Whether it be a necessary means to earn some extra cash or even an opportunity to grow one’s career, shift work has become a common phenomenon in modern occupations. People spend time out of traditional daylight hours to keep a business/ service open for extended periods of time.
While shift work may seem beneficial to meet goals in the short term, in the long term, it may have several detrimental effects on one’s body. The change in one’s natural working pattern that occurs with this type of work is often associated with not only higher physical and outward problems, but one’s mental health too is severely impacted, as the individual is prone to develop certain mood disorders.
What are Mood Disorders?
Mood disorders comprise a set of mental health problems or psychiatric conditions that affect a person emotionally. It is a misalignment between one’s actual life circumstances and their feelings. They mainly include depressive disorders and chaotic spectrum disorders.
Individuals with mood disorders often deal with decreased quality of life, frequent changes in mood, with bouts of joy, elation, followed by extreme sadness ( Cramer et al., 2009). They may also deal with self-worth issues, losing interest, and irritability. Extreme cases may involve manic episodes or even suicidal ideation. Mood disorders can completely disrupt one’s ability to perform daily tasks. It is one of the major causes of loss in work productivity.
Read More: Know About the Mood Disorders and Their Impact on Our Mental Health
How Shift Work Assists Mood Disorders & Mental Illness
1. Disruption of the Circadian Rhythm
The circadian rhythm is the body’s internal 24-hour clock. It aligns with environmental elements such as darkness and lightness, regulating the sleep cycle, activities, and wakefulness. It also manages hormones, body temperature, appetite, etc. When this clock is disrupted and the rhythm is tampered with due to shiftwork, it can result in not only physical problems but also several chronic mental health conditions like depression, bipolar disorder, seasonal affective disorder, and other sleep disorders (Reddy, Reddy & Sharma, 2023).
2. Exposure to Light
Exposure to light at night results in desynchronization of the biological processes and plays a role in disrupting the circadian rhythm. It negatively affects mood (Bedrosian & Nelson, 2017). Additionally, it is associated with hormonal imbalance as well.
3. Social Isolation
Irregular work hours often result in a lack of social interaction and activities. This is not only limited to the workplace but also hinders interactions with one’s family. The lack of social connection caused by shift work often results in feelings of loneliness, detachment and helplessness, which is a leading symptom of depression and other mood disorders.
4. Serotonin Imbalance
A study conducted in 2007 found that when compared to day workers, rotating shift workers had significantly lower levels of serotonin release, which is an essential neurotransmitter crucial for mood regulation (Sookoian et al., 2007). Interference with it can cause depressive symptoms or anxiety.
5. Brain Region Changes
Shift work has been associated with changes in brain regions. It was correlated with a reduction in the volume of areas of the brain, including thalamus, lateral, orbitofrontal and mid-temporal (Yang et al, 2024). These volume reductions may contribute to dysfunction and are linked with increased risks of neuropsychiatric conditions like Major Depressive Disorder (Woo & Postolache, 2008).
Alignment with Mood Disorders: Research Reports
- Shift work was found to be related to an increased risk of depression by 40% regardless of geographical location, shift duration, gender and other relevant factors (Lee et al., 2017)
- In another study, a significant connection was found between shift work and depressive symptoms regardless of the individual’s background, like occupation, age, gender, etc (Weston et al., 2019)
- In the general working population, the shift workers are more likely to feel increased stress, anxiety, and low mental well-being as compared to their regular working counterparts (Sweeney et al., 2021)
Preventive Measures
1. Sleep Schedule
Sleep time should align with work demands to reduce stress and minimise health issues caused by circadian rhythm disruptions. Night work should be lessened, and consecutive night shifts should be avoided. Additionally, rest periods between meals and designated holidays should be included to promote better recuperation.
2. Work-Life Balance
With the inconsistency of shift work, a reliable and balanced routine might seem difficult to follow, but it isn’t entirely unattainable. Fixing up a routine before and after work, allocating a specific space for work and sharing one’s schedule with family can be effective ways in establishing clear boundaries between personal and professional life.
