How to use light and dark to adapt to shiftwork

Details

• Personal Author:
  Eastman CI
• Description:
  The sleep, performance, health, and safety problems associated with shift work are caused by circadian misalignment between the internal circadian clock and activities such as work, sleep and eating. The typical countermeasures, such as caffeine and other stimulants, sedatives to facilitate daytime sleep, naps, and education about sleep hygiene and circadian rhythms, are the components of most fatigue risk management plans. These approaches have limited benefits because they do not address the underlying cause of the problems which is circadian misalignment. I will review studies in which we reset (phase shifted) the circadian clock to partially align with a night work, day sleep schedule by controlling exposure to light and dark. This method includes sleep in the dark soon after night shifts, sleep scheduled late on days off, a little bright light during night work to help delay the circadian clock, sunglasses on the way home from the night shift to attenuate phase advancing light, and outdoor light exposure (the light brake) after waking in the afternoons to keep the clock from delaying too far. We structure the time for sleep after night shifts and sleep on days off, so that their times partially overlap. The light dark schedule delays the circadian clock so that the sleepiest time of day, which occurs around the body temperature minimum, falls within this overlap. Thus, sleep can be improved when it occurs during the daytime after the night shifts as well as on days off. Delaying the sleepiest time of day out of the time for night work and into the daytime sleep time also improves night shift performance. I will give some practical advice on how to implement this type of schedule. This research was supported by grant R01OH003954 from the United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The contents are solely the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official views of NIOSH or the CDC. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Circadian Rhythm Environmental Exposure Fatigue Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Shift Work Schedule Sleep Sleep Initiation And Maintenance Disorders Workplace

  More +
• Keywords:
  Circadian Rhythms Exposure Levels Risk Factors Shift Work Sleep Deprivation Sleep Disorders Work Environment Workers Work Performance
• ISSN:
  1984-0063
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Illinois ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  6
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20047637
• Citation:
  Sleep Sci 2013 Nov; 6(Suppl 1):S19
• Email:
  ceastman@rush.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• Performing Organization:
  Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  19990930
• Source Full Name:
  Sleep Science
• Supplement:
  1
• End Date:
  20090430
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e5c9b5fb563ce759dc2ad17be738f945da2f9d16e7ea0cfa36e99fc01ba600dc2cf2df083c50c692fa9ab072511e3dfe95324dd7712bac1432ba453ff7b5a586
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/202651/cdc_202651_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.15 MB ]