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American researchers say a fixed 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. workday may be best for our health.
After the COVID pandemic, many professionals embraced remote work and more flexible hours. But researchers at New York University ran a study that found unstable work hours can harm health.
What the Researchers Discovered
The team’s findings suggest sticking to a traditional schedule is healthier. The researchers followed more than 7,000 participants and looked at whether employment patterns in early adulthood were linked to sleep quality and physical and mental health at age 50.
Those who worked unstable schedules reported significantly more problems with sleep and depression by the end of their careers compared with people who kept traditional hours.
The most striking results came from people who had a stable schedule at age 20 but switched to a more flexible routine by age 30.
The team says unstable schedules lead to sleep problems, physical fatigue, and emotional exhaustion. Over time, those effects add up and can make people more vulnerable to chronic diseases, the Daily Mail reports.
Comment from the Lead Researcher
As team leader Professor Wen-Jui Han noted, about three-quarters of participants didn’t keep a stable work schedule throughout their careers.
She said this had consequences. People who abandoned a traditional schedule were more likely to experience sleep deprivation, poorer sleep quality, and lower physical and cognitive functioning. By age 50, they reported worse health and more symptoms of depression than those who followed a stable work routine.
The researcher also said people with unstable schedules ended up with worse health than people who were not working.
“An inconsistent work schedule can become a chronic stressor in our lives,” Professor Wen-Jui Han remarked.
The study’s results were published in the journal PLOS ONE.
Previous research has also linked unstable schedules to memory decline and slower information processing in the brain.
The researchers suggested that working nontraditional hours disrupts circadian rhythms—our internal biological clock. As a result, people lose quality sleep, which harms brain function.