Read More: The Essential Guide to Achieving Work-Life Balance
3. Social Support
Individuals engaging in shift work should try to socially interact with others. At work, they should try team bonding, working together and engage in activities with those who share similar shifts to make a strong support system (Brummett et al., 2005).
4. Lifestyle
One should focus on improving one’s lifestyle. Whether it be getting a nutritional diet pattern or engaging in yoga, exercise and meditation, it can help relieve one’s mind, resulting in stress release and mental well-being.
5. Addressing Issues and Seeking Help
Shift work is often strongly linked to various mental health issues, including mood disorders such as depression. One shouldn’t hesitate to reach out to their loved ones and, if necessary, even professional help when problems seem out of control.
Read More: Enhancing Help-Seeking Experience: Choosing the Right Professional Help
Conclusion
It has long been established that shift work has a high correlation with mental health issues, including mood disorders. While it is undeniable that shift work is crucial for society, it doesn’t take away how harmful it is for workers who indulge in it. Mood disorders are a set of mental health conditions that involve changes in one’s emotional well-being. They include depression, bipolar disorder and more. Shift work affects one’s mood negatively by disrupting an individual’s circadian rhythm, social isolation, changes in brain regions, serotonin and other hormonal imbalances.
A large number of research reports in the past decade show a high correlation between shift work and mood disorders, regardless of one’s age, gender, duration of work, and other factors. Even if shift work cannot be avoided, specific measures can be taken to minimise its adverse effects. This includes designing a sleep schedule, getting a healthy diet and exercise, building strong social connections, establishing a good work-life balance and seeking help when needed.
FAQs
1. What is shift work?
Shift work refers to all those work schedules that go beyond the traditional work time, i.e, 9 to 5. As useful as it is for the functioning of modern society, it can have a severe effect on the workers.
2. What are mood disorders?
Mood disorders refer to all those mental disorders that affect emotionality, causing intense feelings of sadness, anger, etc.
3. What are preventive measures against mental health issues caused by shift work?
The severe effects of shift work can be managed by actively creating sleep schedules, building a strong support system, maintaining work-life balance, adopting a healthier lifestyle, and knowing when to seek help.
References +
Bedrosian, T. A., & Nelson, R. J. (2017). Timing of light exposure affects mood and brain circuits. Translational psychiatry, 7(1), e1017. https://doi.org/10.1038/tp.2016.262
managing-mental-health-while-working-shifts https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/blogs/managing-mental-health-while-workin g-shifts
Woo, J. M., & Postolache, T. T. (2008). The impact of work environment on mood disorders and suicide: Evidence and implications. International journal on disability and human development: IJDHD, 7(2), 185–200. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijdhd.2008.7.2.185
Yang, L., Gan, Y.-H., He, X.-Y., Deng, Y.-T., Zhang, W., You, J., Kuo, K. H. M., Zhang, Y., Huang, S.-Y., Wu, B.-S., Guo, Y., Zhang, Y., Dong, Q., Feng, J., Cheng, W., Xu, W., & Yu, J.-T. (2024). Shift work effects on incident neuropsychiatric disorders and shift work tolerance. Journal of Affective Disorders, 362, 323–333. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.07.003
Sookoian, S., Gemma, C., Gianotti, T. F., Burgueño, A., Alvarez, A., González, C. D., & Pirola, C. J. (2007). Serotonin and serotonin transporter gene variant in rotating shift workers. Sleep, 30(8), 1049–1053. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/30.8.1049
Sweeney, E., Cui, Y., Yu, Z. M., Dummer, T. J. B., DeClercq, V., Forbes, C., Grandy, S. A., Keats, M. R., & Adisesh, A. (2021, September). The association between mental health and shift work: Findings from the Atlantic PATH study. Preventive Medicine, 150, Article 106697 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2021.106697
