Research reveals the negative effects of night shifts on heart health

New research has found that shifting shifts between night and day can disrupt the body's circadian rhythm, according to a BBC report.

A recent scientific research said that working with variable shifts between night and day has many health risks. become disharmonious and synchronized as a result of changing working patterns;

This makes the heart vulnerable to dysfunction, which can seriously damage your health.

The study, conducted by a laboratory in Cambridge, was concerned with the internal clock in each heart cell, which changes the cell's chemical balance throughout the day.

Dr. John O'Neill, who led the research, said: 'The frequency of the heartbeat is determined by two things: signals from the brain, and the levels of sodium and potassium within each heart cell.

This stimulates the heartbeat.”

He explained that the significant hormonal changes that occur in the body due to working at different shifts constituted a great surprise to his research team, adding that: In healthy people, these countless cellular clocks harmonize and synchronize with each other.

But the new study found that with changing working hours, the brain adapts very quickly, but the body clocks in each heart cell are delayed.

"You have a few days when the signals from the brain are out of sync with what the heart expects," Dr. O'Neill said.

This is what we believe makes shift workers more vulnerable when they switch between day and night shifts.

This increases the risk of various heart diseases, especially during the transition between day and night shifts, although it should be noted that working different shifts is only one of the reasons among many other factors that increase the risk of heart problems, including age. sex, family history and diet.

And Dr. O'Neill added: “There are a number of negative effects that may affect the heart, and the most worrying and frightening of them is the name (sudden cardiac death);

the heart becomes confused;

It stops working for a while.

Unless you get medical care, it could lead to death.”

He continued, "Fortunately, this scenario is very rare, but it was found that working in different shifts increases the risks related not only to heart problems;

But also digestive disorders and mood disorders, and increases the risk of cancer in general compared to people who work only day shifts.

Some governments have recognized the health risks of night shift work;

In Denmark, for example, those who have worked night time for more than 20 years and have had cancer are entitled to compensation.

"It is easy for humans to delay the internal body clocks, as well as the master clock in the brain," says Dr. Renata Reha, Consultant Sleep and Respiratory Medicine at the University of Edinburgh.

She adds that the ideal arrangement in which work should be in the different and varied periods between night and day is to start with the daytime shifts, then the noon periods, and finally the night shifts.

It is preferable that the night shifts be separated by at least two weeks;

Because that gives the body time to adapt.

“It takes about one week for all the clocks in the body to change, starting with the main clock responsible for releasing melatonin (the sleep hormone), followed by clocks in all other organs of the body,” says Dr. Reha.

She recommends taking short naps of 20 to 30 minutes during the night shift;

An average adult needs seven to eight hours of sleep, but not all sleep is equal in terms of benefit and quality.

Sleeping at 10 p.m. is linked to a lower risk of heart disease, and sleep during the day is often less good;

This deprives the body of the much-needed rest.

Dr. Reha says night shift workers should try to sleep as soon as they get home.

"Try to sleep in a quiet, cool, dark room," she said.

You can use an eye mask if you don't have blinds to block out the sun, and you can use earplugs.”

“If your room is warm, consider ways to cool it down, such as using a cooling fan or pillow;

Lowering the temperature tricks your body into thinking it's time to sleep.”

There are no pills we can take yet that will reset our clock, but if you're switching from daytime to nighttime you just need to completely change your daily routine the day before your first night, then stick with the new routine, says Dr. O'Neill.

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news