Late nights, bright lights and hopeless hamsters: how to relieve the misery of shift work

The health and well-being of night-shift workers became the focus of discussion for several media sources this week, though strangely this concern was prompted by a research article on the moods of hamsters.^1-5

The research from Ohio State University indicated that hamsters exposed to blue or white light at night displayed more ‘depressive’ behaviours than those kept in the dark or under red light. With an impressive leap of the imagination, lead researcher Professor Randy Nelson went on to extrapolate the results to humans, saying "Our findings suggest that if we could use red light when appropriate for night-shift workers, it may not have some of the negative effects on their health that white light does". Several commentators then questioned whether 24-hour workplaces such as hospitals and factories might benefit from changing their lighting conditions in accordance with these findings.

While we know that shift work can adversely affect health^6,7 and the relationship between artificial light and human circadian rhythms is credible,⁸ NHS hospitals probably shouldn’t start bulk-buying red lightbulbs just yet. However, a number of other approaches for improving the lives of shift-workers have been investigated, with varying degrees of success.⁹

A systematic review of good quality evidence found that treatment with the hormone melatonin was not effective for treating sleep problems, including those brought about by shift work.¹⁰ Two further reviews on the treatment of insomnia specifically looked at the effectiveness of psychological interventions.^11,12 Despite the generally poor level of available evidence, one concluded that computerised cognitive-behavioural therapy is mildly to moderately effective over the short term,¹¹ while the other concluded that self-help treatments are better than nothing but no more effective than other face-to-face treatments.¹²

A common alternative strategy to improving sleep is to try boosting alertness while at work - usually by drinking copious amounts of coffee. Much of the research on the effects of caffeine has been conducted under simulated conditions, so its effects in the real world (including on workplace injuries) remain unclear.¹³

Another approach might be to make changes to actual working patterns. One systematic review found evidence to suggest a compressed working week (i.e. working a standard number of hours over fewer days) can improve work-life balance and may do so with a low risk of adverse health or organisational effects.¹⁴ Elsewhere, it has been tentatively suggested that flexible working interventions that increase worker control and choice (such as self-scheduling) are likely to have a positive effect on health outcomes.¹⁵

It seems from the available evidence that a number of measures can be taken to mitigate the negative health consequences of shift working. But for now, the possible influence of red lighting in the workplace - as well as the provision of clean straw bedding and exercise wheels - has yet to be proven.

Late nights, bright lights and hopeless hamsters: how to relieve the misery of shift work

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