New research suggests that working long, irregular hours for a number of years - referred to as shift work - can lead to increased fatigue, symptoms similar to jetlag, and may even take a toll on brain power.
The research study found that working in shifts severely damages a person's ability to think properly, and degenerates their ability to remember information.
Researchers found that a person who worked outside of normal hours for a decade displays the same brain degeneration and aging that would have normally taken at least 6 and a half years.
If that wasn't all, according to other studies, shift work can also affect other health-related problems such as increased risk of diabetes, cancer, heart attacks, strokes, ulcers, and other metabolic diseases.
The research was conducted by a team at the Université de Toulouse and Swansea University. They studied around 3,000 people from the south-west of France who were working or retired in 1996, 2001 and 2006.
The individuals who worked unusual shifting hours scored poorly in memory tests, speed for processing information, and overall performance for brainpower was much lower than those who always worked normal hours.
Jean-Claude Marquie, the lead researcher of the study said that the negative impact on the brain from working shifts lasts even after the person has retired.
"Our work suggests that shift work is associated with impaired cognition, that the association is stronger and especially significant for exposure durations exceeding 10 years, and finally, and maybe most importantly, that the effect persists after having ceased any form of shift-work schedule," he said.
Although the researchers were not able to pinpoint exactly why shift work would have such a dramatic impact on the brain, they theorize that it may have to do with elevated stress levels and the disruption of the body's natural circadian rhythm.
When a person's circadian rhythm and sleep patterns are disrupted, it affects memory and the brain's ability to store long-term information.
The study may seem bleak to those who have no choice but to work outside of normal office hours, but researchers do offer them some advice. Naps, they said can be beneficial, but must be kept no longer than 45 minutes.
