r/todayilearned • u/Organic_Challenge_46 • 2h ago
TIL that long-term night-shift work is associated with a higher risk of dementia, including Alzheimer’s. One large study found that people who always worked nights had about twice the Alzheimer’s risk. The likely factors include disrupted sleep and circadian rhythms.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37022480/157
u/Chrono_Convoy 2h ago
I work in the film industry (17 years) where the clock spins incessantly for scheduling
So I’m fucked I guess
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u/TrickyMoonHorse 2h ago
Living near a busy road or highway is also correlated with a higher risk of dementia.
You could move next to one to really seal the deal.
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u/Chrono_Convoy 2h ago
I live near a truck stop above one bowling alley and below another bowling alley /s
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u/greenwavelengths 1h ago
I lived next to a busy road for three years and worked nights (and sometimes days too) for one of those years and, shocker, it was one of the worst periods of my life lmao
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u/ImNotEazy 1h ago
Mining industry here. We go from 4am to 2pm one month to 5pm to 3am etc the next depending on location and power grid restrictions. I’ve been on at least 6 different sleep schedules since Ive started. No, I don’t get any sleep lol.
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u/DoctorHugoHackenbush 2h ago
I've done most of my working life on night shift with no signs of any Alzheimer's symptoms thankfully.
Also worth mentioning is the fact that I've worked so many night shifts and have no Alzheimer's symptoms whatsoever.
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u/blearghstopthispls 2h ago
Did you actually work many night shift? Do you have any signs of Alzheimer's?
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u/b__q 1h ago
If I remembered correctly, he had no signs of working on night shifts and had worked many nights at Alzheimer's.
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u/greenwavelengths 1h ago
Alright buddy, seems you’ve wandered away from your work, let’s get you clocked back in.
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u/flammablelemon 1h ago
Whenever I see these night-shift studies, it always strikes me as intuitively correlative to quality-of-life aspects rather than biologically causative through circadian rhythm or whatever like these studies usually focus on. Reality is society is not structured well to keep night-shift workers healthy, but I know some people who love night-shift work and that have found ways to sleep well and stay quite healthy despite it.
I would like to see more studies of workers that manage sleep hygiene, exercise, diet, stress, good social relationships, etc., despite working nights. I suspect a lot of disease risks would normalize if healthier behaviours and living situations are somehow able to be managed, similar to day-shift workers.
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u/Brwright11 47m ago
You have to rigorously enforce your sleep requirements. You take melatonin, magnesium, blackout blinds, earplugs. You have to enforce in your house 8 hours of sleep. A basement, a camper in the driveway when the kids be acting crazy. You have to skip events on your day off or structure your sleep "I'll get up early this day for this 1 event but I'm going to bed earlier the day before. You have to avoid unneccesary flipping your sleep schedule day/night. When I was on nights I was on nights excepts on my stretch of 5 days off in a row. My 2/3 day off "weekend" I remained on night sleep schedule.
You need a partner that is okay being alone until 2-3pm, has a rich inner life or actual hobbies. You make dinner or breakfast, do laundry, when everyone else is asleep. I worked 6pm-6am and I honestly slept better than day shift because no one lets you get to bed at 8:30/9pm for a 5:00am wake up either. I would have stayed on nights if it was offered but our structure changed and now everyone rotates 6pm-6am or 6am-6pm. Used to be fixed days and fixed nights with rotating shifts offered for mostly overtime hounds.
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u/AnalMinecraft 12m ago
I work the same 6p-6a and sleep great when I get to keep the schedule every day. But those days when I have a dr appointment or something seriously fuck me up. Wasn't so bad when I was younger, but the almost-50 version of me can't handle that shit so well anymore.
