Practical application to shift work

• Knowledge of circadian rhythms has given researchers a better understanding of the adverse consequences that can occur as a result of their disruption (known as desynchronisation)
• For instance night workers engaged in shiftwork experience period of reduced concentration around six in the morning meaning mistakes and accidents are more likely to happen (Boivin et al 1996)
• Research has also suggested a relationship between shift work and poor health -shift workers are three times more likely to develop heart disease (Knutsson 2003) which may in part due to the stress of adjusting to different sleep/wake patterns and the lack of poor quality sleep during the day
• thus, research into the sleep/wale cycle may have economic implications in terms of how to best manage worker productivity