For most people who work nights, it is not a lifestyle choice. It is majboori. And the risk runs deeper than tiredness.
What the WHO's cancer agency actually said
In 2019, the International Agency for Research on Cancer — the WHO's cancer research body — classified night shift work as "probably carcinogenic to humans", placing it in Group 2A. Roughly one in five workers worldwide works nights.
It is worth stating the limits honestly: the evidence in humans is still limited. A Group 2A classification is a serious warning, not a settled verdict. But it is a warning that applies to millions of Indians working in call centres, hospitals, factories and airlines, and to delivery riders and security guards.
The mechanism
Light at night suppresses melatonin, the hormone that signals to the body that it is time to sleep and repair. The body clock drifts out of sync with the day. Studies have linked that disruption to higher risk of diabetes, weight gain and heart problems.
Why the usual advice is useless
"Sleep well and eat healthy" means nothing at three in the morning. The advice fails because it ignores what actually goes wrong on a night shift, which is not willpower but routine.
Meals happen at random hours. Chai and biscuits become dinner. Instant noodles get eaten because that is what is open. There is almost no sunlight in the waking day. Sleep happens in a bright room with a phone buzzing beside it.
What can actually be changed
You cannot fix a body clock while the job demands night hours. What you can do is stop adding damage on top of it:
- Fixed meal timings, even if the times are unusual
- A fixed sleep window, held on off days too
- A genuinely dark room to sleep in
- Caffeine only in the first half of the shift
- A vitamin D check, because you are hardly seeing the sun
Nutrition matters more here, not less
Nutrition carries more weight for night workers than for anyone else, precisely because the body is already under sustained stress. This is why we work with sea buckthorn at Biosash Business Pvt. Ltd. — a Himalayan berry rich in vitamin C, carotenoids and omega fatty acids, and a dense source of the raw material the body draws on for repair.
It does not undo a disrupted circadian rhythm. Nothing eaten does. The aim is to stop compounding the problem.