Shift workers risking diabetes and obesity

Shift workers getting too little sleep at the wrong time of day may be increasing their risk of diabetes and obesity according to researchers

The team is calling for more measures to reduce the impact of shift working following the results of its study

Researchers controlled the lives of 21 people including meal and bedtimes

The results published in Science Translational Medicine showed changes to normal sleep meant the body struggled to control sugar levels

Some participants even developed early symptoms of diabetes within weeks

Shift work has been associated with a host of health problems

Doctors at Brigham and Womens Hospital in the US were trying to study its effects in a controlled environment

Lower insulin levels
The 21 healthtrial participants started with 10 hours sleep at night This was followed by three weeks of disruption to their sleep and body clocks

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The evidence is clear that getting enough sleep is important for health and that sleep should be at night for best effect

Dr Orfeu Buxton
Brigham and Womens Hospital
The length of the day was extended to 28 hours creating an effect similar to a fulltime flyer constantly getting jet lag

Participants were allowed only 65 hours sleep in the new 28hour day equivalent to 56 hours in a normal day They also lived in dim light to prevent normal light resetting the body clock

During this part of the study sugar levels in the blood were quotsignificantly increasedquot immediately after a meal and during quotfastingquot parts of the day

The researchers showed that the hormone that lower levels of insulin the hormone that normally controls blood sugar were produced

Three of the participants had sugar levels which stayed so high after their meals they were classified as quotprediabeticquot

They also highlighted a risk of putting on weight as the body slowed down

quotThe 8 drop in resting metabolic rate that we measured in our participants translates into a 125pound increase in weight over a single yearquot they wrote

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Clearly this does not equate to the normal experience of shift workers it is not possible to conclude that the findings would translate to real conditions in the wider public

Dr Matthew Hobbs
Diabetes UK
Lead researcher Dr Orfeu Buxton said quotWe think these results support the findings from studies showing that in people with a prediabetic condition shift workers who stay awake at night are much more likely to progress to fullon diabetes than day workers

quotSince night workers often have a hard time sleeping during the day they can face both circadian body clock disruption working at night and insufficient sleep during the day

quotThe evidence is clear that getting enough sleep is important for health and that sleep should be at night for best effectquot

The research group called for more efforts to reduce the health impact of shift working

Artificial world
Dr Matthew Hobbs head of research at Diabetes UK said quotThis is an interesting study which shows that under extreme conditions involving sleep deprivation and tricking the body clock participants produced less insulin and therefore had higher blood glucose levels then when they were able to sleep normally and live according to normal daily rhythmsquot

He cautioned that the laboratory conditions were not the same as working nights

quotClearly this does not equate to the normal experience of shift workers who are able for example to use bright lights when not sleeping

quotThe study also involved only 21 people For these reasons it is not possible to conclude that the findings would translate to real conditions in the wider publicquot

Date : 12 Apr, 2012
Reference : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17680882

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