Our master clock in the brain controls the timing of our circadian rhythms so they work together: this harmony is important for a healthy functioning body. When darkness falls, the hormone melatonin is secreted by the pineal gland in the brain and is produced all night long, promoting sleep. Light stimulates areas of the brain to tell our bodies to be awake, active, and hungry.
The timing of our daily rhythms is strongly influenced each day when light is first detected by our eyes. Many of our biologic systems – including our sleep and wake cycle, our appetites and digestive patterns, our body temperatures, and even our moods – follow daily patterns, or “circadian rhythms.” These cycles are set by circadian clock genes that are found in nearly every cell in our bodies.
Many workers might wonder how night shift work could be related to cancer, and what workers can do to stay healthy. In the recent NTP report, it was concluded that there is “high confidence” that persistent night shift work that results in circadian disruption can cause human cancer, and IARC concluded that night shift work is “probably carcinogenic to humans.” These conclusions are based on evidence from human studies of breast and prostate cancer, studies of laboratory animals, and research into the mechanisms of how cancer develops. Both agencies reviewed existing studies of night shift work and cancer and both convened experts in the fields of human, animal, and basic science research.
#Graveyard shift jobs update
This report follows a similar evaluation released in July, 2019 by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) (2), an update of their 2007 report (3).
The National Toxicology Program (NTP) recently released a report about how persistent night shift work is related to cancer risk (1).
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