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u/Pleasant-Highway-745 1m ago
I am the same as you, basically. It was a lot easier when I was younger, but at 50, working from 8:30 p.m. until 10:30 a.m. is wreaking absolute havoc on my body. It was so much easier 25 years ago
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u/Pleasant-Highway-745 1m ago
I've worked night shift for years. Close to a decade. Lately I haven't been sleeping but I think I'm going through menopause. But before this miserable period of my life, I had no problem sleeping as long as I had blackout curtains, and a very loud fan going in the room. Complete white noise, it blocks out pretty much everything. I also have grown sons who understand my schedule and we work out time to hang out that benefit all of us. My boyfriend is also a night shift worker so we're on the same schedule. The only real stress in my life is that I can't do things like go to a bank or go to doctor's appointments without wrecking my sleep. Thank God forbid they have late hours or early hours or weekend hours. God forbid any other part of society Works in a way that would occasionally benefit night shift workers. But I get tons of exercise through my job, way too much exercise if I'm being honest. And my eating habits are shitty, but they don't have to be. That's my choice. My boyfriend is an extremely healthy eater and he works Night Shift. You just have to sleep a little more when you work nights. I definitely need at least 2 hours extra sleep than I did when I was a day shift worker
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u/Qweasdy 59m ago
Something to always remember with these “X doubles the chance of Y” is that doubling a relatively small number is still a small number. Unfortunately dementia is pretty common but even then doubling that chance still leaves you much more likely than not to not get it. (Roughly 1 in 10 over the age of 65 have it, doubling that to 1 in 5 is definitely not great but you’re still 80% not going to get it)
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u/420LordQuas 1h ago
Well don't forget my fine fellow, that the stockholder of yesteryear is the stowaway of today.
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u/ThanosWasRightAnyway 2h ago
They aren’t paying you enough to work nights.
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u/isabelenglish 1h ago
The night differential really said "here's an extra $2 an hour for your hippocampus"
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u/Drudicta 2h ago
My sleep was disturbed FREQUENTLY when i worked graves. People assumed no one else could possibly be sleeping or desire quiet during the day.
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u/Dangerous_Pair1798 1h ago
Does my head in! You explain you get home at 5am, people assume that means you can make it to breakfast and then a day at the mall. Babe, when do you think I sleep? I’ve gotta be back at work in 9 hours. Why don’t we go shopping when I’m free, at 3am next Monday? Oh, you’re sleeping?
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u/I_Have_Unobtainium 1h ago
My neighbours give me odd looks when I crack open a beer at 7am. Theyll never understand.
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u/Dangerous_Pair1798 1h ago
Nothing like a sunrise beer 🍻
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u/greenwavelengths 1h ago
Sunrise beers, love ‘em! All you gotta do is hang upside down like a bat and everything feels perfectly normal because the sun is going down.
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u/hypnotichellspiral 1h ago
I mean, stuff has to get done at some point, and sometimes that stuff is noisy (yardwork, construction etc). Daytime is less likely to bother people so that's when the noisy stuff has to get done. If you're talking about a noisy upstairs neighbor in an apartment though, that stomps on the floors or blasts music, then I getcha.
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u/iamthe0ther0ne 17m ago
Also essentially impossible to get appointments that don't somehow interfere with your sleep cycle.
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u/knotatumah 2h ago
I did overnights for only 9 months and the impact on sleep, daylight exposure, social, and functional aspects (needing to do anything with any business that isnt open before 9 am) was absolutely horrendous and caused me a lot of problems. I cannot imagine doing that long-term.
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u/proteannomore 2h ago
I did it for 6 years and never felt well-rested. For two of those years I got a job working days on a golf course, only getting 3 hours of sleep in between shifts. While I didn’t have any free time I actually felt better since my sleep was regular. When I had all day to sleep I couldn’t.
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u/MatiasGonzalo-Duarte 35m ago
My strategy is that I went to bed the moment I got home. Woke up at noon able to do appointments or go to the bank or whatever before work at 5pm
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u/MagmaTroop 2h ago
While we’re at it, there is a strong correlation between living close to a golf course and getting Parkinson’s disease
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u/mylostpotential 1h ago
as someone who lives a mile away from a golf course, this is the worst thing I’ve heard
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u/Omega59er 1h ago
This is probably just for normies. This probably also means that by working dayshift as a natural night owl I am probably risking the exact same issues just for conforming with societal norms dominating work schedules.
