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Long-term shift work may hamper memory

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Long-term shift work may help you earn more but it could adversely affect your brain functions, such as memory and processing speed, suggests research by University of Toulouse, France. Disruption of the body clock as a result of shift work could generate physiological stressors, which may, in turn, affect the functioning of the brain, the researchers hold.

“The cognitive impairment observed in the present study may have important safety consequences, not only for the individuals concerned but also for society as a whole, given the increasing number of jobs in high-hazard situations performed at night,” said the researchers, reported IANS. However, the study, led by Jean-Claude Marquie at the university, found that once people stop working in shifts, it is possible for them to recover the memory loss but that it could take up to five years.

The researchers tracked the cognitive abilities of more than 3,000 people aged 32, 42, 52 and 62, who were either working in a wide range of sectors or had retired, for the first time in 1996. Two more studies were conducted 2001 and 2006. The data showed that those who currently or previously worked for long-term shifts had lower scores on memory, processing speed, and overall brain power than those who had only worked during normal office hours.

The second set of analyses looked at the impact of working a rotating shift pattern and found that compared with those who had never worked this type of shift, those who had and had done so for 10 or more years, had lower cognitive and memory scores. The researchers wrote, “Measures should be considered to mitigate the impact that prolonged exposure to shift work has on cognitive abilities, including switching to normal day work,” reported canadajournal.net. The study appeared in the British Medical Journal.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 7th, 2014.

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