Changes in cortisol secretion during shiftwork: implications for tolerance to shiftwork?

The present study was conducted to determine the size of changes and the time point of those changes in biological rhythms during night-shift and whether they are associated with tolerance to shiftwork. The adrenal hormone cortisol has frequently been investigated in the field of shiftwork since it follows a pronounced circadian variation and has been demonstrated to be affected by night-work. However, studies are restricted with respect to sample size, number of measurements or duration of sampling periods. Therefore, a sample of 24 night-shift workers was investigated in a cardiac emergency unit for seven nights. Saliva samples were collected frequently for determination of cortisol. A total of 28 cortisol measurements in each subject were made in order to decide whether the circadian rhythm changed, and if so at which time point. A clear reversal of circadian function could be observed for the total group (mean cortisol concentrations) after the fifth night. However, inspection of individual patterns revealed that six out of 24 subjects did not change in circadian function. These subjects exhibited lower durations of and less consistency in recovery sleep across the following days after night-work. With respect to personality dimensions a pattern associated with neuroticism can be observed in subjects without appropriate changes in cortisol rhythm. However, owing to the small sample size of non-adapters these results are preliminary and should be replicated with larger samples. The overall relationship between neuroticism and low adaptability has been discussed.