Developing a light-based intervention to reduce fatigue and improve sleep in rapidly rotating shift workers.

Developing a light-based intervention to reduce fatigue and improve sleep in rapidly rotating shift workers. Chronobiol Int. 2019 Dec 11;:1-19 Authors: Olson JA, Artenie DZ, Cyr M, Raz A, Lee V Abstract Over a quarter of employees in North America and a fifth of those in the European Union do shift work. Working these schedules increases fatigue, sleepiness, and errors at work. In the long term, it may also increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal problems, and cancer. Some of these consequences may be partly due to circadian misalignment, in which sleep and activity patterns no longer align with one's circadian rhythms. Previous research has found that controlling light exposure can improve circadian alignment in individuals who work permanent night shifts. However, light-based interventions are rarely tested with rapidly rotating shift schedules, which include more than one type of shift within the same week (e.g., day shifts followed by night shifts). Further, many of the available interventions are seldom used in the workplace and may be less feasible in healthcare environments. In hospitals, the health and safety of both workers and patients can be compromised by increases in fatigue. We thus developed a practical intervention based on circadian and sleep hygiene principles to reduce some of the negative consequences associated with shift work. We then tested this intervention in a feasibility study of 33 nu...
Source: Chronobiology International - Category: Biology Authors: Tags: Chronobiol Int Source Type: research