PARIS – People who work shifts for 10 years or more may suffer loss of memory and brain power, said a study Tuesday that also warned of safety concerns in high-risk jobs.
The effects on brain function can be reversed, the team wrote in the journal Occupational & Environmental Medicine, but this may take at least five years.
The research is the latest to highlight the dangers of shift work, which disrupts the body’s internal clock and has previously been linked to health problems like ulcers, cardiovascular disease and some cancers.
Yet, little has been known about its potential impact on brain function.
Researchers tested more than 3,000 current or retired workers in a variety of sectors in southern France in 1996, 2001 and 2006 for long- and short-term memory, processing speed and overall cognitive abilities.
About half of the trial subjects, aged either 32, 42, 52 or 62 when they were first tested, had worked shifts—classified as night work or shifts that alternated between morning, afternoon and night.
Comparing the change in test results over time, and between the two groups, the researchers found an association between shift work and “chronic cognitive impairment.”
“The association was stronger for exposure durations exceeding 10 years” of shift work, which they said was equivalent to an additional 6.5 years of age-related decline.
The data also showed that “recovery of cognitive functioning after having left shift work took at least five years.”
The study could not prove conclusively that shift work was the cause of the cognitive decline, said the authors, and though it seemed “highly plausible”, further research was needed.
The findings raised “potentially important safety consequences not only for the individuals concerned, but also for society,” the scientists concluded, pointing to “the increasing number of jobs in high hazard situations that are performed at night.”
“The current findings highlight the importance of maintaining a medical surveillance of shift workers, especially of those who have remained in shift work for 10 years or more.” — Agence France-Presse
July 2025
Nutrition Month
“Give us much more than P50 increase
for proper nutrition!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO Constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar
to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations
against serious violations of
Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.
Accept National Unity Government (NUG)
of Myanmar. Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands #Distancing #TakePicturesVideosturesVideos
July
3 July – International Day of Cooperatives
3 July – International Plastic Bag Free Day
5 July – World Youth Skills Day
7 July – Global Forgiveness Day
11 July – World Population Day
17 July – World Day for International Justice
28 July – World Nature Conservation Day
30 July – World Day against Trafficking in Persons
Monthly Observances:
Schools Safety Month
Nutrition Month
National Disaster Consciousness Month
Weekly Observances:
Week 2: Cultural Communities Week
Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise
Development Week
Week 3: National Science and
Technology Week
National Disability Prevention and
Rehabilitation Week
July 1-7:
National Culture Consciousness Week
July 13-19:
Philippines Business Week
Week ending last Saturday of July:
Arbor Week
Daily Observances:
First Saturday of July:
International Cooperative Day
in the Philippines
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