Objective Assessment of Sleep Patterns among Night-Shift Workers: A Scoping Review

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Sleep Medicine
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Night-shift work disrupts circadian rhythms and sleep patterns.
• Objective sleep assessment is crucial for understanding health impacts.
• Previous reviews have not comprehensively covered objective measurement methods for this population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and categorize objective measurement tools for assessing sleep patterns in night-shift workers.
• To determine the parameters commonly measured and the duration of data collection.
• To evaluate the current landscape of objective sleep assessment in this occupational group.

Main Methods:

• Scoping review of literature from 1991-2020 using electronic databases.
• Inclusion of 32 studies employing objective sleep measurements.
• Categorization of studies based on measurement devices (polysomnography, wearable devices) and assessed parameters.

Main Results:

• Wearable sleep detection devices were used in 26 studies, compared to 6 using polysomnography.
• Sleep assessment duration with wearables varied, with over half collecting data for >2 weeks.
• Total sleep time was the most frequent parameter, followed by sleep efficiency and sleep onset latency.

Conclusions:

• Wearable devices are becoming prevalent for monitoring night-shift worker sleep.
• Further validation of wearable device accuracy, optimal data collection duration, and key sleep parameters is essential.
• Integrating objective measures with subjective tools enhances sleep pattern assessment.