Sharma L, Pedlar CR, Burgess PW, Kanagasabai S, Ronca F. Acute and long-term sleep measurements produce opposing results on sleep quality in 8 and 12 hour shift patterns in law enforcement officers.
J Sleep Res 2023;
32:e13862. [PMID:
36815627 DOI:
10.1111/jsr.13862]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2022] [Revised: 01/18/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2023]
Abstract
The occupational demands of law enforcement increase the risk of poor-quality sleep, putting officers at risk of adverse physical and mental health. This cross-sectional study aimed to characterise sleep quality in day workers, 8 and 12 h rotating shift pattern workers. One hundred eighty-six officers volunteered for the study (37 female, age: 41 ± 7). Sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh sleep quality index, actigraphy and the Leeds sleep evaluation questionnaire. The maximal aerobic capacity (VO2max ) was measured on a treadmill via breath-by-breath analysis. There was a 70% overall prevalence of poor sleepers based on Pittsburgh sleep quality index scores, where 8 h shifts exhibited the worst prevalence (92%, p = 0.029), however, there was no difference between age, gender, or role. In contrast, 12 h shifts exhibited the poorest short-term measures, including awakening from sleep (p = 0.039) and behaviour following wakefulness (p = 0.033) from subjective measures, and poorer total sleep time (p = 0.024) and sleep efficiency (p = 0.024) from the actigraphy. High VO2max predicted poorer wake after sleep onset (Rsq = 0.07, p = 0.05) and poorer sleep latency (p = 0.028). There was no relationship between the Pittsburgh sleep quality index scores and any of the short-term measures. The prevalence of poor sleepers in this cohort was substantially higher than in the general population, regardless of shift pattern. The results obtained from the long- and short-term measures of sleep quality yielded opposing results, where long-term perceptions favoured the 12 h pattern, but short-term subjective and objective measures both favoured the 8 h pattern.
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