Irregular schedule in youth can “echo” in old age – scientists

People who worked irregular schedules had worse health outcomes than those who were mostly unemployed.

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Systematic fatigue caused by the irregular work schedule of young people (aged 22 to 48) can affect their health decades later.

This is stated in the results of the study, which published in the journal PLOS ONE, writes CNN.

The author of the study, Wen-Jui Han, a professor at the Silver School of Social Work at New York University, studied the data of 7,300 people, including:

▲ 50% are white people;

▲ 33% – dark-skinned;

▲ 19% are Latin Americans.

They took part in the 1979 US National Longitudinal Survey of Youth – a representative sample of Americans aged 14 to 22.

A longitudinal study – this a research method in which participants are studied over a long period of time, usually several years.

People who worked on an irregular schedule were more likely to sleep less than the norm, had lower quality of sleep, and weaker physical and mental functions, says the researcher.

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It is noted that the participants had different schedules, including “floating”. For the norm, the scientist chose:

▲ standard schedule (when work starts at 6:00 a.m. or later and ends at 6:00 p.m.);

▲ evening (the working day starts at 2 p.m. or later and lasts until midnight);

▲ night (shifts starting at 9 p.m. or later and ending before 8 a.m.).

Hence, Khan found that people who worked irregular hours were more likely to sleep less, have poorer sleep quality, poorer physical and mental functioning, and more often complain of poorer health. The situation was better for people with a stable and standard work schedule.

Also, people who worked on an unstable schedule had worse health indicators than those who were mostly unemployed, the researcher noted.

The effect on well-being is also small midlife crisis: 50 years for men and 40 years for women.

According to scientists who did not participate in the scientific work, the results of the study may not apply to everyone.

In addition, the study found trends related to race and gender. It turned out, for example, that women with irregular work schedules have worse sleep quality, even if they have more hours to rest.

At the same time, the study did not explain how exactly this is connected.

“People of higher socio-economic status can enjoy the flexibility of working from anywhere and at any time, while people from so-called vulnerable social positions may have no choice.

Call, these workers’ wages and benefits come first, but this study shows that non-standard schedules and hours can inherently put workers at risk.” – said Xiaosi Yao, a professor of health research at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

At the same time, some scientists who did not participate in the study noted that the results obtained may not apply to everyone.

“Khan’s study did not examine people’s natural sleep-wake cycles. It is important to recognize that night shift work may be more convenient for people-“sov“who go to bed late, not for those who prefer to wake up early“, said Christian Benedikt, associate professor of the department of pharmacology at Uppsala University in Sweden.

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