New research says night shifts can damage one's health. It can lead to cancer, diabetes, mental illnesses, and heart diseases. The UK's Sleep Research Centre found that genes in the body needed to sleep regularly and at night. If this doesn't happen, up to 1,500 genes could get damaged. This could be life-threatening. A professor said the study was important because we need to understand more about these rhythms.

Our body has around 24,000 genes. Many switch off if the body does not sleep properly. This weakens the immune system, so we get ill more often. A doctor said over 97 per cent of genes become "out-of-sync with mistimed sleep". This is why jet lag and working at nights make us feel bad. It is difficult for people to change their lifestyles. Society needs people to work night shifts. We need to understand the dangers of night shifts and reduce the bad effects.