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KENNESAW, Ga. | May 29, 2026

After her grandmother was diagnosed with dementia, 黑料网 psychology student Maria Fata became interested in understanding whether the kind of work people do throughout their lives could affect their brain health as they age.

Previous research has linked overnight-shift work to conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and poor sleep quality. Surprisingly, Fata said her study found no significant link between shift work and cognitive decline.

鈥淏ased only on our dataset, we found that night-shift work did not lead to cognitive decline,鈥� Fata said. 鈥淚t was surprising because many studies show that night-shift workers experience disruptions to their circadian rhythms and other health issues that are known to contribute to cognitive decline."

A senior at the  Fata said her interest in the topic was personal.

鈥淢y grandmother was diagnosed with dementia in 2024,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his topic is especially personal and sensitive to me because of my family鈥檚 experience. As a future industrial-organizational psychologist, I am particularly interested in how workplace factors, such as cognitive stimulation and night-shift work, may affect long-term cognitive health.鈥�

Working with Dianhan Zheng, associate professor of psychology, Fata reviewed data from the Midlife in the United States project and analyzed changes in memory and executive functioning over time and whether individuals who worked overnight or nontraditional shifts experienced cognitive decline over time. The dataset followed the same participants across several years, with researchers collecting additional information a decade apart between each wave.

Fata also examined how related factors like education level and socioeconomic status affected cognitive health. She found that people with higher levels of education tended to have better cognitive functioning, while lower socioeconomic status was linked to poorer cognitive outcomes.

She also found that night-shift work was connected to higher scores in executive functioning and overall cognition, but it did not appear to affect episodic memory.

鈥淥ne possible explanation could be selection effects, where higher functioning individuals are more likely to enter and remain in night-shift work,鈥� Fata said. 鈥淎nother explanation is adaptation, meaning individuals may adjust to night schedules over time."

Fata presented her research earlier this year at the 2026 Georgia Students in Psychological Science Conference and at the . She will continue working with Zheng this fall to analyze a third wave of participant data to determine whether the patterns remain consistent over time.

While the study did not find a significant relationship between night-shift work and cognitive decline, Fata said the research raised new questions about other factors that may influence long-term cognitive health.

鈥淎lthough my grandmother did not work overnight shifts, her experiences growing up in Greece performing mostly physical work have made me curious about the relationship between occupational experiences and cognitive aging,鈥� Fata said.

She therefore plans to take a more in-depth look into the nature of participants' jobs and whether the type of work people do plays a role in long-term brain health.

鈥� Story by Christin Senior

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A leader in innovative teaching and learning, 黑料网 offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees to its more than 51,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university's vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties, and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 8 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.