An opportunity to help understand the link between shift work and health

Shift workers are an essential part of our economy and community. From the doctors, nurses, paramedics and security officers who keep us safe throughout the night to the drivers and shelf stockers who deliver and replenish goods. Each one of us is bound to know a shift worker. In fact, almost 1 in 5 Australians are shift workers.



We now know that shift workers are more likely to be overweight and obese (Amani 2013). They also face a 20% increased risk of heart disease, including strokes and heart attacks, and a 37% increased risk of type-2 diabetes (Vyas 2012, Gan 2014). These increased disease risks may in part be related to having to eat late at night. We know that the way our body digests, absorbs and uses nutrients from foods is different at night compared to during the day. As such, carefully planning when and what shift workers eat at night is important to reduce heart disease risk.  

What do we currently know?  
Our bodies are governed by our internal body clocks, or circadian rhythm. It tells us that night time is for resting, and not a time for working or eating. It has been well-established that the breakdown of food into sugar (glucose metabolism) and the response of our body to insulin (a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels) is partially regulated by this internal clock.

Irregular sleep and eating patterns, which is typical in shift workers, is associated with poor blood sugar (glucose) control. Poor glucose control increases the risk of developing type-2 diabetes and heart disease.

Our research
Our researchers recently published a study investigating how our bodies respond to food at different times across a 24-hour period (Leung 2017) to try and understand the effect of eating at night on shift workers’ health. The meals consumed in the evening and at midnight led to a much higher blood sugar response compared to the morning.
Why is this important? This study demonstrated that when we eat has an effect on glucose  control and identifies meal timing as a modifiable factor in reducing the risk of metabolic-related disease in shift workers.

What are we doing now? 
Most of the information we have about how meal timing impacts health, in the context of shift work, has happened inside a laboratory. What we really want to know is what happens in real life. That’s why we are currently running a study with shift workers in their usual work environment. While it is known that shift work is associated with poorer health, we want to find out how to minimise the risk of developing chronic disease, by determining when the best times are for shift workers to eat.

Read more about the study here.

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