When I first moved to Houston in the mid-70′s, I took a job with a chemical company working shift work.  I worked 12 hour shifts, 4 days on and 4 days off.  Now you might think that having 4 days off sounds like a neat thing but it wasn’t.

First of all, when you’re working, that’s ALL you do.  I can remember getting home and hardly having the strength to shower, eat, and then go to bed so I’d get enough sleep to get up early and do it all over again.  When you’re working, there’s no “after work” time (or energy) to get together with  friends, help your kids with homework, do yard-work, attend PTA meetings, or any of the other routine things that tend to come up during the week.

Secondly, shift work takes a serious toll on your mind.  During the “graveyard” shift, time seems to stand absolutely still between the hours of 2 am and 4 am.  I’d stare at the clock, work for what seemed 10 or 15 minutes, and then look at the clock again and I swear it hadn’t moved at all.

Lastly, your “4 days off” are not really 4 days off.  You spend at least1, sometimes 2, days just trying to recuperate and catch up on your rest.  Working shift work is really tough and according to a recent report, the downside of shift work just got a whole lot longer.

In June, a report coauthored by the American Cancer Society, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the National Cancer Institute, and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) contained a list of 20 items identified as possible causes of cancer in humans.  19 of these items were chemicals or chemical compounds (including welding fumes and diesel exhaust).  ”What was the last item,” you ask?  Shift work.

So how does something like shift work cause cancer?  According to the report (click here for links to the report), shift work disrupts your circadian sleeping patterns.  OK, I knew that.  By definition, when you’re working shift work, especially the evening and/or late shift, you work during the night and try to sleep during the day.  But what’s the tie to cancer?

The key appears to be in the amount of the hormone Melatonin that your body produces.  Melatonin is produced by a gland located in the brain.  This hormone helps regulate sleep and is included in many sleep aids.  It’s Melatonin that makes you drowsy so that your body can sleep and synchronize itself with its natural circadian rhythm.  Melatonin is basically the synchronizer of our body’s internal clock.

Now, here’s the tie to shift work.  Melatonin production is affected by light with that production being lowest during the day and highest at night.  Working at night in a brightly lit office, factory, or warehouse inhibits the production of Melatonin.  Trying to sleep during the day after working (or studying) all night usually results in low Melatonin production (because of the sunlight in your bedroom) making your sleep light, fit-full, and non-restful.  The end result is that the immune system is weakened because your body is not getting enough sleep nor is it getting enough restful sleep.

But there’s more.  Melatonin is also a powerful antioxidant.  Reducing the amount of Melatonin produced by your body through shift work weakens your immune system even further making it easier for cancerous cells to take hold.

So the tie to cancer seems to be that shift work:

• Causes disrupted sleep patterns resulting in non-restful sleep which weakens the immune system
• Shift work lowers the natural production of Melatonin, a powerful antioxidant, weakening the immune system even further

A weakened immune system is not only more susceptible to cancer-producing agents, it can’t fight off the formation of cancerous cells that take root.

So what can you do if your job requires that you work shift work?  Here are a couple of tips that I found while researching this topic:

1. First and foremost, keep yourself in good health (and your immune system strong) by eating right and exercising regularly.  Nothing else you do will benefit you as much as this one suggestion.
2. Consider taking Melatonin supplements after you’ve worked a graveyard shift and before you go to bed.  IMPORTANT:  everything I’ve read suggests that LOW dosages (2-5 mg) are the most effective as well as the most safe.  High dosages (greater than 5 mg) may be counterproductive and may have adverse effects including vivid dreams and lingering drowsiness.  Note also that Melatonin is normally recommended for short term use only.  See your doctor if you have doubts or questions about use or dosage.
3. If you work late and must sleep during the day (or through the morning), keep your bedroom as dark as possible.  That means rigging up some sort of “black out” curtain to block out as much sunlight as possible.
4. Melatonin also helps to regulate body temperature so make sure the temperature in your bedroom is comfortable and slightly on the cool side.
5. Try to keep your surroundings quiet.  If you’ve got small kids like I did when I worked shift work, then good luck with this one.  I still have fond memories of trying to sleep during the day with my kids making all kinds of noise as they played.  My wife would yell at them to keep quiet because Daddy was sleeping.  Ironically, it was my wife yelling that usually work me up.  OK, so the memory is not so “fond” after all.  One trick to try is to get yourself some kind of noise generator to play in the background to mask out most of the surrounding noise.  There are “noise generator” or “background sound” apps for the iPhone and you can find CD’s and audio tapes that do the same thing.  I’ve even seen alarm clocks with these features built in.  Put one of those on before you go to bed and you’ll fall asleep to the soothing sound of ocean waves or rain falling in a primal forest.  You’ll hardly hear the kids at all.

