align with the natural rhythm of both groups, it could possibly reduce the ‘jet lag’ of night work.
In practice, this ‘chrono-schedule’ also seems promising. A trial at the Jeroen Bosch Hospital is receiving overwhelmingly positive responses from staff. Nurse Kayleigh works the late evening shift and tells De Volkskrant: “After traditional night shifts, I need two days to recover. Now I wake up at 11 o’clock and can pick up my normal rhythm. No recovery time needed.”
Further research will have to show whether this new schedule can also reduce the health risks of night work. But for employees like Kayleigh, work comfort already seems significantly improved.
Curious what else our researchers have to say about nightwork? Read the full Volkskrant article here (in Dutch).
