Toronto: A new study suggests that working night shifts may cause memory problems in middle-aged and older adults.
A team of researchers from Canada’s York University analyzed data from 41,811 people. The data consisted of information from job, work hours and results of mental performance tests.
Of this number, 20 percent had worked some form of shift work in their careers.
People who worked the night shift at their current job were 79 percent more likely to have problems with their mental performance than those who only worked during the day. Those who worked the night shift at their longest job had a 53 percent higher rate of these problems.
This could be attributed to a disruption in the circadian rhythm (our body clock), the study authors said.
In research published in the journal Plos One, the study found a link between shift work and problems in mental performance, the team said. Researchers believe that disruptions in circadian rhythms may play a role in problems in mental performance.
According to Professor Russell Foster of the University of Oxford, the finding of the study that night shift work can increase the risk of mental performance problems is significant.
It should be noted that a previous study has shown that shift work (i.e. working outside the traditional hours of 9 am to 5 pm) has clear effects on health.
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