Negative Impacts of Shiftwork and Long Work Hours (NIOSH Review)
Summary
This umbrella review from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) outlines how shift work and long hours affect healthcare workers, especially nurses. Across studies, these schedules are consistently linked to short and poor-quality sleep, lower job performance, higher rates of obesity and workplace injuries, and greater risk of chronic illnesses like heart disease and diabetes. Fatigue also raises the chance of medical errors and commuting accidents.
Why It Matters For Night Shift Workers and Night Owls
For night-shift workers, the review makes clear that long and irregular schedules affect far more than short-term fatigue—they raise risks for chronic illness, accidents, and reduced alertness on the job. The findings show that schedule design is directly tied to long-term health and safety outcomes. For individuals, it underscores the importance of protecting recovery time; for workplaces, it points to limiting extended hours as a concrete way to reduce risk.
Notes
NIOSH/CDC oriented synthesis.