Is the night time economy killing shift workers?
The night time economy is larger than it has ever been before. The work done between 6pm and 6am is worth a rather staggering 70 billion pounds to Britain’s economy, and provides jobs for over 3 million people.
A healthy nightlife is also seen as vital to any city’s cultural heartbeat, as in this day and age it seems that a capital is almost without worth unless it offers a rich tapestry of evening entertainment to entertain its citizens and visitors.
However, every pleasure has its price. As the value of the night-time economy rises, so does the number of studies which warn about the severe health consequences that are brought about by sustained night work. Does this mean that we are paying for the privilege of a night time economy with the health of our night workers?
The schedules which night workers have to operate under require them to contravene the natural rhythms of the body clock, which has evolved over millennia to operate under the light-dark cycle. In order to subvert the body clock the brain often triggers the brain’s stress and hunger axes to stay awake, and sustained activation of these can lead to serious long-term health problems like diabetes, dementia, and even breast cancer.
One of the reasons for this is that our organs operate differently at night. For instance over 10% of the genes in the liver are controlled by the body clock, and so effectively switch off at night. We also don’t secrete and respond as well to insulin, if we stay awake when the world is dark. More research is being done into this area, but each new finding seems to confirm that our species is not designed to live by night.
In Denmark, dozens of female night workers were awarded compensation after the World Health Organisation ruled that their working hours may caused them to develop breast cancer.
John Davies has worked night shifts for over thirty years. During that time he has worked as a; bartender, a nightclub bouncer, and a security guard. He currently works as the shift manager in a bakery in Wales. He has noticed the impact which night work has had on his health.
“I’m not a particularly healthy bloke, for my years,” he said, “Got a bit of a cholesterol problem, my heart’s not as good as it should be — I’m convinced it’s my work that has had that effect on me.”
John has also noticed the impact which shift work has had on his family life; “When my marriage split up I just thought the reason this is happening is because I’ve been doing so many years of nights, you know? I’ve got to be honest, when the kids were little I just wasn’t around because I was working nights…. I wonder what my life would be if I hadn’t done night work, whether my marriage would have worked out, what hobbies I might have — I think I would have had a completely different life.”
John’s problems are not unique to him. Well, not in a general sense anyway
Numerous studies in the last fifteen years have focused on the impact which shift work has on family life. Children born into shift families regularly have difficulties establishing a bedtime routine, and often exhibit behavioural problems as a result of the lack of structure which they are provided with in their lives. Families aside, many shift workers struggle to maintain personal relationships on account of the often antisocial hours which they are expected to work.
On a physical level, it has been suggested that the tired brain renders people physically unable to socialise. This is because tired people are, on the whole, less empathetic, more impulsive, and less able to process information. This naturally, makes it very difficult for people to operate effectively in a social setting.
Professor Russell Foster, the world’s leading expert on sleep, believes that people need to be warned about the effect shift work will have on their social lives.
He said; “I think people need to know that they’re not going to be able to adapt to shift work, ad it’s not only letting the person know who’s undertaking shift work, but also their family, their partners, their extended family. They need to know that these individuals will change. They will be perhaps, more likely to lose their temper. They won’t be the healthy rested brain that the people are used to.”

Exhaustion threatens far more than workers’ ability to socialise. A tired brain, brought about by the constant sleep disruption which shift workers bring upon themselves, results in a severe drop in cognitive function. This has a very adverse effect on people’s ability to consolidate memory, react appropriately, and make responsible judgements.
Society should be far more worried about how rested our workers brains are. For instance, the nuclear incidents at Chernobyl, the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger, and the Exxon Valdez oil spill have all been linked to exhausted shift workers making poor judgements.
On a smaller scale, do you really want an exhausted doctor operating on you at night? Would you be happy hearing that the broker who is managing your life savings is falling asleep at their desk?
Tiredness can reap devastating consequences for shift workers, and everyone who is affected by the work they do. Night workers are being destroyed, and are becoming destructive, due to the unorthodox nature of their professions.
Our leaders and experts need to wake up to the problem, and act before we are faced with a national health crisis.
