Impaired Melatonin Secretion, Oxidative Stress and Metabolic Syndrome in Night Shift Work.

Metabolic syndrome has been associated in many studies with working in shifts. Even if the mechanistic details are not fully understood, forced sleep deprivation and exposure to light, as happens during night shifts, or irregular schedules with late or very early onset of the working program, lead to a sleep-wake rhythm misalignment, metabolic dysregulation and oxidative stress. The cyclic melatonin secretion is regulated by the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nuclei and light exposure.