Body clock regulates day and night cycle that guides sleep and eating patterns and hormones. Nature can have serious consequences ranging from impulsive behaviour to life-threatening conditions such as obesity and cancer if the body clock is disrupted.
Human body can not adapt to operating outside the normal cycle of working by day, and sleeping at night. Shift workers' biological clocks are set by the rising and setting of the sun. There is no drug for speed up or slow down of body clock.
When workers force themselves to stay awake, it triggers the release of stress hormones such as cortisol- the hormone release into the blood in a life-or-death situation. Cortisol works to suppress the immune system and in the long run increases the risk of illnesses.
Working when you are supposed to sleep also opens you up to eating outside of normal times, when the body's metabolism might be lower and the calories are more likely to be converted into fat instead of being burnt up.
Short time disruptions of the circadian clock can wreak havoc within the body-raising heart rate, raising blood pressure and insulin levels. Circadian dysfunction has been linked to depression, bipolar disorder, cognitive function, memory formation and some neurological diseases.
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