Discover This Night Shift Health Problem

Is the extra money you earn for working the night shift worth the risk to your health? Is this night shift health problem recently discovered going to have you thinking again?

Before you answer consider the findings of an international group of experts.

You'll be surprised to learn there's growing evidence that night shifts are bad for you - though few who work them and are then diagnosed with cancer make any connection between the two.

One of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reports, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, showed a 36% greater risk of breast cancer for women who had worked night shifts for more than 30 years, compared with women who had never worked at night.

As a result, the Danish government is making the first ever payments as compensation to women who've gotten breast cancer after long periods of working nights.

This decision follows a ruling by the IARC, an arm of the UN's World Health Organization that night shifts might just up the risk of developing cancer.

In fact, working these shifts is considered just one level below a category one cancer risk like asbestos.

Working nights has been added to a list of chemical agents that includes lead compounds and anabolic steroids; creosotes and diesel exhaust; sun lamps and sun beds.

Dr Vincent Cogliano of the IARC said the conclusion was reached after looking at lots of studies that involved both humans (mostly female nurses and flight attendants) and animals.

There's evidence to support the hypothesis that changes in sleep patterns may suppress the production of melatonin - a hormone that's important for regulating our body clock and a powerful antioxidant - which seems to have some beneficial effects in preventing cancer.

Cogliano, part of a group that published a series of research reviews in December 2007 says, "The level of evidence is really no different than it might be for an industrial chemical." Working nights may be just as dangerous to your health as exposure to an industrial chemical it may well be.

The evidence also suggests night shifts may bring risk of cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal problems, low birth weight babies and longer pregnancies.

To date, just about 40 Danish women have won the right to the groundbreaking compensation but it isn't easy to qualify. Women with a family history of breast cancer have been denied payments.

Cogliano said that nearly one fifth of workers in Europe and North America work night shifts across all industries in both the public and private sectors and suggests, "More studies are needed to examine this potential risk in other professions and for other cancers."

So while night work might earn you more money, many who've done it long term and been diagnosed with breast cancer would change things now, if they could.

These workers also dealt with symptoms like disturbed sleep and fatigue, digestive problems and increased risk of accidents at work. The disruption of sleeping and eating patterns was difficult too.

If you do work nights, be sure to establish a regular daytime sleeping routine (your body needs about 5-9 hours every 24 hours).

Go to bed and get up at the same time, even on days off, vacations or holidays. Keep you sleeping space restful, quiet and a comfortable, constant temperature. Keep the room dark by using black out lining in your curtains or blinds.

By doing all you can to maximize the sleep you get, you should be able to work nights without creating a "night shift" health problem.