According to a new study, living against our biological body clocks might harm our long-term health by changing gut and brain interactions. While most Americans are getting ready to sleep, 15 million individuals are just getting started. These healthcare employees, emergency responders, industrial
A stroke, also known as a brain attack, happens when blood flow to a portion of the brain is cut off or when a blood artery in the brain bursts.
However, shift work might have worse consequences than we previously believed. According to a recent study published in the journal, the negative consequences of shift work might last for a long time, even after returning to a regular schedule. This innovative research took a new approach. Rather than looking at the immediate impact of shift work on strokes, the researchers switched all individuals back to typical 24-hour cycles and waited until their midlife equivalent — when people are most likely to have a stroke — to assess stroke severity and outcomes.
“The data from this study take on added health-related significance, especially in females, because stroke is a risk factor for dementia and disproportionately affects older women,” said Farida Sohrabji, professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics and director of the Women’s Health in Neuroscience Program.
This research has clear implications for shift workers, but it could extend to many other people who keep schedules that differ greatly from day to day.