Cancer, depression and obesity risks for night shift workers higher because of disruption to body clocks

Nobel Prize in Medicine winners’ research into circadian rhythm shows how ignoring or trying to change your body’s day/night cycle can have serious effects on your health

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Working at night and sleeping during the day can increase cortisol levels, which can lead to serious diseases. Photo: Reuters

Published: 6:00pm, 3 Oct 2017Updated: 7:06pm, 4 Oct 2017

Messing with your body’s clock is dangerous business, in fact it could make you sick – or worse.

The inner timekeeper dubbed the “circadian clock”, governs the day-night cycle that guides sleep and eating patterns, hormones and even body temperature.

It is important enough that the Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded on Monday to three US scientists whose work illuminates the fundamentals of how it ticks.

The trio identified genes that regulate the clock, and the mechanism by which light can synchronise it.

Yet humans have a long history of overriding the circadian-driven need for sleep, says Russell Foster, a professor of circadian neuroscience at Oxford University – the most obvious example being night work.

From left: Jeffrey Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael Young (pictured in Hong Kong in 2013) have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their work on circadian rhythms.

Such tinkering can have serious consequences, ranging from impulsive behaviour to life-threatening conditions such as obesity and cancer, the experts say.