Should night work be abolished? Even if we wanted to, it would be impossible for us because there are essential public services to maintain. However, some experts are in favor of limiting this type of work to the maximum .
The reason is that working at night has serious repercussions due to the alteration that it supposes of the natural biological rhythm , according to the specialists in preventive medicine. Already in 2007, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC, for its acronym in English) included it among the probably carcinogenic agents.
Now, the French National Agency for Food, Environment and Work Health Safety (Anses, for its acronym in French) carried out a report in 2016 with the cascade of consequences that night work causes .
This agency considers that working at night is directly related to sleep and metabolic disorders – such as excess weight and diabetes (type 2) – and also considers its link to cardiovascular and psychiatric diseases, among others, likely.
The study indicates that in women it could increase the risk of suffering from breast cancer . Also, aware that in some cases it is impossible to eliminate night work, it explains that it would be necessary to strengthen the medical surveillance of employees who are forced to carry these atypical hours.
Among the trades most affected by night-time work are, for example, vehicle drivers, the military, the police, laborers and health care personnel .
