Hoe Nachtsjiften it Libben Koartsinje
June 8, 2025 · Frisian News
New research shows that workers on night shifts face higher risks of heart disease, cancer, and early death. The damage comes from disrupting the body's natural rhythm, not just from fatigue.
FryskIn fabryksarbeider yn Bremen klokke ferline wike út nei wer in twaalf oeren duorjende nachtsjift. Syn lichem hat yn trije jier gjin deiljocht sjoen tidens wurkoeren. In Sweedsk ûndersyk dat dizze moanne publisearre waard befûn dat wurknimmers dy't mear as fiif jier permanent nachtsjiften draaie, gemiddeld trije jier fan har libbensdoer ferlieze. De skea giet djipper as gewoane weargens.
Nachtwurk brekt it sirkaadyske ritme, de ynterne klok dy't hormoanôfskieding, spiisfertarring en ymmuunfunksje regelearret. As wurknimmers oerdeis slepe en nachts wurkje, meitsje har lichems minder melatonine en mear kortisol. Bloeddruk bliuwt ferhege. Ûntstekingen nimme ta. De alvleisklier wrakseljet om bloedsuker te regelearjen. Neat hjirfan herstelt yn wykeinnen of frije dagen. De klok wurdt noait wier opnij ynsteld.
Bedriuwen sette nachtsjiften yn omdat dy minder kostje as ekstra deiwurkers oannimme of ynvestearje yn automatisearring. In nachtsjift-supervisor fertsjinnet minder, wurket op minder feestdagen en kreëarret minder konflikten mei it management. Sikehûzen, fabryken en logistike bedriuwen hawwe hiele bedriuwsmodellen om goedkeap nachtwurk boud. Regeljouwers tolerearje de praktyk omdat hja dy as normaal beskôgje. Wurknimmers akseptearje it omdat hja it jild nedich hawwe en omdat tsjinsten wegerje betsjut dat hja har baan ferlieze.
De sûnenstol ferspriedt him ûngelikens. Aldere wurknimmers lije mear. Froulju op nachtsjiften hawwe in heger kankerrisiko as manlju. Wurknimmers yn lege-ynkommenslannen, dêr't arbeidsbeskerming ferdwynt, drage de slimste skea. Dochs beperke regearingen nachtwurk selden of easkje hja hegere lean dêrfoar. De Europeeske Uny stelde swakke rjochtlinen yn. De measte lannen stelden neat yn. De kosten fan minsken wekker hâlde op it ferkearde momint lânje op wurknimmerslichems, net op bedriuwsbalansen.
Bettere oplossingen besteane. Guon lannen binne oerstapt op rotaasjesjiften dy't it lichem respyt jouwe om him oan te passen. Oaren hawwe permaninte nachtsjiften foar wurknimmers boppe fyftich jier ferbean. In pear hawwe ienfâldich mear personiel ynhierd en rinne echte fjouwer-en-tweintich-oere operaasjes sûnder yndividuen stikken te meitsjen. Dizze feroarings kostje jild foarôf. Wurknimmers libje langer. Dy hannel past net by bedriuwen dy't jierliks winstgroei neijagje.
A factory worker in Bremen clocked out at 6 a.m. last week after another twelve-hour night shift. His body has not seen daylight during work hours in three years. A Swedish study published this month found that workers who spend more than five years on permanent night shifts lose an average of three years of life expectancy. The damage runs deeper than simple tiredness.
Night work breaks the circadian rhythm, the internal clock that controls hormone release, digestion, and immune function. When workers sleep during the day and labor at night, their bodies produce less melatonin and more cortisol. Blood pressure stays elevated. Inflammation increases. The pancreas struggles to regulate blood sugar. None of this heals on weekends or days off. The clock never truly resets.
Companies push night shifts because they cost less than hiring extra day workers or investing in automation. A night shift supervisor earns less, works fewer holidays, and generates fewer conflicts with management. Hospitals, factories, and logistics firms have built entire business models around cheap night labor. Regulators tolerate the practice because they view it as normal. Workers accept it because they need the money and because refusing shifts means losing the job entirely.
The health toll spreads unevenly. Older workers suffer more. Women on night shifts face higher cancer rates than men. Workers in low-income countries, where labor protections vanish, bear the worst damage. Yet governments rarely restrict night work or require higher wages for it. The European Union set weak guidelines. Most nations set none. The cost of keeping people awake at the wrong hours lands on workers' bodies, not on company balance sheets.
Better solutions exist. Some countries have moved toward rotating shifts that respect the body's adjustment capacity. Others have banned permanent night shifts for workers over fifty. A few have simply hired more staff and run true twenty-four-hour operations without destroying individuals. These changes cost money upfront. Workers live longer. That trade does not suit companies hunting quarterly profits.
Published June 8, 2025 · Frisian News · Ljouwert, Fryslân