Night shift workers have an 88 percent higher risk of developing long COVID than day workers, according to a study of Catalonia residents published in the Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health.
Researchers analyzed data from 2,941 Catalonia residents monitored from 2021 to 2023. During this period, 1,899 participants contracted coronavirus, with 284 experiencing symptoms for more than three months after infection, matching a long COVID diagnosis. The connection was especially pronounced in participants with obesity.
Insomnia and biological clocks
Chronic insomnia was an additional risk factor, increasing long COVID probability by 42 percent on its own. When combined with night work, participants faced lingering consequences 2.7 times more often compared with day workers without insomnia.
The authors suggested the link relates to circadian rhythm disruption, the internal biological clock of the body. Disruption can weaken immune response and make full clearance of the virus after illness more difficult. Researchers stated that adequate sleep and reduced schedule disruption could offer accessible ways to lower long COVID risk, particularly for night shift workers.
Earlier research by scientists found that raising the retirement age could lead to more people being forced to work with serious health problems.
