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Adapting shift work schedules for sleep quality, sleep duration, and sleepiness in shift workers
Gerben Hulsegge1, Pieter Coenen2, Gregg M Gascon3,4
1The Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research, TNO, Leiden, Netherlands.
The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
|September 11, 2023
Summary
Adapting shift work schedules may improve worker alertness and safety. Limited shift duration to 16 hours can increase sleep duration and reduce sleepiness, but evidence for other schedule changes is uncertain.
Area of Science:
- Occupational Health
- Sleep Medicine
- Human Factors Engineering
Background:
- Shift work is linked to insufficient sleep, reduced alertness, and compromised occupational health and safety.
- Adapting shift schedules is a potential strategy to mitigate these adverse outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Forward/faster rotations may reduce sleepiness, but evidence is uncertain.
- 16-hour shift limits appear beneficial for sleep duration and alertness.
- More high-quality RCTs are needed to confirm the effects of various shift schedule adaptations.
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