[Paleopsych] NS: Mess with the body clock at your peril

Sat Apr 23 23:58:12 UTC 2005

Dear Frank,

I appreciate your effort. I cannot read every one, but I scan them for 
nuggets - and I find such! Thanks!

Sincerely, Val Geist

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Premise Checker" <checker at panix.com>
To: <paleopsych at paleopsych.org>
Sent: Saturday, April 23, 2005 4:41 PM
Subject: [Paleopsych] NS: Mess with the body clock at your peril

> Here are some articles for today.
> Frank
>
>
> Mess with the body clock at your peril
> http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18624964.900&print=true
>      * 23 April 2005
>      * Helen Phillips
>
>    THE way patterns of shift work are organised could be causing major
>    health problems, according to a pair of reports commissioned by the UK
>    government body that regulates workplace safety.
>
>    The reports, prepared for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), show
>    that offshore oil workers adopting the most popular shift pattern have
>    a higher risk of heart disease and diabetes. This pattern also makes
>    workers more tired and inattentive, increasing the chance of accidents
>    and mistakes.
>
>    Chronobiologist Josephine Arendt and her team at the University of
>    Surrey in Guildford and psychologist Andrew Smith and colleagues at
>    Cardiff University in Wales separately studied the physiological and
>    psychological health of a group of 45 men working on offshore oil
>    rigs. Both teams compared the two main shift schedules operated on a
>    two-week tour of duty. One was a simple 12-hour shift, with workers
>    staying on night shifts or day shifts for the full two weeks. The
>    other was a split rota of seven night shifts followed by seven day
>    shifts. This was more popular with the workers because they were
>    already adapted to night sleeping when they returned home. But it
>    proved worst for their health.
>
>    Urine tests from workers on the split shift revealed that levels of
>    melatonin, the sleep-regulating hormone normally secreted at night,
>    did not become synchronised to the new sleep times after shift
>    changes. As well as being more tired and less attentive on the job,
>    these unadapted workers showed signs of being at risk of long-term
>    health effects. The men had abnormally high levels of fatty acids
>    circulating in their blood after meals, compared with the day shift or
>    adapted workers. This increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes
>    and other metabolic disorders. "The swing shift is the killer," says
>    Arendt.
>
>    The obvious conclusion is that workers should try to avoid split
>    shifts and other schedule changes that put their body clocks out of
>    kilter, but Smith points out that the there will be exceptions. "A
>    one-size-fits-all approach is a mistake," he says.
>
>    The HSE plans to publicise the findings to employers, and to issue
>    recommendations for minimising the dangers, for example by avoiding
>    fatty or sugary snacks at night. But legislation forcing companies to
>    adopt particular shift schedules is unlikely. "It won't change
>    overnight," says Smith. "But it would be rather foolish not to take
>    this on board."
>
> Related Articles
>
>      * [12]Body rhythms set a dangerous beat
>      * [13]http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18624935.100
>      * 02 April 2005
>      * [14]Sleep. who needs it?
>      * [15]http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18424725.200
>      * 06 November 2004
>      * [16]Night light cancer theory gets new support
>      * [17]http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn3400
>      * 17 February 2003
>
> Weblinks
>
>      * [18]Josephine Arendt, University of Surrey
>      * [19]http://www.surrey.ac.uk/SBMS/ACADEMICS_homepage/arendt_jo/jare
>        ndt.htm
>      * [20]Andrew Smith, Cardiff University
>      * [21]http://www.cf.ac.uk/psych/
>      * [22]Health and Safety Executive
>      * [23]http://www.hse.gov.uk/
>
> References
>
>   12. http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18624935.100
>   13. http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18624935.100
>   14. http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18424725.200
>   15. http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18424725.200
>   16. http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn3400
>   17. http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn3400
>   18. 
> http://www.surrey.ac.uk/SBMS/ACADEMICS_homepage/arendt_jo/jarendt.htm
>   19. 
> http://www.surrey.ac.uk/SBMS/ACADEMICS_homepage/arendt_jo/jarendt.htm
>   20. http://www.cf.ac.uk/psych/
>   21. http://www.cf.ac.uk/psych/
>   22. http://www.hse.gov.uk/
>   23. http://www.hse.gov.uk/
>
> E-mail me if you have problems getting the referenced articles.
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