Night shifts 'significantly shorten lifespan'

Night shifts significantly shorten lifespan, research suggests.

Long-term Night shift work gives rise to type-two diabetes, heart disease and cancer, said Prof Russell Foster, a leading sleep expert.

"The assumption has always been that you adapt," Prof Foster told Today's Sarah Montague, who regularly gets up before 03.30 to present the Today programme.

But recent studies suggest the body does not adapt, he added. And the impact of night work on sleep means cognitive performance is as impaired as if the night worker were drunk.

"We cannot exclude sleep from our priorities," said Prof Foster.