Aspects of work organization and reduced sleep quality of airline pilots

To estimate the prevalence and association of work organization associated with poor sleep quality among airline pilots.

1234 airline pilots filled out an online questionnaire. Independent variables included demographic data, work organization aspects, health, and sleep information. A question derived from the Karolinska Sleep Questionnaire was used to obtain subjective sleep quality. Poisson regression with robust variance was performed.

The prevalence of poor sleep quality was 48.2%. Poor sleep quality was associated with high frequency of technical delays, ≥ 5 consecutive night shifts, moderate and great need for recovery after work, difficulty commuting to work, being insufficiently physically active and sleeping 6-8 hours and < 6 hours on days off.

Pilots' daily work schedules, consisting of frequent delays, long working hours and perceived high work demands preventing adequate recovery were associated with poor sleep quality.