Although night-shift workers are critical when it comes to meeting the daily demands of the market and customer satisfaction, it’s hard to look past the glaring toll it can take on the body.

Studies have shown that night-shift workers face a litany of health risks — these include restlessness, fatigue, and a decreased attention span. According to the CDC, animal studies have shown that light exposure at night led to the growth of mammary glands leading to breast cancer, and research on other right shift workers found that there was an unexplained increased risk of breast cancer mainly among women who worked night shifts frequently over their lifetime.

Night shift work is also associated with type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and sleep disorders, among others. There is also an increased rate of depression shown in studies as well.

A big thing you’ll miss out on working the night shift is sleep, an essential part of our health and wellness: working night shifts will disrupt the body’s circadian rhythm. The body repairs injuries, eliminates toxins, and reduces stress on the body when asleep, and this will be inhibited when working the night shift.

Obviously, the effects of working the night shift are countless and frightening, but if you end up having to work the night shift there are ways you can try to combat the negative effects and balance out the effects as effectively as you can.

• Practicing a good lifestyle is important when it comes to working the night shift. Although it may seem difficult, a good lifestyle includes getting enough sleep. According to OSHA, workers should be getting at least 7-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep per day; try sleeping at the same time every day consistently, and especially avoid drinking anything with caffeine to improve your quality of sleep. Make sure the sleeping environment is dark, cool, and quiet — in other words, simulate nighttime sleep, even if you’re catching up on it in the daytime. Sleep in the darkness has shown to stimulate melatonin, a hormone that helps you fall asleep quickly, promotes relaxation and helps completes all the sleep cycles. Long story short, sleep is crucial, and so getting enough of it will be a priority when preparing for the night shift.
• Working the night shift has shown to impact the body’s digestive processes, so make sure to eat a nutritious diet to keep your metabolism in check — and make sure to limit eating during the day. Studies indicate that nighttime eating can lead to an increase in blood sugar levels. Eating meals during the day — nutritious meals — can prevent this effect.
• Getting regular exercise, which is always beneficial, is especially important when working at night. Exercise will reduce the risk for chronic disease and promote balance and coordination, and can also help boost energy levels when working at night
• The CDC also encourages avoiding the use of tobacco. Working the night shift can easily take a toll on the body, and tobacco can make the situation much worse.
• Finally, try to get regular checkups with your doctor and let them know if you experience any of the symptoms associated with working the night shift. These checkups could help find problems in your health that could have started after you started working at night. Issues with sleep, stomach, fatigue, and weight loss are all side effects of working the night shift that can affect your health if not addressed promptly.

Although it can be difficult to combat the effects of working the night shift, it’s definitely possible by being aware of the risks you face. That way, you can make proactive choices to keep your body healthy, and make informed health decisions in your effort to mitigate the health effects associated with working the night shift.