{
  "id": 26021,
  "title": "The hidden cost of the night shift and how to sleep it off",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/07/19/the-hidden-cost-of-the-night-shift-and-how-to-sleep-it-off",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-07-19T00:01:55.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "BBC Health",
    "slug": "bbc-health",
    "url": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp9errxl97go?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The night shift is a hidden burden that affects millions of workers across various industries, including nurses, paramedics, engineers, lorry drivers, and factory workers. The body's internal clock, which evolved to align with the rising and setting of the Sun, becomes misaligned when people work through the night, leading to a range of health issues such as heart attacks, strokes, cancer, mental illness, and memory problems.\n\nSleep serves many important functions beyond providing rest for the brain and body. During sleep, the brain consolidates memories, processes emotions, solves problems, strengthens immune defences, and repairs muscle tissue. Prof Russell Foster, a sleep scientist at Oxford University, emphasizes the importance of sleep in maintaining overall health.\n\nOne of the most significant discoveries in recent years is that sleep is crucial for the brain's cleansing process. The glymphatic system, a network of channels within the brain, flushes away waste products accumulated during wakefulness. Disrupted sleep hinders this process, which can lead to an increased risk of dementia and other cognitive impairments. Research has shown that a single sleepless night raises amyloid levels in the brain fluid, and chronic sleep deprivation can significantly increase the risk of developing dementia over time.\n\nThe Swedish study tracking over 13,000 shift workers for up to 41 years found that mid-life shift work was associated with a 36% higher risk of dementia. While Prof Hugh Markus, a neurologist at the University of Cambridge, cautions that the link between sleep disruption and dementia is still a hypothesis, he acknowledges that sleep matters and there are other factors that contribute to the risk of Alzheimer's disease.\n\nIn addition to the cognitive risks, shift work also poses other health threats. Disrupted sleep can increase the activity of the immune system, leading to inflammation in the body, which in turn may contribute to heart disease. The stress hormone cortisol, which rises during sleep disturbance, further exacerbates insulin resistance and pushes the body toward a diabetic state. Moreover, the unhealthy eating habits often associated with night shifts, such as snacking on sugary foods, can compound these health issues.\n\nThe World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified night shift work as \"probably carcinogenic to humans,\" placing it in the same risk category as red meat. This classification is based on evidence linking circadian disruption to an increased risk of breast, prostate, colon, and colorectal cancers.",
  "summary": "More than three million people in the UK work night shifts, which can greatly impact their health. What can be done to help them?",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}