The impact of changing work schedules on American firefighters’ sleep patterns and well-being (original) (raw)
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Excessive Daytime Sleepiness in Firefighters in the Central United States
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2013
Objective: To determine the prevalence and severity of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in a population-based sample of firefighters. Methods: Sleepiness was assessed using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale in a sample of male career firefighters (n = 458) from 11 randomly selected fire departments in the Midwestern United States. Results: Unadjusted EDS rates (13.7% and 14.0% for on-and off-duty, respectively) were similar to the general US population and comparable occupational groups. Factors associated with EDS included 48-hour work shifts, non-private department sleep areas, and working a second job outside the fire service (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Given firefighters' important role in public safety, concerns have been raised about whether firefighters' work schedules result in high rates of excessive sleepiness. Nevertheless, firefighters in this study did not have high rates of EDS despite their extended work schedule.
Sleep Disturbances Among Firefighters: The Impact Of Shift Work On Sleep And Cognition
2018
A comprehensive sleep assessment of 45 firefighters was conducted over 9-days in an effort to determine the impact of their 24 hour work and 48 hour off work schedule on their sleep duration, sleep quality, processing speed, sustained attention, vigilance, and mental health. Chronic patterns of poor sleep are associated with an increased likelihood of performing poorly on tasks that require processing speed and sustained attention/vigilance which could lead to firefighters' suboptimal work performance or an increased risk of injury. Firefighters completed sleep actigraphy, self-report measures, as well as neuropsychological sub-tests at their beginning of their shift and immediately at the end of their work shift. As measured by actigraphy, firefighters in this sample slept an average of 5 hours and 20.99 minutes at work, which was significantly less than was found in a large sample of U.S. working adults. Firefighters endorsed poor sleep efficiency and poor sleep quality as assessed by self-report and objective actigraphy. One limitation is that only 12 of the 45 firefighters endorsed responding to a nighttime call during the work night that occurred between the two neuropsychological assessments. Comparing changes in neuropsychological performance between firefighters who had disrupted sleep compared to firefighters who did not, significant performances decrements were evident only for the psychomotor vigilance test (PVT) reaction time. If confirmed with a larger sample, the results suggest that reaction time may be a sensitive indicator of decreasing cognitive performance because of sleep loss. Limitations, future study directions, and recommendations are discussed.
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2011
Objective: Little attention has been given to factors contributing to firefighters' psychosomatic well-being. The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine such contributing factors in a sample of professional firefighters. Methods: Measures assessing sleep, depression, substance use, social bonding, and quality of life were examined in 112 firefighters. Results: Overall, many firefighters reported sleep deprivation (59%), binge drinking behavior (58%), poor mental well-being (21%), current nicotine use (20%), hazardous drinking behavior (14%), depression (11%), poor physical well-being (8%), caffeine overuse (5%), or poor social bonding (4%). Conclusions: Small-to-medium correlations were identified between sleep deprivation, depression, physical/mental well-being, and drinking behaviors. High-risk behaviors that impact psychosomatic well-being are prevalent in professional firefighters, which require environmental and individual-based health promotion interventions. The inter-correlation relationships between such behaviors, therefore, need to be explored in further details. P rofessional firefighting is a strenuous and unique occupation due to the high levels of stress and risk involved as well as the low control nature of the job. 1 Anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorders are prevalent in the professional firefighters' population and constitute a dominant area of investigation. 2 Limited attention has been given to describing factors that can contribute to firefighters' job performance and overall well-being, such as sleep problems, depression, substance use, social bonding, and quality of life.
Sleep disturbance and cognitive functioning among firefighters
Journal of Health Psychology, 2020
Firefighters are at risk for chronic sleep disruption due to their rotating 24-hour on and 48-hour off work schedule and hazardous work conditions. Forty-five firefighters were assessed to determine the impact of their shift schedule on sleep duration, sleep quality, processing speed, sustained attention, vigilance, and mental health. Assessments were conducted at the start and end of shift. Firefighters endorsed sleeping 5 hours 21 minutes at work, and the results suggest that even minimal sleep disruption affected cognitive functioning (e.g. processing speed, visual-motor coordination, and reaction time), increasing the likelihood of poor work performance or injury.
Mental Health of Canadian Firefighters: The Impact of Sleep
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021
Volunteer and career firefighters are at risk of major depressive disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), alcohol use disorder, and other mental health disorders due to the demanding and unpredictable nature of their employment. The mental health risks are exacerbated by the need to work extended hours, night shifts, and/or rotating schedules, or the competing demands of other employment, especially in volunteer firefighters. The mental health disorders and risk factors interact with altered sleeping patterns. In the current study, we examined volunteer and career firefighters regarding the association between mental health and sleep, drawing from a national Canadian mental health survey of 1217 firefighters. Most (69%) of the firefighters reported less than ideal sleep quality and 21% screened positive for clinical insomnia, with no significant difference between volunteer and career subgroups. Firefighters with insomnia had higher odds ratios (OR) and frequencies for PTSD...
Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 2019
Objective/Background: Fire service shift workers are at risk of developing mental health difficulties related to sleep loss and emotion dysregulation. We aimed to clarify the relationship between off-shift recovery sleep and emotion regulation on stress, fatigue and irritability. Participants: A total of 61 fire service shift workers (e.g. firefighter, captain, engineer, paramedic) on a "5/6" shift. Methods: Following five 24-hour shifts, participants reported on emotion regulation as well as daily sleep, stress, fatigue and irritability during six consecutive off-shift recovery days. Mediation analyses examined (1) emotion regulation as a predictor and sleep as a mediator of stress, fatigue and irritability outcomes; and (2) sleep as a predictor and emotion regulation as a mediator of stress, fatigue and irritability outcomes. Results: Greater self-reported total sleep time predicted lower recovery stress, fatigue, and irritability. Greater subjective sleep efficiency predicted lower recovery stress and fatigue, but not irritability. No significant relationships emerged for objective sleep or emotion regulation variables predicting stress, fatigue or irritability. There were no significant findings with either emotion regulation or sleep variables included as mediators. Conclusions: These findings suggest that stress management programs for fire service shift workers may be most effective when targeting sleep efficiency and quantity rather than emotion regulation strategies in the offshift recovery period. Fire service workers such as firefighters and paramedics are at risk of experiencing difficulties in sleep, emotion regulation, and mental health (Carey, Al-Zaiti, Dean, Sessanna, & Finnell, 2011; Hom et al., 2016). Although 24-hour shift work schedules may allow for the opportunity to obtain recovery sleep during consecutive off-shift days, over 50% of fire service workers endorse sleep deprivation (Carey et al., 2011). A majority of fire service workers also report problems with emotion regulation (Hom et al., 2016) and mental health symptoms (Carpenter et al., 2015). Studies indicate recovery sleep can lessen sleep loss-related impairment across a number of domains; however, research suggests there is a failure to return to typical emotional and cognitive functioning even after several nights of recovery sleep (Dinges et al., 1997; Pejovic et al., 2013). There is currently a lack of data assessing the relationship between recovery sleep, emotion regulation, and daily stress, fatigue and irritability, despite fire service workers' exposure to mental health risk factors. It is vital
Sleep Quantity and Quality of Ontario Wildland Firefighters Across a Low-Hazard Fire Season
Journal of occupational and environmental medicine, 2017
The aim of the study was to assess the sleep quality, quantity, and fatigue levels of Canadian wildland firefighters while on deployment. Objective and subjective sleep and fatigue measures were collected using actigraphy and questionnaires during non-fire (Base) and fire (Initial Attack and Project) deployments. Suboptimal sleep quality and quantity were more frequently observed during high-intensity, Initial Attack fire deployments. Suboptimal sleep was also exhibited during non-fire (Base) work periods, which increases the risk of prefire deployment sleep debt. Self-reported, morning fatigue scores were low-to-moderate and highest for Initial Attack fire deployments. The study highlights the incidence of suboptimal sleep patterns in wildland firefighters during non-fire and fire suppression work periods. These results have implications for the health and safety practices of firefighters given the link between sleep and fatigue, in a characteristically hazardous occupation.
Identifying Sleep Disorders 2 I hereby certify that this paper constitutes my own product, that where the language of others is set forth, quotation marks so indicate, and that appropriate credit is given where I have used the language, ideas, expressions, or writings of another. Signed: ______________________________________________ Identifying Sleep Disorders 3 Abstract The problem is that the potential for intrinsic sleep disorder(s) among Stanwood Camano firefighters and support members has not been identified. The purpose of the study is to identify the potential for intrinsic sleep disorders (ISD) in the Stanwood Camano Fire Department (SCFD) members and their associated health and safety risks. To achieve this, five questions were answered: What is the number of SCFD members that tested positive for potentially having ISDs, what are the health risks associated with ISDs, how many Stanwood Camano members have previously been diagnosed with ISDs, what are the safety risks associated with ISDs and what type of sleep disorder trends were currently found in SCFD members. This included a literature review, personal interviews, and a randomly distributed questionnaire in which the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), STOP Questionnaire and the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) were included. The research method used was descriptive, although upon further review of the literature, it became apparent that a survey specifically designed to address the many types of sleep disorders experienced by emergency responders was needed, resulting in action research and the development of the Firefighters Intrinsic Sleep Disorder Questionnaire (FISDQ).
Sleep, 2017
Firefighters' schedules include extended shifts and long work weeks which cause sleep deficiency and circadian rhythm disruption. Many firefighters also suffer from undiagnosed sleep disorders, exacerbating fatigue. We tested the hypothesis that a workplace-based Sleep Health Program (SHP) incorporating sleep health education and sleep disorders screening would improve firefighter health and safety compared to standard practice. Prospective station-level randomized, field-based intervention. US fire department. 1189 firefighters. Sleep health education, questionnaire-based sleep disorders screening, and sleep clinic referrals for respondents who screened positive for a sleep disorder. Firefighters were randomized by station. Using departmental records, in an intention-to-treat analysis, firefighters assigned to intervention stations which participated in education sessions and had the opportunity to complete sleep disorders screening reported 46% fewer disability days than those...
Sleep Duration and Quality in Emergency Department Staff Working Sequential Night Shifts
Academic Emergency Medicine, 2007
Objectives The organization of night shift work affects sleep duration and quality. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the number of consecutive night shifts on sleep duration and quality among police officers with night shift work as part of their normal schedule. Methods This quasi-experimental, within-subject crossover study included 73 police officers. All participants performed three work schedules: two, four and seven consecutive night shifts followed by the same number of recovery days, ie, day work or days off (2+2, 4+4, and 7+7). Sleep assessed through sleep diaries and actigraphy after all night shifts and recovery days (totaling 26 days) was compared by use of repeated measures analysis. Results Participants experienced shorter sleep duration (with and without naps), more premature awakening, less difficulty falling asleep, and more non-refreshing sleep after night shifts compared with recovery days. Sleep duration and quality did not change with increasing number of consecutive night shifts. Sleep was shorter and of poorer quality after the last night shift in the 2+2 and 4+4 work schedule compared with the second and fourth night shift, respectively, in the 7+7 schedule. Conclusion Sleep duration was reduced after night shift work and did not increase with more consecutive night shifts, which leads to accumulated sleep debt. Sleep duration was shortest and sleep quality was poorest after the last night shift in a series of night shifts.