Promoting Alertness with a Short Nap During a Night Shift

Details

• Personal Author:
  Akerstedt T ; Harma M ; Lillqvist O ; Rosa R ; Sallinen M
• Description:
  The use of a short (< 1 h) nap in improving alertness during the early morning hours in the first night shift was examined under laboratory conditions. The study contained four experimental, non-consecutive night shifts with a nap of either 50 or 30 min at 01.00 or 04.00 hours. An experimental night shift without a nap served as a control condition. Each experimental shift was followed by daytime sleep. Fourteen experienced male shift workers went through all of the experimental conditions. The results showed that the naps improved the ability eo respond to visual signals during the second half of the night shift. Physiological sleepiness was alleviated by the early naps, as measured 50 min after awakening, but not at the end of the shift. Subjective sleepiness was somewhat decreased by the naps. The naps produced sleep inertia which lasted for about 10 15 min. Daytime sleep was somewhat impaired by the 50 min naps. The study shows that a nap shorter than I h is able to improve alertness to a certain extent during the first night shift. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Fatigue Occupational Health Safety Shift Work Schedule Sleep Sleep Initiation And Maintenance Disorders
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Daytime Sleep Nap Night Shift Physiological-effects Physiological-factors Physiological-fatigue Physiological-measurements Physiological-response Physiological-testing Shift-work Sleep-deprivation Sleep Inertia Sleepiness

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• ISSN:
  0962-1105
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Georgia ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  OD - Office of the Director
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  240-247
• Volume:
  7
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20033826
• Citation:
  J Sleep Res 1998 Dec; 7(4):240-247
• Contact Point Address:
  Mikael Sallinen Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Department of Physiology, Topeliuksenkatu 41 a A, 00250 Helsinki, Finland
• Email:
  Mikael.Sallinen@occuphealth.fi
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1999
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Sleep Research
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ec00c9db679442895793609b27452cded7177643323bb6fbc34018d2e627f6f9aa1a0bae902119562143b59a603011be79dcb6eb9b163d70fae05d1d45b45ef6
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/189254/cdc_189254_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 265.53 KB ]