More and more research emphasizes the need for a good night’s sleep.  It’s during this period of rest that our body strengthens, restores, and repairs itself.  Key to this rest and restoration period is the production of Melatonin – and the key to that is darkness.

So, start rigging up those blackout curtains in the bedroom!

Related posts:

1. Does PureSleep Really Work?
2. Preventing Cancer

Cancer is second only to heart disease in the number of lives it takes every year and although there are some risk factors you can’t change, like genetics for example, there are quite a few that you can.

Since most cancer deaths can be prevented, it’s critical that you know the initial symptoms of this disease as well as how to reduce your chances of it.

Here’s what you need to know…

Cancer Symptoms

Let’s address some of the things you need to look for first.  The following is a list of symptoms from the American Cancer Society (ACS) that uses the “CAUTION” acronym.  According to the ACS, you might have cancer if you experience any of the following symptoms for a prolonged amount of time:

• C: Change in bowel or bladder habits
• A: A sore that does not heal
• U: Unusual bleeding or discharge
• T: Thickening or lump in the breast or elsewhere
• I: Indigestion or difficulty in swallowing
• O: Obvious change in a wart or mole
• N: Nagging cough or hoarseness

Keep in mind that this is a very simple list and that the vast majority of these symptoms can be caused by nonmalignant disorders so just because you experience some of these symptoms, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have cancer.  Only your doctor can give you a proper diagnoses.  Also keep in mind that cancers can produce symptoms that are not included on this list, such as unexplained weight loss or fatigue.  However, the list is a useful reminder to routinely stop and pay attention to your body and to report any changes or concerns to your doctor.

What You Can Do to Prevent Cancer

Obviously, the FIRST thing you can do to prevent cancer is to routinely stop and pay attention to what your body may be telling you.  The best time to do this is either the first thing in the morning, or the last thing at night.  Ask yourself how you really feel, then stay quiet for a moment and listen for the answer.  You’ll be amazed at how your intuition will alert you to sore spots, lumps, or thickened patches of skin that otherwise might have gotten lost among the day’s thoughts, plans, and worries.

Second, follow what the Harvard Medical School calls it’s “10 Commandments of Cancer Prevention.”  These are:

1. Avoid all forms of tobacco, including exposure to secondhand smoke.  Yes, for all my redneck friends and colleagues here in Texas, this includes chewing tobacco.

2. Eat properly. Reduce saturated fats and red meat and increase your consumption of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.  (Eating properly will not only reduce your chance of cancer, it will pretty much reduce your chances of diseases of any kind.  I know that’s a broad statement but there is simply no greater impact on our health than the foods we eat.)

3. Exercise regularly. You just can’t avoid exercise.  It’s part of EVERY plan for improving and maintaining health.

4. Lose the weight and stay lean. See the previous two points for how to accomplish this.  If your weight-loss program does not include proper nutrition and exercise, then something’s wrong.

5. Limit alcohol consumption to 1 to 2 drinks per day. Remember that many of these risk factors have a synergistic effect when combined with others.  One of the worst combinations is drinking too much and smoking.

6. Avoid unnecessary exposure to radiation. This includes UV radiation from direct sunlight (always use sunscreen).  (Note:  Although the Harvard Medical School says not to worry about the radiation from microwaves, power lines, or cell phones, my personal recommendation is to play it safe by maintaining as much distance as is practical.)

7. Avoid exposure to industrial and environmental toxins. These include things like asbestos fibers (can be found in some types of insulation), benzene and aromatic amines (found in some paints and solvents), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs, found in some plastics).

8. Avoid infections that contribute to cancer. These include hepatitis viruses, HIV, and the human papilloma virus that may be transmitted sexually or through contaminated needles.

9. Consider taking low-dose aspirin. Although men may have the most to gain from taking aspirin on a daily basis, women should consider it as well.  Since taking aspirin for prolonged periods can create other problems (like gastric bleeding), make sure to check with your doctor first.

10. Take a Vitamin D supplement. Many experts now recommend 800 to 1,000 IU a day, an amount that’s nearly impossible to get without help. Although many of us get Vitamin D from sunlight, keep in mind item number 6 above.

Take Control of Your Health

Will following all of these “commandments” guarantee that you won’t get cancer?  Of course not.  That’s not the way life works.  However, you chances will go way down.

On the other hand, making these lifestyle changes will give you numerous health benefits in other areas such as in the prevention of heart disease, for example.  All of them add up to a healthy life.

Good health is not something we’re automatically blessed with.  It’s not a gift you get when you’re born.  Like a garden, you have to work at it, you have to build it and once you have it, you have to maintain it.

So take control of your own health.  All of the things that I’ve listed in this article are things that you can do to improve your health.  You have the control here.  Will you use it?  I sincerely hope so.

Hiram
The Balanced Health Guy
Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach (NESTA)

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