UK research claims that working night shifts damages DNA

Night work is against nature The finding of a recent study which shows working night shifts sends the body into chaos and damages DNA is not very surprising. Night shift work should be strictly regulated if not banned outright. Humans are biologically programmed as a day-oriented species, with the body focussing on rest, repair, recovery and growth at night. Genetic codes in the human body guide critical life rhythms like breathing, heartbeat and digestion that rise and fall over 24-hour cycles. So any disruption to this will have a negative impact on human health. Over the years night shifts have been associated with medical problems like fatigue, loss of sleep, depression, anxiety, gastrointestinal complaints, heart disease and substance abuse. Although night shifts have not been considered a health risk for many decades, more recent work has raised substantial worries about its impact on human physiology and productivity. In 2007 the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the specialised cancer agency of the World Health Organisation, even classified night shift work as a possible human carcinogen. Rich countries like Denmark have started paying compensation to women workers who have developed breast cancer after working night shifts. Despite a growing share of people working night shifts in the global economy, the world has become more cautious about this in recent times. In fact, the night work convention of the International Labour Organisation has called for specific measures to protect night workers and offer them compensation. It recommended that night workers have the right to regular health assessments, pay structures which recognise a premium for night work and regular consultation on shift timings. This is only the beginning. We must move towards tighter regulation of night shifts pending a ban on them.   TOI