This is not the first time shift work has been linked to health problems. It has already been associated with cardiovascular diseases or ulcers and now, a study carried out by a team of researchers from the University of Toulouse II-Le Mirail (France) affirms that it can alter brain function, affecting both memory and memory. processing speed .
The scientists had the participation of more than 3,000 volunteers working in a wide range of sectors, representing 1,484 of them rotating shift workers at least 50 days a year. Their cognitive abilities (evaluating short and long-term memory, processing speed, and global cognitive abilities) were analyzed at three times: 1996, 2001, and 2006 .
The results of the 1996 study revealed that shift workers (either currently or who had worked that shift in the past) had lower scores on memory and processing speed and lower brain power than those who had only worked. worked normal office hours.
Five years later, in 2001 the study was repeated . The conclusions were identical: participants who had worked 10 years or more in rotating shifts had lower cognitive memory and lower overall scores than those who had never worked this way.
Can cognitive abilities recover? This question was part of the last part of the experiment. Check if leaving shift work was associated with recovery or not. The answer was yes, but this process required at least five years.
“The cognitive impairment observed in the present study may have important consequences for safety, not only for the affected people, but also for society as a whole, given the increase in the number of jobs in high-risk situations that are performed at night ”, explain the authors of the study published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine .
