For many people, working life doesn’t follow a traditional 9-to-5 pattern.
Healthcare professionals, emergency services, utilities, manufacturing, transport, hospitality and many other industries rely on people working evenings, nights, early mornings or rotating shifts.
Shift work can be an essential part of keeping services running, but working outside traditional daytime hours can also make it more difficult to maintain healthy routines.
Sleep, diet, physical activity, stress and social time can all be affected by shift patterns. Over time, these factors may have an impact on your physical and mental wellbeing.
The good news is that understanding the potential effects of shift work can help you identify where small changes may make a meaningful difference.
Why can shift work affect your health?
Our bodies have a natural circadian rhythm, which helps regulate sleep, alertness, body temperature, hormones and other processes over roughly a 24-hour cycle.
Working at night means being awake when your body is naturally preparing for sleep and trying to sleep when your body may be expecting you to be awake.
Not everyone responds to shift work in the same way, and some people adapt better than others. However, disrupted sleep patterns and irregular routines can make it more challenging to maintain good health.
The impact can be particularly noticeable when shifts rotate frequently or when there isn’t enough time to recover between shifts.
- Sleep: the biggest challenge for many shift workers
Getting enough good-quality sleep can be difficult when working shifts, particularly after a night shift.
Daytime sleep may be shorter or more easily interrupted by daylight, noise, household responsibilities or family commitments.
You may also find that your sleep schedule changes repeatedly as you move between day and night shifts.
Over time, insufficient or poor-quality sleep can contribute to:
- Tiredness and reduced energy
- Difficulty concentrating
- Irritability and changes in mood
- Reduced reaction time
- Increased risk of mistakes and accidents
- Difficulty maintaining healthy lifestyle habits
How can you improve your sleep?
There is no single strategy that works for everyone, but some practical measures may help.
Create a dark sleeping environment
Blackout curtains or an eye mask can help reduce exposure to daylight.
Keep your bedroom quiet
Earplugs or other measures to reduce noise can be useful, particularly if you’re sleeping during the day.
Keep your routine as consistent as possible
Where your shift pattern allows, try to maintain regular sleep and wake times.
Limit caffeine later in your shift
Caffeine can remain in your system for several hours and may make it harder to sleep after work.
Create a wind-down routine
Give yourself time to relax before going to bed rather than going directly from a busy shift into an attempt to sleep.
If you are regularly exhausted despite getting enough opportunity to sleep, speak to your GP or healthcare professional.
- Shift work and heart health
Research has found associations between long-term shift work and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The reasons are likely to be complex and may involve disrupted sleep, changes to circadian rhythms, lifestyle factors, stress and other factors. (nhs.uk)
This doesn’t mean that working shifts automatically means you will develop heart disease.
Instead, it highlights the importance of paying attention to the factors that you can influence.
These include:
- Blood pressure
- Cholesterol
- Physical activity
- Weight
- Smoking
- Alcohol
- Diet
- Sleep
- Stress
- Family history
Regular health checks can help identify cardiovascular risk factors that may otherwise go unnoticed.
For example, high blood pressure and high cholesterol often have no symptoms, meaning you may feel perfectly well while a risk factor is developing. (nhs.uk, nhs.uk)
- Weight and metabolic health
Shift work can make healthy eating more challenging.
When you’re working through the night, it can be tempting to rely on vending machines, takeaways or convenient processed foods. Meal times may also become irregular.
Sleep disruption can also make it more difficult to maintain healthy eating and exercise routines.
Over time, these factors may contribute to weight gain and other metabolic risk factors.
Metabolic health includes factors such as:
- Blood glucose
- Blood pressure
- Cholesterol
- Weight
- Waist circumference
- Physical activity
These factors can occur together as metabolic syndrome, which is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Practical strategies for shift workers
Planning ahead can make healthy choices considerably easier.
Try to:
Prepare meals before your shift
Having a healthy meal available can reduce the temptation to rely on convenience food.
Keep healthy snacks available
Fruit, yoghurt, nuts or other nutritious options can be useful during longer shifts.
Stay hydrated
Water should generally be your main drink throughout your shift.
Be mindful of caffeine
Caffeine can be useful for alertness, but excessive or late-shift consumption may interfere with subsequent sleep.
Don’t forget physical activity
Exercise doesn’t have to mean spending an hour in the gym. Walking, cycling, strength exercises and other forms of movement all contribute to overall activity.
- Stress and mental wellbeing
Shift work can affect more than your physical health.
Working irregular hours can make it harder to maintain social connections, spend time with family and participate in activities outside work.
Night shifts can also be physically and mentally demanding, particularly when combined with high workloads or responsibility.
