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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 5, 2026

Collecting Sleep, Circadian, Fatigue, and Performance Data in Complex Operational Environments

Collecting Sleep, Circadian, Fatigue, and Performance Data in Complex Operational Environments

Published on: August 8, 2019

Shift work, safety, and aging.

Simon Folkard¹

¹Laboratoire d'Anthropologie Appliquee (LAA), Ergonomie-Comportement et Interactions (EA 4070), Universite Paris Descartes, Paris, France. s.folkard@swan.ac.uk

Chronobiology International

|May 20, 2008

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Older shift workers may face increased risks of injury and accidents, especially during night shifts. Further research is needed to confirm these findings and differentiate age-related effects from generational influences.

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Area of Science:

Occupational Health
Gerontology
Human Factors Engineering

Background:

Aging workforces and increased retirement ages raise concerns about older shift workers' safety.
Existing research suggests older shift workers experience more disrupted sleep between night shifts compared to younger counterparts.

Purpose of the Study:

To review literature on shift work, age, and safety.
To examine the combined effects of shift work and age on occupational injury rates and performance capabilities.

Main Methods:

Literature review focusing on safety features of shift systems.
Analysis of age-related occupational injury rates.
Examination of evidence on shift work and age impacting performance.

Main Results:

Injury rates are higher during night shifts and increase more rapidly over successive night shifts.
While less frequent, occupational injuries in older workers tend to be more severe.
Older workers may struggle to maintain performance during night shifts and handle extended periods of shift work.

Conclusions:

Older workers may be at a higher risk of injury and accidents on night shifts, though this requires further proof.
There is a critical need for epidemiological studies to investigate the combined effects of shift work and age on injuries and accidents.