Long-term shift work can have a significantly detrimental effect on the brain, according to a new study published online in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

According to the research, prolonged shift work has the same effect on the brain as jet lag – it disrupts the body's natural time-keeping system, known as the circadian rhythms. The effect of such disruption is similar to accelerated ageing.

The circadian rhythms enable the body to be fully functional by influencing body temperature, sleep and wakefulness and hormonal changes according to the time of day.



Shift work of 10 years or more had a strongly negative effect on the brain, according to the study, which was conducted by researchers from the University of Toulouse, in France. Those effects impact both productivity and safety.

Circadian rhythm disruption has been linked in the past to cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, reproductive difficulties and ulcers. It has also been associated with acute effects on safety and productivity at work.

Team member Dr Philip Tucker told the BBC this week that test subjects, who had done shift work for more than 10 years, showed a decline in cognitive performance equivalent to an extra six-and-a-half years of ageing.

One theory behind the results, Tucker said, was that disruption of the body clock has an impact on the "brain structure itself".

Earlier this year, Medical News Today reported on a study exploring how the disruption of circadian rhythms could contribute to inflammatory bowel disease and other similar conditions.

