DIURNAL BODY TEMPERATURE CURVES IN SHIFT WORKERS

Abstract

Observations on body temperature at rest of three workers inexperienced in shift work presented, when working in dayshift, the normal well-known diurnal curve, and when working in nightshift a pattern significantly different from the normal one. The throe subjects showed a striking congruence of curves. During a nightshift, period of several weeks in succession every week appeared to involve a new ‘ short-term adaptation ’ taking one or more days ; every weekend in between normal daylife seemed to cause a turn back. There was only little evidence of a longterm ‘adaptation’