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08:36
Collecting Sleep, Circadian, Fatigue, and Performance Data in Complex Operational Environments
Published on: August 8, 2019
Sleep Loss and Fatigue in Shift Work and Shift Work Disorder
Torbjörn Akerstedt1, Kenneth P Wright
1IPM & Karolinska Institutet, Box 230, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden, , torbjorn.akerstedt@ipm.ki.se .
Sleep Medicine Clinics
|July 20, 2010
Summary
Shift work, especially night shifts, negatively impacts sleep, performance, and health due to circadian misalignment. While some countermeasures help, most adverse effects of shift work on physiology and cognition remain unavoidable.
Area of Science:
- Occupational Health
- Chronobiology
- Human Physiology
Background:
- Shift work affects over 20% of industrialized societies.
- Night work disrupts circadian rhythms, leading to negative health and performance outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the adverse effects of shift work, particularly night shifts, on sleep, performance, and health.
- To identify factors contributing to shift work disorder and explore potential countermeasures.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on shift work, circadian physiology, and sleep disorders.
- Analysis of factors influencing sleepiness, performance impairment, and accident risk in shift workers.
Main Results:
- Shift work, especially night shifts, causes significant sleep disturbances, increased sleepiness, and impaired performance.
- Longer shifts (>12 hours) and individual susceptibility exacerbate negative impacts, potentially leading to shift work disorder.
- Cardiovascular disease and certain cancers are linked to adverse shift work exposures.
Conclusions:
- Circadian misalignment is the primary driver of negative shift work effects.
- While countermeasures can mitigate some issues like sleepiness and insomnia, they cannot eliminate most physiological and cognitive impairments.
- Further research into managing the unavoidable negative impacts of shift work is warranted.
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