Personalized sleep and nutritional strategies to combat adverse effects of night shift work: a controlled...

Working during the night interferes with the timing of normal daily activities and is associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases. Under controlled experimental conditions, interventions focusing on sleep and nutrition can mitigate the short-term adverse effects of shift work. However, it is unclear how these results translate to real-life, how they can be targeted to individual conditions, and how they relate to long-term health. Therefore, the current study aims to implement a personalized sleep and nutritional intervention among night shift workers in the field.

A non-blinded controlled intervention study is used, consisting of a run-in period, an intervention of 3 months, post-intervention measurements, and a follow-up after 12 months. Three study arms are included: sleep intervention, nutritional intervention, and control group (n = 25 each). Participants are healthy 18-60-year male night shift workers, with at least one year of experience in night shift work. Information from the run-in period will be used to personalize the interventions. The main outcomes are sleep measurements and continuous interstitial glucose levels. Furthermore, general health biomarkers and parameters will be determined to further evaluate effects on long-term health.

This study aims to mitigate negative health consequences associated with night shift work by introducing two personalized preventive interventions. If proven effective, the personalized interventions may serve as practical solutions that can have a meaningful impact on the sustainable health and employability of night shift workers. This study will thereby contribute to the current need for high-quality data on preventative strategies for night shift work in a real-life context.

This trial has been registered under ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT06147089. Registered 27 November 2023.