Health concerns over night-shift

Health concerns over night-shift

news.bbc.co.uk

The Danish government has begun paying compensation to women who have developed breast cancer after long spells working nights.

It follows a ruling by a United Nations agency that night shifts probably increase the risk of developing cancer.

BBC Radio Scotland's The Investigation has been hearing from experts and union leaders in Scotland who said the UK government should be doing more to tackle the dangers.

For years there has been growing evidence that night shifts are bad for you.

Among the symptoms: disturbed sleep, fatigue, digestive problems and a greater risk of accidents at work.

(visit the link for the full news article)

So do you work odd or long hours?
Feel so drained that you end up detesting your job, family and friends?

Night shifts may possibly be the reason why.

Category One risks are known carcinogens such as asbestos. Night working now sits just one rung below that: a probable cause of cancer.

Could this also be linked to male testicular cancer?

Is it possible that all these charities who are 'working' towards a cure for any or all cancer/s is just a scam when the studies carried out over a non specified amount of years point towards working nights and long hours in most cases.



news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

Its been known for years that night shift nurses have a lower life expectancy that others. Its not really worth the 18% we get as compensation over our base rate.

It may soon become evidently clear that the extension of the working day into the night and, of course, long hours is just an overflow in trying to keep the global economy rolling instead of stagnating.

The health issues involved are not taken into consideration as any health issues of the people are just another form of profit for some organisation somewhere.

And then you get things like this;

Ministers have wasted public money in their attempts to tackle health inequalities, MPs say.

Ministers have pledged to reduce the health inequality gap - measured by infant mortality and life expectancy - by 10% between 1997 and 2010.

But it seems certain they will miss that target as data published last year showed the gap between the richest and poorest has actually widened in the past decade.

news.bbc.co.uk...

Well, of course the poor are going to suffer more.. It's the poor that work the most unsociable hours.. Especially night shifts.

They go on to suggest that money must be used more wisely in order to get the right results...
Well, throwing money at the problem is not going to solve anything.. you need to fix the problem... and that problem is night shifts, working in dangerous places or around chemicals and may other hazardous/strenuous scenarios.

Giving people pay rises wont solve it either... Ok, they will be able to afford better health care/drugs but it still does not solve the problem.. better health care or drugs just masks the problem.

"Major programmes - such as Sure Start, and efforts to tackle obesity - are based on research and are being evaluated."

news.bbc.co.uk...

The issue regarding obesity has had a recent focus on chocolate and there was a vote to try to get it taxed...

GPs vote against 'chocolate tax'

news.bbc.co.uk...

So according to the 'income inequality', those in countries with a low difference are far healthier than the UK, which has a high income inequality.
But it seems this inequality is going to grow significantly as yet more taxes, price rises and stealth taxes are being imposed upon us under the guise of 'making the country healthy'

The government's top medical adviser has drawn up plans for a minimum price for alcohol which would double the cost of some drinks in England.

Under the proposal from Sir Liam Donaldson, no drinks could be sold for less than 50 pence per unit of alcohol they contain.

news.bbc.co.uk...

First they almost ban smoking completely, but were too afraid to do so, then they tried to tax a nations favourite nibble and now they want to push us away from being able to have a pint after a days work. But they wont increase our wages, wont reduce prices, will only bail out the banks and generally contribute nothing to the nation as a whole.

Soon, only the rich will be drinking wine and eating chocolate on a quiet friday evening whilst the rest of the country is working hard in some factory, well late into the night.... At least they'll know where the riff-raff are.

We are still animals linked to the Earths cycle. We sleep at night and work during the day.

They are finding out more and more we get vital nutrients from the sun. I am wondering if it is deficiencies that are causing the problems.

The body does adapt. I know of some hormonal diseases, like cushings, symptoms will change to the person who works at night.

Isolation may be a part of it.

This data has been known for a long, long time. I can remember my dad getting shift differential of 10% for the 3PM - 11PM shift, and 15% for the graveyard shift 11PM - 7AM. He was a steelworker.

This was back in the 60's and 70's. My dad died of a heart attack at age 48, right after he came home from the graveyard shift.

Did the odd hours contribute to his death? Possibly.

I work nights (actually 2 x 12hr days, then 2 x 12hr nights and then 4 days off) and have done for 5 years now.

Aside from having a disrupted sleep pattern where I tend to be more lively in the evenings, I do not believe I have suffered any ill affects so far.

Having said that, I'm sure doing nights for a very long period would be detrimental to ones health. We get a 22.5% uplift on the base salary for doing nights.

I certainly do not plan to be doing nights shifts for another 5 years, but having done so has allowed my career to develop immensely in the last few years.

It's not as if I was forced into doing them, I volunteered. I knew it would be "bad" for me, but I accepted the risk in return for extra money and experience.

Originally posted by Extralien


So do you work odd or long hours?
Feel so drained that you end up detesting your job, family and friends?

Well thats just great news for me

I work 11 and 12 hour shifts, and my roster runs for 365 days of the year, and 24 hours a day. So I even have to work christmas and good friday....damn weather doesnt stop for anyone

I am an ex UK cop and was astounded to read in a Police Gazette many years ago that the life expectancy of a cop after the average 32 years service was........................2 years. This was even then put down to working a three shift rota covering 24 hours, with the night shift being recognised as the most disruptive to the body.

reply to post by OzWeatherman


Same here dude, had to be in whatever the weather. The recent bout of snow was no excuse! Same with Crimble and other Bank Holidays, if I'm rota'd on, I work. It does take it's toll not only on your well being, but your social life too as inevitably you end up working when others are off.

