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Updated: Aug 15, 2025

Collecting Sleep, Circadian, Fatigue, and Performance Data in Complex Operational Environments
Published on: August 8, 2019
Sleep Variability in UK Long Distance Heavy Goods Vehicle Drivers
Aron Peter Sherry1, Stacy A Clemes, Yu-Ling Chen
1From the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine, Loughborough University, Loughborough, United Kingdom (Dr Sherry, Dr Clemes, Dr Chen, Ms Guest, Dr King, Ms Ruettger, Dr Sayyah, Dr Varela-Mato, Dr Hartescu); National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospitals of Leicester National Health Service Trust and University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom (Dr Clemes, Dr Edwardson, Dr King, Dr Rowlands); Diabetes Research Centre, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom (Dr Edwardson, Dr Rowlands); and Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom (Dr Gray).
Objectives:
Sleep variability levels are unknown in heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers yet are associated with adverse health outcomes and reduced driver vigilance when high.
Methods:
Two hundred and thirty-three HGV drivers recruited across 25 UK depots provided sleep variability, sleep duration, and sleep efficiency data via wrist-worn accelerometry (GENEActiv) over 8 days. Sleep variability indicators included social jetlag (the difference in midpoint of the sleep window between work and nonworkdays) and intraindividual variability of sleep window onset time, out-of-bed time, and sleep duration.
Results:
Fifty-three percent of drivers experienced social jetlag (≥1 hour), and 27% experienced high (>2 hours) social jetlag. Drivers with the highest sleep variability had the shortest sleep duration and lowest sleep efficiency during workdays.
Conclusions:
Drivers with high sleep variability may experience more fatigue when driving given the poor sleep outcomes during workdays observed.
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