We know that our work can influence our stress levels, but did you know that your work hours may increase the risk of other health conditions, such as diabetes?
Shift work can be challenging with its irregular hours and night shifts. Still, beyond making you extra-tired, it can also increase the risk of diabetes, a disease that takes a significant toll on your health. This is primarily because shift work disrupts your circadian rhythm, resulting in poorer sleep quality.
However, all hope is not lost if you’re a shift worker—we have some habits you can implement to minimize disruptions to your circadian rhythm and help your body use glucose and insulin effectively, reducing the risk of diabetes no matter your work hours.
The Connection Between Circadian Rhythm and Diabetes
Research shows that those who work rotating shifts may have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and this increased risk is primarily because shift work disrupts your circadian rhythm.
Let’s trace the connection between your circadian rhythm and diabetes development, starting with what circadian rhythm is.
What is Circadian Rhythm?
Your circadian rhythm is your body’s natural clock, which follows a 24-hour cycle. It controls your sleep and digestion and is primarily regulated by daylight and the lack of it, which establishes your body’s sleep and wake hours. In the morning, your body releases cortisol as you wake up, making you feel alert and energized. At night, as the sun goes down, your body releases melatonin, making you sleepy and ready for bed.
However, it’s not just these sleep-wake hormones that your circadian rhythm is responsible for—it also controls insulin.
Circadian Rhythm and Blood Sugar Levels
Insulin is a hormone used by the body to balance blood sugar levels. It is what encourages certain organs and muscles in the body to intake glucose (sugar) since they are the ones that can use and dispose of it. If your insulin is not working correctly—a condition known as insulin resistance—glucose will remain in your blood, raising blood sugar levels.
How does circadian rhythm factor into insulin resistance? Well, your circadian rhythm is responsible for many hormones, and that includes making sure that insulin works properly, something known as insulin sensitivity. As for how it does this, your circadian rhythm plays a big role in digestion by regulating how your gut absorbs glucose, how your muscle, liver, and adipose (fat) tissue regulate insulin sensitivity, and how the pancreas secretes insulin.
It’s all a finely tuned machine, meaning any disruption to your circadian rhythm, such as changing your sleep-wake times, can affect everything else the circadian rhythm controls.
How Shift Work Affects Circadian Rhythm
Your body relies on its 24-hour circadian rhythm to regulate its sleep-wake cycle, but the hours you’re awake can vary if you are a shift worker. For those who work nights or early morning shifts, this can equate to working when your alertness is low and being asleep when it is high—the opposite of your natural biological rhythm.
As a result of this disrupted circadian rhythm, your sleep can be affected. You may have difficulty falling asleep and see poor sleep quality as you continually wake up during the night. During the day, you may be excessively sleepy.
In addition to its effect on your sleep, the disruption to your circadian rhythm from shift work can also affect your body’s ability to use insulin and regulate glucose. If your insulin is not as effective and blood sugar levels rise, diabetes can develop, all because your circadian rhythm was disrupted.
For those without diabetes, shift work can increase the risk of diabetes, and for those with diabetes, shift work may worsen your control of your blood sugar.
However, other factors can influence the increased risk of diabetes if you’re a shift worker.
Food and Exercise While Working Shifts
Poor diet and insufficient exercise are two factors that can contribute to diabetes development, and shift workers may be at a greater risk.
Concerning your diet, skipping meals or eating very large meals can cause low and high blood sugar, which can be damaging in the long term. When you’re a shift worker, you may experience irregular mealtimes, especially if you work through dinner or breakfast, sleep through daytime meals, or eat a large meal before going to sleep. In this way, the changes to your eating schedule seen with shift work may contribute to diabetes development.
Regular exercise is important for preventing and managing diabetes because it allows your muscles to use insulin and glucose more efficiently. However, the irregular work hours seen with shift work can make getting enough exercise challenging. With a lack of exercise, your blood sugar can rise, which may lead to diabetes.
How Shift Workers Can Reduce Diabetes Risk and Improve Sleep
While a disrupted circadian rhythm and other side effects of shift work, such as irregular mealtimes and inadequate exercise, can cause poor sleep and increased diabetes risk, there are steps you can take as a shift worker to protect your health.
If you’re a shift worker, try making these lifestyle changes:
- Track your sleep to make sure you’re getting enough of it. Take short power naps when you’re not working if you’re not getting enough sleep.
- Optimes your bedroom by making it dark, cool, and quiet to make falling and staying asleep easier.
- Avoid caffeine toward the end of your shift.
- Try to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at your normal times, if possible, even if you’re working an overnight shift.
- Avoid large meals in the middle of the night—this can cause a spike in your blood sugar.
- Plan and prep your meals and snacks before a shift to have healthy food options.
- Create a physical activity plan that allows you to get enough exercise around your shifts and on your days off.
- Avoid exercising before bed so that you can fall asleep more easily.
If you have diabetes and are a shift worker, reach out to your doctor for advice on how to best manage your disease with your work schedule. Generally, recommendations include monitoring your blood sugar to find patterns and checking blood sugar consistently to ensure you stay in your target range. You may need to change when you take a fasting measurement and plan for when to take medication because of your shifting working hours.
Ultimately, those who work shifts may be at an increased risk of diabetes, but implementing these habits and continuing to prioritize your health by improving your sleep can go a long way in bringing the risk back down.