Some people may experience:
- Increased irritability
- Low mood
- Anxiety
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Reduced motivation
- Difficulty switching off after work
- Persistent fatigue
- Reduced enjoyment of activities
It’s important not to simply accept ongoing exhaustion or poor mental wellbeing as an unavoidable part of shift work.
If you’re struggling, talking to someone early can help.
This might be a GP, occupational health professional, mental health professional, manager or someone you trust.
- Fatigue and workplace safety
Fatigue is particularly important in safety-critical roles.
Working at night can reduce alertness because it conflicts with the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle. Long shifts, insufficient recovery time and consecutive night shifts can add to this.
If you are driving home after a night shift, operating machinery or working in a role where concentration is critical, fatigue deserves particular attention.
If you are struggling to stay awake or concentrate, don’t simply try to push through it.
Your safety — and the safety of those around you — matters.
- Don’t forget your musculoskeletal health
Shift workers may spend long periods standing, walking, sitting or performing repetitive physical tasks depending on their role.
Poor sleep and fatigue can also make existing aches and pains feel more difficult to manage.
If your work involves lifting, manual handling, prolonged standing or repetitive movements, maintaining strength, mobility and good physical conditioning can be an important part of staying well.
Persistent pain should be assessed rather than simply accepted as part of the job.
- Your health is more than your shift pattern
Working shifts doesn’t mean you can’t be healthy.
In fact, many shift workers develop routines that work extremely well for them.
The key is understanding how your particular shift pattern affects:
- Sleep
- Nutrition
- Exercise
- Weight
- Blood pressure
- Cardiovascular health
- Stress
- Mental wellbeing
- Social and family life
Your individual circumstances matter too. Age, medical history, medications, family history and existing health conditions can all influence how you respond to shift work.
What should shift workers have checked?
If you work regular nights, rotating shifts or long/irregular hours, a comprehensive health assessment can provide an opportunity to look at your health more broadly.
Depending on your individual circumstances, this may include:
Cardiovascular health
- Blood pressure
- Pulse
- Cholesterol
- Cardiovascular risk factors
- Family history
- ECG where clinically appropriate
Metabolic health
- Weight
- BMI
- Waist circumference
- Blood glucose or HbA1c
- Cholesterol
- Lifestyle factors
Lifestyle
- Diet
- Physical activity
- Smoking
- Alcohol
- Caffeine
- Sleep
Mental wellbeing
- Stress
- Mood
- Anxiety
- Work-related pressures
- Fatigue
- Sleep quality
- Overall wellbeing
Occupational health
Your health should also be considered in the context of the work you actually do.
A desk-based night worker, a healthcare professional working long shifts and someone carrying out physically demanding work may have very different occupational health needs.
When should you speak to a doctor?
Don’t wait for your next routine health assessment if you’re experiencing symptoms that concern you.
Speak to a healthcare professional if you have persistent:
- Chest pain or discomfort
- Breathlessness
- Palpitations
- Dizziness or fainting
- Severe or persistent fatigue
- Changes in mood
- Anxiety or low mood
- Significant sleep problems
- Unexplained weight changes
If you experience severe chest pain, significant difficulty breathing, loss of consciousness or another medical emergency, seek urgent medical attention.
A healthier approach to shift work
You don’t necessarily need to completely change your lifestyle to improve your health.
Start with the areas that are most achievable for you.
Prioritise sleep.
Protect your sleep time as much as possible.
Plan your food.
Healthy meals and snacks are easier when you’ve prepared them in advance.
Keep moving.
Build regular physical activity into your week, even if your schedule changes.
Monitor your health.
Know your blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose and other relevant health measures.
Look after your mental wellbeing.
Stress and fatigue shouldn’t be ignored simply because they are common among shift workers.
Know your limits.
If you’re consistently exhausted or struggling to cope, speak to someone.
Your health doesn’t have to work 9-to-5
Shift work can be demanding, but your health shouldn’t have to take a back seat.
A preventative health assessment can provide an opportunity to step back from the demands of work and look at the bigger picture — your cardiovascular health, metabolic health, lifestyle, sleep, stress, mental wellbeing and individual risk factors.
At Glasgow Medical Rooms, our comprehensive health assessments are designed to provide a detailed picture of your current health and identify areas where preventative action may be beneficial.
For shift workers, this can be particularly valuable because your health needs to be considered in the context of your working pattern, lifestyle and individual circumstances.
If you work shifts and want to take a more proactive approach to your health, contact Glasgow Medical Rooms to find out more about our comprehensive health assessments.
This article is intended for general information and does not replace individual medical advice. If you have concerns about your health, sleep, mental wellbeing or symptoms, please speak to an appropriate healthcare professional.