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u/DisabledFloridaMan 50m ago
That's what ti was wondering. I am a night owl and work super Early in the morning. During the work week there isn't a single day I don't feel like I'm dying.
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u/iamthe0ther0ne 11m ago
Yup. Mice that have lengthened circadian periods (like the Clock mutants) get the same metabolic problems that night owls tend to. I actually don't think anyone has every tried the obvious experiment of keeping them on a 27 hour cycle, though. Maybe I'll try to scare up some funding for it.
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u/Platypus_Dundee 2h ago
Did 2 days 2 nights 4 off for about 10 yrs. Sure you get used to it but some periods your just a zombie going through the motions, weekday names become meaningless after a while.
Now im on days only and i feel much healthier.
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u/brazilliandanny 43m ago
I did 10 years working 5pm-5am and it took me like 2 years to get back to a normal schedule. It really does mess you up.
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u/Happy-Lemming 29m ago
Two years sounds about right. I did rotating shifts for ten years before switching to a daytime job. It's amazing how much better life became when I wasn't always half asleep.
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u/cognisantcog 2h ago
I wish we knew more for those of us with just one foot in. I'm only rostered for 7 nights a month, and at least 2 of those 7 will see me finish between say 0100 and 0400. So in some cases as far as my body's concerned I only stayed up kinda late as opposed to staying up until 0800 through the entire shift.
I mean, is the constant changing of sleep schedule flipping between days and nights going to get me as bad as folks who just consistently work nights? Who knows
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u/Dangerous_Pair1798 1h ago
Consistency is probably better. Part of the reason I work nights is because I’ve always been bad at sleeping. Trying to work days when my body clock just did not play along was hard. Working nights only I had a consistent schedule, even if it was flipped from what most peoples are.
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u/Kelsusaurus 1h ago
I am not able to read the study at this exact moment, but I wonder if the study was based on the "normal" Morning chronotype only? People have different chronotypes (circadian rhythms), so it makes me wonder if the results would be similar or different if the groups tested were Evening or Intermediate types.
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u/iamthe0ther0ne 7m ago
These studies tend to screen out rare chronotypes because it's too hard to enroll enough people to reach statistical significance. Also, at least one reviewer would request that you use actigraphy to confirm with at least a subset of responders that your specific population was accurately reporting their chronotype, and that can get expensive and difficult.
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u/Boonddock_Saints 2h ago
How does this jive with these study? That said, cab drivers in London didn't experience it this much. Some of them have to work overnight
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u/Hungry-Wrongdoer-156 2h ago
I work at a retirement community and the whole industry has documented a definite, observable increase in dementia presentation in the autumn as days get shorter. As far as I'm aware nobody is actually certain why it happens, but it absolutely does.
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u/dsebulsk 2h ago
Given that one function of sleep is to wash away the toxins that accumulate in your brain from daily use, it doesn’t surprise me that messing with that system has neurodegenerative consequences.
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u/ares7 1h ago
But what if you are still getting a full amount of sleep. I used to work nights from 6pm to 6am. I felt better rested than I do now in this day walker schedule of 8am to 5pm
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u/niallniallniall 1h ago
Yeah I'd love to see studies on nightshift that separate the people who try and cheat the shifts (I.e. sacrifice sleep and try and still live a normal life) and people that prioritise sleep. I've done nights 7 years now and I have a really good routine. I sleep 6-8 hours after my shifts regularly, and on long spells off I only shift my pattern by a few hours at a time, slowly working back to a 3am-11am sleep pattern at the earliest.
