Sleep patterns, shiftwork, and individual differences: a comparison of onshore and offshore control-room operators

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Sleep Medicine
• Environmental Psychology

Background:

• Shift work is prevalent in industries like offshore operations, potentially impacting worker health and safety.
• Understanding the unique sleep challenges faced by offshore personnel is crucial for developing targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare sleep patterns (quality and duration) of offshore control-room operators with onshore personnel.
• To investigate the influence of environmental differences (offshore vs. onshore) and individual factors (age, shiftwork experience, neuroticism) on sleep.

Main Methods:

• Self-reported sleep data collected during day shifts (D-S), night shifts (N-S), and leave periods (L-P).
• Statistical analysis accounting for age, years of shiftwork, and neuroticism scores.
• Comparison between offshore and onshore worker groups.

Main Results:

• Offshore workers reported significantly longer N-S sleep duration and poorer D-S sleep quality than onshore workers.
• Environmental differences between offshore and onshore settings had a greater impact on sleep than different shift rotation systems.
• Age, years of shiftwork, and neuroticism were negatively associated with sleep duration and/or quality.

Conclusions:

• The offshore environment poses distinct challenges to sleep patterns, particularly affecting day-shift sleep quality.
• Individual factors like age, cumulative shiftwork exposure, and neuroticism significantly disrupt sleep duration and quality.
• Mitigating the negative impacts of the offshore environment on sleep requires specific strategies beyond standard shiftwork management.