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Sunday, November 16, 2014

Night Shift Workers Prone to Memory Loss: Doctors





HYDERABAD: People working on late-night shifts for long periods of time are prone towards memory loss and lack of concentration, warn experts.

A recent research has revealed that long-term shift work can help one earn more but it could adversely affect one’s brain functions such as memory and processing speed. Disruption of the body clock as a result of shift work could generate physiological stress which may, in turn, affect the functioning of the brain.

“This happens mainly due to disruption of sleep pattern. The circadian rhythm is controlled by the hypothalamus. If that is disturbed, whatever memory issues which are to be consolidated in the brain get affected. Usually, short-term memory loss is affected among the patients,” says Dr B Chandrasekhar Reddy, neurologist at Mediciti Hospital.

Doctors highlight the importance of adequate sleep during night and feel that those working on night shifts or who stay up late for one reason or another are extremely prone to memory loss. “The memory reinforcement or storage happens during the night time. Sleep has got a lot of important functions, one of which is consolidation of memory. Whatever a human being learns during the day, he needs to have a good sleep at night to retain it for long. People who do not sleep in the night will have memory impairment in the long term. It also causes lack of concentration and other issues,” observes Dr Sudhir Kumar, senior consultant neurologist at Apollo Hospitals.
  • Experts point out that daytime sleep is not biologically normal. “The reason for this is that for sleep we have a hormone called melatonin. This is a sleep hormone which is released only at night, between 9 pm and 11 pm. The most natural time to fall asleep should be during this time,” explains Dr Sudhir. Experts point out that symptoms of memory loss and lack of concentration are most commonly being observed among young

    people who work on late-night shifts. Ten per cent of young people working in the IT sector suffer from memory loss. The issue is common among children too, who stay up late at night, browsing the Internet. One in 10 patients of memory loss is a child, experts reveal.
  • “There is a severe lack of concentration among children. Today, they are able to focus on anything for not more than 15 to 20 minutes. This is because they are not sleeping for the right amount of time,” Dr Sudhir points out. “Also, many children are drowsy and grumpy in the morning and parents have a tough time trying to wake them up to reach school in time. Everybody should get a minimum of seven to eight hours of sleep to avoid issues such as lack of concentration and memory loss,” he counsels.
(the new indian express)