Does Shift Work Affect Diabetics?
I worked night-shift this past weekend at the hospital, 7PM till 7AM. Halfway through Saturday night, as things calmed down I got to thinking. I wondered if nurses, or any other type of shift worker, with diabetes have a more difficult time in controlling their blood sugars.
When you think about it, our bodies are just not wired to be up at night and sleep during the day. I know that personally, when I work night shift, I am up for at least 24 hours before getting sleep. My meals are not at the “normal” times and exercise is not a real priority that day.
My blood sugars were very elevated through the night, even though I wasn’t eating. I did have several cups of coffee to help the ol’ eyes stay open during the down time, which I might add is not all that much, contrary to popular belief.
Once again, my crazy thoughts overtook me this morning and I started searching away looking for the answers to the questions that I ponder. Guess what? I did find research that showed that blood sugars, blood pressures, and cortisol levels of night shift workers were compromised due to irregular circadian rhythms.
These results are very similar to those previously found in simulated night-shift conditions; it is the first time such changes have been reported in real shift workers in field conditions. They provide evidence that the abnormal metabolic responses to meals taken at night during unadapted night shifts are due, at least in part, to a relative insulin resistance, which could contribute to the documented cardiovascular morbidity associated with shift work.
Think about all the shift workers across the globe. Can we attribute some of our rising health care epidemics and concerns to erratic work schedules? Will our bodies evolve over time to adapt to our ever growing busy lifestyles? And finally, will my blood sugar ever make sense to me? :)
Tags: blood_pressures, blood_sugars, calmed, cardiovascular_morbidity, circadian_rhythms, cortisol_levels, Diabetes, field_conditions, guess, insulin_resistance, journal_of_endocrinology, metabolic_responses, night_and_sleep, rising_health_care, shift_workerRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Personal, Research, Uncategorized
2 opinions for Does Shift Work Affect Diabetics?
Dennis Martin
Jun 5, 2007 at 1:45 pm
I will have to reserve my opinion until I return to work. I will be attempting to resume a 12 hour rotating shift schedule after recently being diagnosed and hospitalized with Type I. I anticipate that this will be quite a challenge. Wish me luck.
Sleep Deprivation And Increased Risk Of Diabetes Strikes Again
Jan 3, 2008 at 11:33 am
[…] many times before have I mentioned the importance of sleep and your bodies ability to regulate glucose? A few at least. There is yet further proof to this […]
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