Should night shifts be discouraged in (post)menopausal female hospital workers? [Honours College Research Project]

Night shifts are known to severely disrupt biological rhythmicity, which has been linked to a plethora of health adversities. The menopause similarly disrupts biological rhythmicity and has its own slew of negative health effects. With health care as the largest employer of night shift work and its workforce consisting for a significant part of menopausal women, a substantial amount of female hospital workers have to work night shifts during or after their menopause. As disturbances in biological rhythmicity have been shown to be able to stack, these women might be at increased risk, making it unfavourable for menopausal hospital workers to work night shifts. Through semi-structured interviews, this research collected the experiences of eight menopausal hospital workers with night shifts and analysed these for striking results or patterns. The interviews brought forward that individual variation and with it the freedom of choice were paramount in scheduling night shifts during or after the menopause. Therefore, night shifts should not generally be discouraged in menopausal hospital workers. However, further research should be done into the possible connections between the menopause and working night shifts, as many factors are still unknown.