Originally posted by stumason
reply to post by OzWeatherman

 

Same here dude, had to be in whatever the weather. The recent bout of snow was no excuse! Same with Crimble and other Bank Holidays, if I'm rota'd on, I work. It does take it's toll not only on your well being, but your social life too as inevitably you end up working when others are off.

Yeah, if the weather is worse here, for example if we have a cyclone, then we even have to come in for extra shifts (I work for Australian Bureau of Met by the way). Twelve hours is a killer on a night shift when we have bad weather like that.

My entire department of over 100 guards works a rotating 12.5 hour shift.
We work 3 days on. 2.5 days off. Then 3 nights and 1.5 days off. Then 4days on, 2.5 days off then 4nights on and 1.5 off.

I only speak for myself on the sleeping pattern but there are several nights a month where I just cant fall asleep. Ill work all day then just lay in bed for 8 hours and just be wired. I've had to call in sick because of it.

Another thing is the Bowel problems. And I speak for almost everyone on this because I see them all complaining also. Its like everyone has irritable bowel syndrome around here. And severe cases at that. You get almost a 1 minute warning that you have to go to the bathroom.

We tried explaining to our management that we cant continue this schedule. And they attacked and threatened us. We explained that we have to take drugs to stay awake,drugs to fall asleep, and drugs to keep our stomachs in line.
Their reply was asking for our resignations.

In today's economy you cant just quit your job even if its killing you. All you can do is work till you die. Its a sad Existence and we will all die young with only ourselves to blame.

Yes rotating shift is a killer. i used to work a shift schedule of 7 days 1 off 7 swing 2 off then 7 grave 4 off. and worked with what i later found were very toxic chemicals,(the company lied to us and told us they were safe, even gave us the MSDS for the chemicals, but we found that when the chemicals were mixed the became very toxic) did this for ten years till i could not take it any more.
That was 15 years ago and i still have problem with sleeping because of it.

I believe it also caused my other health problems,
sleep apnea. autoimmune disorder, heart attack and diabetes.

The problem is after years when you find out that you have the health problems you no longer can SUE them or claim Workman's comp.

This causes the taxpayers to have to support these mistreated workers.


The strange thing is i never had problems working straight swing or graveyard shifts,
In fact i enjoyed working straight graveyard shift. i am a night person.

I do 3 10 hour night shifts and get 4 day long weekends, I chose this because I don't enjoy what I'm doing and I couldn't do the typical 39 hours spread over the whole week with only a day or two off. I'm not surprised its bad for people though, however it wasn't much of a change for me as with my hobbiest programming I often work into the small hours.

One thing that does get me is going to bed knowing its going to be a beautiful day, but then I remember that I would be under neon lights if I worked days, not outside, the extra days off mean I get plenty of bulk free time. The other problem I have with it is how it segregates my life between work 3 days / play 3 days but really I find large amounts of time easier to work with when I program so I shouldn't really complain.

It's all only temporary anyway, I only want to be there one or two more years and I'll have the money I need .

I'm on a twelve hours night shift as I type this....


Not something I wanted to read right now but good to know.

reply to post by miguelbmx


Ha, me too! Got another 6 hrs to go then another one tomorrow night. Not pleasant reading material when you're in the middle of one yourself!

I never was much of a daywalker. Once I got off day shift I never looked back. Graveyard shift was always my favorite.

I dislike crowds, dislike traffic and dislike competing for parking spaces.

I got stuck on day shift for some 5 to 6 months some years ago. It was awful. I asked myself...some of you people do this every day?? No wonder some people have such rage.

When I was on days back then. ..it had been many years since I spent so much of my time standing in line somewhere. In my car going to and fro work...lines. Going to the stores after work...lines. Going to a movie with my woman...lines..again. To the bank..more lines. Out to dinner..lines. It was awful. And some of you think dayshift is so great? How much of your daily lives are spent standing or sitting in line somewhere??? Do any of you take stock?? Do you think this is normal?? Even justified?? Is it even reasonable and logical??

If I want sunlight even on graveyard shift I can get plenty. Sunlight is not the problem. Getting quiet peaceful time is the problem. Fighting traffic, lines et al..is not peaceful to me.

One problem about graveyard shift is that so many of the people around me think that others only work Dayshift and for the most part ..havent a clue.

I've gotten to where anyone who knows me does not come to my front door...I wont answer it. People who know me come to the back door.
This eliminates alot of wildlife from outside my home.
If you come to the front door you are selling something and or I dont want to talk to you anyways.
When I sleep my phones are off.. if it is an emergency ..folks I want to talk to will come to the back door. The rest of the world can stay operating in the fast food lane..and just pass by.

You people think day shift is such a great deal...I feel sorry for many of you spending so much of your lives standing or sitting in line somewhere.
I understand it for may of you who have families. I also feel sorry for you if you are working the back shift with families. They too are often ignorant enough to think and operate like everyone else is disposable and expendable to support their day shift lives without supporing the night shift working hours/lives of others. They are often high maintenance and dont know it ..they think thier high maintenance ways are the cats meow. I dont think so. I hear this alot from the people with whom I work and have families. Their own families havent a clue.

Alot of people dont have the option as to what shift they work. Thats the way it is. As for me I prefer to work the night shift..preferably the graveyard shift..everyone else can just pass by.

I hope never again to get stuck on dayshift. Had to spend two weeks on dayshift for a class..recently. Was glad to get back to the bosom of nights.

Still want to get back on the graveyard shift. I miss it.

Thanks,
Orangetom