New App Aims to Help Shift Workers with Circadian Rhythm Disorder

We live in a 24-hour world. To keep that world going, an estimated 20% of the global labor force, about 700 million people, work a schedule outside of typical daylight hours; some also are required to rotate through different hours during the week. Such shift workers may experience problems when the sleep-wake cycle is misaligned, called circadian rhythm disorders. The circadian clock controls almost every biological system in the human body—from the sleep-wake cycle, mood, and performance patterns to the metabolic, immune, and reproductive systems.

Circadian rhythm disorders can take a mental and physical toll on workers and have significant societal costs too. Shift workers can have particular difficulties balancing family and social life, and experts estimate their divorce rate to be 20% to 60% higher than day workers. Their work is associated with an increased risk of accidents and injuries as fatigue undermines intellectual and emotional functioning. For example:

• The Exxon Valdez ran aground just after midnight and caused a massive oil spill that cost $3 billion to clean up.
• The Chernobyl disaster occurred after sleep-deprived plant workers ran an ill-fated test of the reactor core, with a cost of $200 to $300 billion, plus 300 lives and 1.5 million others contaminated with radiation
• Highway accidents caused by sleepy truck drivers cost approximately $5 billion per year in the US.

Further, in a study of the sleep quality and cognitive performance of 100 healthy, shift-working nurses aged 20 to 50 years old, researchers concluded shift work poses significant cognitive risks in work performance. Poor sleep quality was observed among 69% of the nurses. During the night, 32% made more mathematical errors and scored 68% to 84% lower on cognitive-performance tests.

Shift workers also have an increased risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, depression, and certain cancers. In an analysis of a decade of published studies, researchers highlighted a potential increase in the risk of developing hypertension for shift workers.

One wellness company, Timeshifter, is using technology to try to solve the challenges faced by shift workers. Timeshifter has launched a circadian app to help shift workers form and maintain healthier lifestyles. Users of the app input their schedule, sleep pattern, chronotype, and personal preferences, and the app provides highly personalized advice to tackle the underlying problem of circadian and sleep disruption. The company’s goal is to increase shift workers’ safety and productivity while improving their health and quality of life.