Impacts of Poor Sleep

Healthy from the Start Resources for Shiftworkers

Shiftworkers face greater health risks due to inadequate sleep and disrupted circadian rhythms. These risks include increased chances of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, mental health issues, and more frequent workplace accidents and errors.

Shiftwork poses significant challenges to sleep, leading to various health and wellbeing issues.
Among the most common problems associated with inadequate sleep in shiftworkers are (41,42):

Health Impacts:

  • Overweight and obesity: Shiftworkers are 2-3 times more likely to become overweight or obese, linked to inadequate sleep and circadian disruption (43,44).

  • Diabetes: Shiftworkers are 1.5-2 times more likely to develop Type 2 Diabetes, linked to inadequate sleep and circadian disruptions (44,45).

  • Heart disease & stroke: Shiftworkers, particularly those who work a lot of night shifts, have a 16-24% increased risk of developing heart disease, directly due to inadequate sleep. For every 5 years of shiftwork, there is an estimated 4% increase in risk of stroke (46-49).

  • Cancer: The World Health Organisation has deemed that shiftwork, specifically night shift, is a probable carcinogen (i.e., probably causes cancer) – for example, people with more than 30 years of shiftwork experience are 36% more likely to develop breast cancer (50,51).

Safety

  • During Shifts: Fatigue leads to increased workplace errors, accidents, and injuries, sometimes up to three times more than non-shiftworkers (57).

  • After Shifts: Shiftworkers have a 30% higher likelihood of car accidents during commutes (58).

“ I don’t regret getting into this job, but I do wish that I’d been aware of the health impacts of shiftwork. I would’ve done some things differently when I was younger and probably would’ve taken my health a bit more seriously, because I’m starting to pay the price now ”.

- Elliott, 37, experienced shiftworker.

Wellbeing Impacts:

  • Short-term impacts:  Even just one day of poor sleep can immediately impact emotional regulation, pain tolerance, cognitive speed, and memory (52).

  • Mental health: Shiftworkers are more prone to depressive symptoms, anxiety, and mood instability (53).

  • Job satisfaction: Lower job satisfaction and higher workplace stress are common amongst shiftworkers (54).

  • Relationships: Challenges in maintaining healthy personal relationships, including with partners and children, are often noted by shiftworkers (55,56).

At the most extreme end of the spectrum, long-term shiftwork has been shown to decrease life expectancy (59,60). You may not feel the impacts of inadequate sleep immediately, but over time they can build up and contribute to major health and wellbeing problems.

The good news is that these bad outcomes are less likely if you look after yourself. Alongside nutrition and physical activity, looking after your sleep as a shiftworker will help you to stay healthy and well, both now and into the future.