I recently saw a news story stating that working night-shift hours can cause cancer in humans. This news story got me thinking that this is an interesting development to say the least, because if more studies actually confirm this without reasonable doubt then class action trial lawyers will get very rich very soon. These lawyers will sue many companies that burn midnight oil and drag them into bankruptcy.
As I was thinking about this story and I started thinking about number of times I have stayed up late for work or to study for exams when I was in college. Could those midnight cram sessions while I was in college can actually cause cancer in my body?
While I was thinking about all this, I realized that I have seen numerous news stories linking lack of Vitamin D in the body with occurrence of cancer. If you do a simple google search of “Vitamin D Cancer” without the quotes, you will find that many articles and scientific studies link lack of Vitamin D with cancer.
How Vitamin D is usually made in the body? The answer is: sun exposure. When sun is exposed to the bare human skin, Vitamin D is naturally generated.
Who does not get enough Vitamin D? The answer is: people who work nigh-shift hours. Why? Because they work during the night hours when there is no sun exposure, and when they sleep during they day their skin is never get exposed to the natural sunlight. This naturally causes deficiency of Vitamin D in their body and this deficiency makes them more prone to cancer then people who are awake and active during the day.
Now, this is my hypothesis. Someone needs to do a study where Vitamin D levels are measured in people who work night shifts and people who work regular morning shifts. And if the night shift people show reduced level of Vitamin D than the other group then I think we found what causes cancer. Night shift? Or Vitamin D deficiency? I am putting my money on Vitamin D deficiency.