Sleepiness is thought to be the cause of up to one in five accidents on major roads in the UK and a significant contributing factor in about 3,000 road deaths each year, the HSE says. Short-term risks are related to sleepiness, accident or injury and error – for example, increased risk of needle-stick injury at work or a driving accident on the commute home. These can be broken into long and short-term impacts, says Professor Lockley, who is a vice-chancellor fellow at the University of Surrey. What are the health impacts of night shifts? Getting at least seven hours’ sleep a day, every day, should be a priority, according to sleep expert Steven Lockley, from the University of Surrey’s Surrey Sleep Research Centre. Rest is not the same as sleep when it comes to reducing fatigue, however.
How much rest am I legally entitled to between shifts?Īll workers, including nurses, are entitled to a rest period of at least 11 consecutive hours in each 24-hour working period and an uninterrupted rest of at least 24 hours in each seven-day period. Shift work, particularly night work, goes against this natural cycle and can disrupt these rhythms – especially our ability to sleep – which can lead to health problems and fatigue. RELATED: Doing night shifts: the good, the bad and just copingĮxternal factors or cues such as daylight, mealtimes, clocks and working hours help to regulate this sleep-wake cycle and play an important role in keeping our bodies in step with the world around us, says the Health and Safety Executive.Humans are diurnal, which means that the clock promotes activity and high performance in the day and sleep at night. One of the most important circadian rhythms is the sleep-wake cycle. Circadian rhythms are 24-hour cycles that affect essential functions and processes, including eating, temperature, metabolism and immune function. Humans have a 24-hour body clock, controlled by the brain, that regulates our circadian rhythms. What are circadian rhythms and how are they affected by night shifts? Which health and care staff are most likely to work night shifts?Ĭare staff account for the majority, according to the TUC report, with 432,000 working nights, followed by nurses and midwives, with the figure at 232,000. Working night shifts is a fact of life for some 3.25 million people in the UK, according to a 2019 analysis by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), and this includes many nurses and nursing students.īut working through the night can be exhausting and can have short and long-term health impacts, affecting individuals’ circadian rhythms.
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