Working irregular hours or not sleeping well can mess up your body’s internal clock, which in turn hurts your metabolism and liver — making it harder for your body to process food and stay healthy.
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (2)
Community contributions welcome
Association between shift work and insulin resistance in women: Implications for metabolic health
People who work nights or irregular hours had much higher levels of insulin resistance, which is a sign their bodies are struggling to manage blood sugar — a key part of metabolic health. This supports the idea that working odd hours messes up the body’s internal clock and harms metabolism.
Shift work and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: a systematic review of observational studies
This study found that people who work odd hours (like night shifts) are more likely to have fatty liver disease, which is a sign that their metabolism and liver aren’t working right — so yes, messing up your body’s internal clock seems to hurt your health.
Contradicting (1)
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Association between night shift work and markers of metabolism, cardiovascular and immune system in a population-based German cohort
This study looked at people who work nights and found they didn’t have worse metabolic health than people who work days, which goes against the idea that night shifts harm your metabolism and liver.
Gold Standard Evidence Needed
According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.