Nightshift imposes irregular lifestyle behaviors in police academy trainees

N/ACitations
Citations of this article
7Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

This article is free to access.

Abstract

Study Objective: Shiftwork increases risk for numerous chronic diseases, which is hypothesized to be linked to disruption of circadian timing of lifestyle behaviors. However, empirical data on timing of lifestyle behaviors in real-world shift workers are lacking. To address this, we characterized the regularity of timing of lifestyle behaviors in shift-working police trainees. Methods: Using a two-group observational study design (N = 18), we compared lifestyle behavior timing during 6 weeks of in-class training during dayshift, followed by 6 weeks of field-based training during either dayshift or nightshift. Lifestyle behavior timing, including sleep–wake patterns, physical activity, and meals, was captured using wearable activity trackers and mobile devices. The regularity of lifestyle behavior timing was quantified as an index score, which reflects day-to-day stability on a 24-hour time scale: Sleep Regularity Index, Physical Activity Regularity Index, and Mealtime Regularity Index. Logistic regression was applied to these indices to develop a composite score, termed the Behavior Regularity Index (BRI). Results: Transitioning from dayshift to nightshift significantly worsened the BRI, relative to maintaining a dayshift schedule. Specifically, nightshift led to more irregular sleep–wake timing and meal timing; physical activity timing was not impacted. In contrast, maintaining a dayshift schedule did not impact regularity indices. Conclusions: Nightshift imposed irregular timing of lifestyle behaviors, which is consistent with the hypothesis that circadian disruption contributes to chronic disease risk in shift workers. How to mitigate the negative impact of shiftwork on human health as mediated by irregular timing of sleep–wake patterns and meals deserves exploration.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Erickson, M. L., North, R., Counts, J., Wang, W., Porter Starr, K. N., Wideman, L., … Kraus, W. E. (2023). Nightshift imposes irregular lifestyle behaviors in police academy trainees. SLEEP Advances, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/sleepadvances/zpad038

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free