Working the night shift, even occasionally, may increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a recent study.
Researchers in Massachusetts found that peak glucose levels were 16 percent higher during just one night of simulated shift work, compared to a day shift. Insulin levels during the night shift were 40-50 percent higher at 80-90 minutes after a meal than during a comparable day shift.
“It is surprising that just a single night shift can significantly impair glucose tolerance and increase insulin levels,” said lead author Christopher Morris, a postdoctoral research fellow in the Medical Chronobiology Program of the Division of Sleep Medicine at Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass.
He said the findings were significant because impaired glucose tolerance is a likely cause of type 2 diabetes.
An abstract of the report was published in an online supplement to the journal Sleep and reported by Science Daily.
A previous study showed that rotating shifts, including night and day shifts, could be associated with a “modestly increased” risk of type 2 diabetes in women.
The HealthHub blog of the Cleveland Clinic suggested that if you work the night shift, you need to be vigilant if you have diabetes or are at risk for developing it. It recommended sticking to a proper diet, with three meals a day, and adapting an exercise routine of at least 150 minutes a week, with an optimum of 300 minutes.
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