New evidence suggests that night shift workers are at increased risk of certain types of cancer. The researchers found that night shifts break your circadian rhythms, making them more susceptible to DNA damage, while the body’s DNA repair mechanisms do not properly cope with these damages.
Although more research remains to be done on the relationship between night shift and certain cancer incidences, the research team predicts that the findings will be used in the future to prevent and treat cancer in night shifts. The study was published in the journal Pineal Gland Research and reported by ScienceDaily.
A research team made up of scientists and bioinformatics experts hypothesized that night shifts could disrupt the rhythm of genes. Our body has a’biorhythm’, which is a cyclical fluctuating rhythm of the body that appears in a cycle of about 1 day. This rhythm is owned by almost every cell in the body, which can cause the level of activity of the cells to vary over time. Therefore, the researchers explained that the expression of genes related to cancer may also have rhythm.
To test this hypothesis, the research team conducted a simulated shift work experiment on 14 participants for 7 days. Participants were divided into two groups, one group having a 3-day simulated night shift schedule and the other group having a 3-day simulated weekly shift schedule. When analyzing white blood cells taken from participants’ blood samples, the team found that there was a difference in the rhythm of cancer-related genes between participants who worked during the day and those who worked at night. In particular, genes related to DNA repair, which showed a distinct rhythm in daytime working conditions, lost their sense of rhythm in night working conditions. Furthermore, the research team found that participants who digested the night shift had more DNA damage than those who worked during the day.
“Night work is a Class 2 carcinogen designated by the International Cancer Institute,” said Associate Professor Shoban Gadamedi of the WSU College of Pharmacy. “But it’s still not clear why night shifts increase cancer risk,” he said, emphasizing the importance of follow-up studies.
To stay healthy, you need to maintain a’biorhythm’
As the result of this study, it is necessary to maintain a circadian rhythm in order to stay healthy from the risk of various diseases. If the biological clock breaks down, the risk of various sleep disorders, further chronic diseases, cancer, etc. increases, and serious complications may occur.
However, it is not easy for shift workers to keep the circadian rhythm due to circumstances. For shift workers with these concerns, Hydak Consulting Doctor Kang Min-gu recommended that he try to sleep as consistently as possible in the given situation through Hydak Q&A.
Director Min-koo Kang explained, “In order to sleep as healthy as possible in the situation where you are working in shifts, you should keep the time to first go to bed regularly.” For example, it is good to set a certain time, such as 11 p.m. on non-working days and 10 a.m. on working days. If you keep your sleep time irregularly because you can’t fall asleep at night, the rhythm of your body becomes more difficult to grasp, so be careful. In addition, when sleeping in the morning, it is recommended to sleep after dark as possible. If uncomfortable symptoms in daily life persist, visit a nearby hospital or clinic for consultation.
Help = Hydak Counseling Doctor Min-Koo Kang (Korean medicine doctor)