Night work and fertility

I read an interesting article about night work at the weekend, and was fascinated to discover that there had been questions about possible effects of working nights on your fertility.

I spent two years working nights on a breakfast news programme, and although I loved the job, I found the hours unbearable and often wondered what effect it was having on my body. The most difficult thing was the constant changes to your body clock from working four nights a week, and then having three nights off when you tried to get back to normal again. We used to joke that it was like commuting weekly to Australia.

Apparently studies have linked night work to increased risk of cardiac illness, gastro-intestinal problems and possible reproductive problems, as well as the more commonly recognised impaired judgement and concentration that occurs when you're trying to work when most people are fast asleep.

If your job involves shift work you may want to read the article on The Guardian website