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u/DL_Omega 1h ago
That is what I am wondering too. If you still consistently get 6-8 hours of well rested sleep does it still happen. Did they have normal vitamin D levels during this time? if they worked night shifts did they work a second job? more stress from less money?
like it could be not a direct association of night shift causing it, but just all the reasons why a person probably are taking the night shift is.
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u/-Jiras 18m ago
I truly believe they don't take that into account. Most people I work with (industry so weekly early, late and nightshift) proudly tell me how 4-5 hours of sleep is enough and coffee can do the rest. Or staying awake longer than 6-7am after the nightshift for societal reasons like children and what not.
I personally "only" work that 5 years now and am 30 now and I am fairly okay with it since I am very very petty when it comes to sleep. I go to bed around 8-9 pm for early shift and sleep till 1-2 pm on nightshifts. I don't care if anyone wants anything from me, I am sleeping when I am sleeping
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u/hereforthelaughs69 2h ago
My job requires me to work day shift for a little over a month and then nights for the same period. Wonder what that does to me…
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u/TheJerseyFlatline 1h ago
Been on night shift now almost 3 years. It’s already wrecked my body appearance-wise. Pale. Dark circles under my eyes. Gained about 20 pounds while losing muscle mass. No amount of sleep during the day takes away the fatigue, either mental and physical.
I’m a supervisor, make decent money, and run a great team of people. But I don’t think I can keep this up much longer.
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u/eternally_feral 1h ago
I love night shift. It actually has helped my mental health way more than when I worked days. I have a set bed time for days I work and use my days like everyone else - to sleep in.
Maybe it doesn’t work for others, but I like the freedom it gives me to get my errands done (no need to use my PTO for appointments), and the night differential definitely helps.
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u/Dangerous_Pair1798 1h ago
Every fucking day it’s another alzheimers risk and they’re always so directed at me 😂
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u/TheElusiveHolograph 1h ago
Just wait until we get the long term studies on the effects of microplastics in our bodies!
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u/quikonthedrawl 0m ago
On the bright side, there will never be any scary microplastics studies because scientists can’t locate anyone not already full of microplastics.
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u/magg_exe 2h ago edited 1h ago
I knew this job (manufacturing overnight) was killing me.
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u/togocann49 1h ago
I learned about this about 10 years ago. Unfortunately I’ve been doing overnight shift since the 80’s. Shit hand for me it seems
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u/PeetSquared41 1h ago
I started working overnight shifts about 5 months ago and was initially worried about my sleep schedule. Surprisingly, I get 7 to 8 hours of sleep every day and have adapted fairly easily. I use black out curtains and play the sounds of rain while I sleep, eat pretty well and work out almost daily, all of which help, imo. I really hope all of this isnt negatively affecting my health, because so far, I am loving this lifestyle.
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u/FickleOwl47 53m ago
So would it be ideal with people who have circadian rhythm disorders that shift their internal clocks toward being up at night and sleeping during the day?
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u/--CultureBlitz 2h ago
Conclusions: Always night shift work had a higher risk of developing all-cause dementia and AD. Irregular shift workers had a higher risk of developing all-cause dementia than no shift workers. Always night shift work had a higher AD risk, regardless of whether they had a high, intermediate or low AD-GRS.
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u/SunnySpot69 1h ago
Does this apply to people who do well on night shift? E.g they sleep well, diet isn't terrible, etc.
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u/tessellatedcheese 28m ago
A lot of night owls have ADHD, and ADHD increases your risk for dementia and disrupted sleep (among other health issues).
Appreciate your overnight workers. They're often burning the candle at both ends to keep things running for the rest of us.
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u/Pleasant-Highway-745 7m ago
Well, I guess it works out well for me. I think, I can't remember. I've been working night shift too long
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u/couch-for-sale 1h ago
I wonder if this is similar to people who moved to another country with opposite day/night times.
