Advice for shift workers

Dr Linda Calabresi

writer

Dr Linda Calabresi

GP; Medical Editor, Healthed

Dr Linda Calabresi

We know night shift work is not good for your health.

Evidence shows night shift work is associated with an increased risk of sleep loss, occupational accidents, obesity and weight gain, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, and breast, prostate and colorectal cancers, according to a review in the BMJ by two intensive care specialists.

But what of strategies to help night shift workers mitigate these risks? What does the research say we should be advising these patients to do to optimise their health, remembering that many health professionals will be involved in this type of shift work?

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