Shift Work and Heart Rate Variability Coherence: Pilot Study Among Nurses (original) (raw)
Related papers
Circadian heart rate variability rhythm in shift workers
Journal of Electrocardiology, 1997
The objective of this study was to assess the influence of day-night cycle and sleep-awake period on the circadian pattern of heart rate variability (HRV). Twelve male oil refinery security shift workers, aged 39 _+ 7 years, 'were studied with 24-hour Holter monitor recordings during morning and :night work periods. Hourly HRV parameters in the time and frequency domains were evaluated. For both shifts, all HRV parameters during awake or work periods were found not to be statistically different. In both day and night work shifts, the very low frequency and high-frequency components of HRV and the proportion of differences in successive R-R intervals greater than 50 ms increased during the sleep period, while the low frequency/high frequency ratio decreased. The low-frequency component in absolute units and the SD of the R-R interval did not show any variation in either shifts for the different periods. These results suggest that the circadian pattern of HRV seems to be predominantly related to sleep (supine) and wakefulness (standing) and remains independent of night-day cycle. Key words: circadian rhythm, heart rate variability, shift workers, autonomic nervous system.
Clinical Nursing Studies, 2015
Introduction: Shift work is one of the most serious occupational risk factors for health problems such as cardiovascular diseases. Furthermore, shift work disturbs sleep and alertness and impairs recovery from work, especially if the time between work shifts is insufficient. The aim of this study was to evaluate if a reduced number of short intervals (i.e., less than 11 hours) between work-shifts would result in better recovery indicated by sleep time heart rate variability reflecting the psychophysiological recovery. Methods: Participants were 39 female shift-working nurses with the mean age of 45 years. The study design was a prospective within-subject study with a one year follow-up. The 24-hour heart rate variability recordings supplemented with questionnaires were performed twice. First, while working in the old shift schedule with frequent short intervals between work shifts, and again after one year of a working schedule with a reduced number of short intervals between work shifts. Statistical analyses were conducted using liner mixed models. Results: The comparison between the initial shift system and the schedule with the reduced number of short intervals between work shifts caused an increase in heart rate variability parameters reflecting mainly parasympathetic activation of the autonomic nervous system (i.e., RMSSD, HF power and HF power in normalized units) (p < .001). Conclusions: In conclusion, our results suggest that reducing the number of short intervals between work shifts is an effective way to enhance the physiological recovery during the sleep. This study demonstrated that the recovery of autonomic nervous system from shift work can be promoted by implementation of ergonomic recommendations.
Changes in heart rate variability during working and non-working nights
2011
The aim of this study was to compare levels and patterns of heart rate variability during working night shifts and the same period of non-working nights. Eight nurses from the Surgical Department of Zadar Hospital, aged 25-33, participated in this study. The study included continuous recordings of cardiac activity during 10 hours of night-shift working (9.00 pm – 7.00 am) and during the equivalent non-working night periods. As expected, the analyses showed differences in the levels of cardiac activity between working and nonworking nights. Non-working nights were characterised by longer R-R intervals, higher variability indices and greater parasympathetic effects on cardiac activity, while their patterns of changes and spectral compositions were rather similar to those obtained during working nights. The obtained results showed the supremacy of the circadian pattern of changes, i.e. parasympathetic prevalence, during both working and non-working nights. Parasympathetic prevalence du...
The aim of this study was to compare levels and patterns of heart rate variability during working night shifts and the same period of non-working nights. Eight nurses from the Surgical Department of Zadar Hospital, aged 25-33, participated in this study. The study included continuous recordings of cardiac activity during 10 hours of night-shift working (9.00 pm – 7.00 am) and during the equivalent non-working night periods. As expected, the analyses showed differences in the levels of cardiac activity between working and non-working nights. Non-working nights were characterised by longer R-R intervals, higher variability indices and greater parasympathetic effects on cardiac activity, while their patterns of changes and spectral compositions were rather similar to those obtained during working nights. The obtained results showed the supremacy of the circadian pattern of changes, i.e. parasympathetic prevalence, during both working and non-working nights. Parasympathetic prevalence d...
Cardiac autonomic activity during simulated shift work
Industrial Health
Shift work leads to adverse health outcomes including increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) are measures of cardiac autonomic activity and markers of cardiovascular disease and mortality. To investigate the effects of shift work on cardiac autonomic activity, we assessed the influence of simulated night work on HR and HRV, and dissociated the direct effects of circadian misalignment from those of sleep displacement and altered physical activity patterns. A total of 29 subjects each participated in one of two in-laboratory, simulated shift work studies. In both studies, EKG was continuously monitored via Holter monitors to measure HR and the high frequency (HF) component of HRV (HF-HRV). We found endogenous circadian rhythmicity in HR and HF-HRV. Sleep and waking physical activity, both displaced during simulated night work, had more substantial, and opposite, effects on HR and HF-HRV. Our findings show systematic but complex, interacting effects of time of day, sleep/wake state, and physical activity on cardiac autonomic activity. These effects need to be taken into account when evaluating HR and HRV in shift work settings and when interpreting these measures of cardiac autonomic activity as markers of cardiovascular disease.
The Effects of Shift Work on Cardiac Dynamics and Job Perception
Suvremena psihologija, 2016
Previous studies have shown negative effects of shift work on health, due to the desynchronization and resynchronization of biological rhythms. In these studies, among other parameters, indicators of cardiac dynamics were used, such as parameters of R-R interval variability, reduction in what has been considered a good predictor of health problems by some authors. The aim of this study was to determine the possible effects of shift work on the parameters of cardiac dynamics and the job perceptions of nurses of different lengths of service. The study included 48 nurses divided in two groups (24 nurses in each) of equal age and length of service. One group worked a three-shift rotation system and the other (control) worked only the day shift. On the basis of length of service, the groups were divided into three comparable subgroups with eight participants: 1–10, 11–20 and 21–30 years of service. Cardiac activity (R-R intervals) was monitored continuously during the morning shift using...