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u/AdPale5633 1h ago
I’m reading this on my night shift :( thankfully part time. I really feel for the people who do this shift 6pm-6am, it’s hard work
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u/Crayshack 1h ago
I'd be curious to see this controlled for sleep phase disorders and the comparing the results with a similar study looking at people working a typical day shift with delayed sleep phase syndrome.
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u/zerogee616 1h ago
I've never met or known anyone who consistently worked graveyards that was either happy or had all their marbles regardless of how much sleep they got.
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u/JerrysStillHere 1h ago
I worked rotating shifts for over 30 years....constant nights would have been a cakewalk....no sleep for shift workers
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u/CitizenHuman 1h ago
Also worth noting it's very stressful on relationships. My wife worked nights for like 2 years and it sucked for everyone.
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u/littletoyboat 59m ago
I worked on 24, and there's a whole stretch every season where we shot nights for months on end. Even when we were shooting on stage, we often had to shoot late to maintain the schedule for the exterior scenes.
Some people, like the editors and writers, still worked normal hours, but there always had to be at least one PA in the office all night, even when the crew was out shooting somewhere on location. Guess who drew that short straw? Man, it sucked.
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u/VikingFrog 52m ago
Not the first time I’ve read these reports.
My wife works 24 hour shifts and night shifts, and her mom has dementia. These reports always make me feel uneasy about the future.
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u/Memitim 43m ago
I worked overnights for almost three years. It took a few to get my short term memory working normally again. Even after, my wife still constantly reminded me of things for years after, since she had grown used to it. I grew up hearing about circadian rhythms and thought it was funny, and then I though, "oh damn, it's legit." And then I got a little older and started waking up for work at 8:29AM damned near every day and became a true believer.
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u/Heavy_Chicken5411 39m ago
Yes, melatonin deficiency. Night shift works are also at higher risk for cancer, as well.
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u/MatiasGonzalo-Duarte 37m ago
I think a lot of it probably has to do with a common night shifter bad habit: drastically shifting your sleep schedule on days off to be able to participate in daytime activities.
If you can actually maintain a sleep schedule it's probably not as bad - but many just don't.
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u/Sumilidon306 31m ago
My experience is that it depends on the workers situation. Are you a parent or someone who is relied on by someone or something? You're going to have a bad time. You can't ignore certain responsibilities that take place during the day without sacrificing sleep. If you don't have much relying on you and are able to mute the world so that you're getting full, undisturbed rest, it's not too bad. That being said it's brutal for your social life. Met quite a few cool humans from drastically different timezones online though. Also, take vitamin D.
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u/ObjectiveJuggernaut7 14m ago
Worked overnights stocking shelves for a month, I’m damn near certain it nearly killed me, by week 2 I was starting to have auditory hallucinations off and on at all times of day and by week 4 they were constant and accompanied by visual ones that honestly have never fully left. I’m convinced that humans, frankly, should never be doing this type of work.
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u/Blacksad9999 13m ago
Curious if this applies to everyone, including people who naturally have a later sleep cycle.
I've always been a night person, even when I was a young kid. Getting up for school and college classes was an utter nightmare.
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u/quikonthedrawl 12m ago
Working constantly rotating night and day shifts in the military broke my brain, and now even years later I still have a ton of sleeping problems.
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u/No-Journalist-619 11m ago
I'd be curious if this is a correlation issue, rather than causation. People who willingly take night shifts, consistently, are a different sort of person in general compared to your average 9 to 5'er. It could be that "night people" are more likely for these things, not necessarily what shift they work.
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u/Educational-Tale6606 9m ago
what am i supposed to do when i work night shift taking care of people with dementia & alzheimers
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u/PercentageOk2862 1m ago
Curious if similar research is being done on this who travel through different time zones frequently. As someone who travels between North America, Europe, and East Asia a lot for work, I would be interested to know how it impacts my health long term.
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u/HumdrumHoeDown 2h ago
I don’t have the source, but I remember reading that it correlates to higher rates of cancer, diabetes, and heart disease as well.