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Updated: May 25, 2026
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Collecting Sleep, Circadian, Fatigue, and Performance Data in Complex Operational Environments
Published on: August 8, 2019
Beyond working time: factors affecting sleep behaviour in rail safety workers
Jessica L Paterson1, Jill Dorrian, Larissa Clarkson
1Centre for Sleep Research, University of South Australia, GPO Box 2471, Adelaide, South Australia 5001, Australia. jessica.paterson@unisa.edu.au
Accident; Analysis and Prevention
|January 14, 2012
Summary
Shift work affects sleep duration and quality. Factors like shift type, having dependents, sleep timing, and smoking significantly impact rail safety workers
Area of Science:
- Occupational Health
- Sleep Medicine
- Transportation Safety
Background:
- Shift work is prevalent in the Australian rail industry, with a focus on working time's impact on sleep.
- The influence of non-work factors on sleep behavior in rail safety workers remains largely unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the contribution of demographic and health factors to sleep behavior in Australian rail safety workers.
- To understand how factors beyond working hours affect sleep duration and quality.
Main Methods:
- Utilized sleep, work, and fatigue diaries over two weeks.
- Incorporated actigraphy to objectively measure sleep patterns.
- Analyzed data from 40 rail safety workers.
Main Results:
- Shift type and having dependents significantly predicted sleep duration (P<.05).
- Sleep duration varied by shift: longest before night shifts, shortest before morning shifts.
- Participants with dependents reported significantly less sleep.
- Sleep timing and smoking status predicted sleep quality (P<.05).
- Daytime sleep was associated with lower quality than nighttime sleep.
- Smokers reported poorer sleep quality than non-smokers.
Conclusions:
- Factors beyond working hours, including shift type, dependents, sleep timing, and smoking, significantly influence sleep duration and quality in rail safety workers.
- These findings highlight the need to consider a broader range of factors in managing fatigue risk in this population.
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