The Relationship between Working Night Shifts and Depression in Nurses: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Summary
This paper looked across many studies on nurses to see if working night shifts is linked to depression. When the authors combined the best-matched studies, night-shift nurses were more likely to have depressive symptoms than day-shift nurses. The reviewers point to two main reasons: night work disrupts normal sleep and throws off the body clock. The overall confidence in the evidence was judged as moderate. The review shows a clear pattern of risk, but it does not prove that night shifts directly cause depression.
Why It Matters For Night Shift Workers and Night Owls
If you work nights, this review says mood problems are more common when sleep and the body clock are disrupted. You cannot change every schedule, but you can protect your sleep on workdays and days off, watch your mood, and get support early if you notice changes. This review did not test specific fixes, but it strongly suggests that keeping a steadier sleep routine and reducing body-clock swings can help protect mental health.
Notes
PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37046864/