Associations Between Shiftwork Organization and Sleep Disturbance in the Oil Industry

Details

• Personal Author:
  McNamara KA ; Robbins WA
• Description:
  Introduction: Rotating shiftwork is common in high hazard industries, despite documented associations with sleep disturbance and impairment. In the oil industry, work intensification and increasing overtime have been broadly documented over the last few decades, where rotating and extended shift schedules are used to staff safety-sensitive positions. Since the trend towards extended (12-hour) shifts and increasing overtime, research on the impacts of these work schedules on sleep and health has been limited for this work force. Further, the prevalence of certain morbidities that are uniquely associated with shiftwork is not well characterized. Methods: We examined sleep duration and quality among rotating shiftworkers in the oil industry, and explored associations between work organization and sleep disturbance (and associated health outcomes). We administered a survey on work schedules, sleep, and health outcomes to volunteers recruited from West and Gulf Coast oil sector members of the United Steelworkers union. Results: Our findings reveal a high prevalence of sleep deficit and disorders; these were associated with health outcomes found to be common in shiftworkers. Early rise and start times were associated with shorter sleep duration and poorer sleep quality. Sleep durations were shortest for 12-hour shiftworkers, and averaged <5 hours following shift rotation. Discussion: After three 8-hour shift schedules were eliminated, the swing shift--previously shown to provide recovery--was lost. Our data suggests that the 12-hour shift may further limit recovery by reducing available hours for sleep, and also limiting time for exercise and leisure activity (which were positively correlated with improved sleep). Later start times could be a tool to improve worker sleep quality and quantity, and help improve chronotype desychrony on days off and during shift transitions. Shiftwork intolerance and difficulty with shift transitions have been shown to increase with age, making these interventions crucial for this aging workforce. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Occupational Health Oil And Gas Industry Safety Shift Work Schedule Sleep Sleep Initiation And Maintenance Disorders
• Keywords:
  Health Effects Long Work Hours Oil Industry Shift Work Shift Workers Sleep Deprivation Work Schedules
• ISSN:
  1984-0063
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  California ; Idaho ; OSHA Region 10 ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  54
• Volume:
  12
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20057991
• Citation:
  Sleep Sci 2019 Aug; 12(Suppl 3):54
• Contact Point Address:
  Katherine A. McNamara, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, California State University Northridge, Northridge, CA, United States
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2019
• Performing Organization:
  University of California Los Angeles
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Sleep Science
• Supplement:
  3
• End Date:
  20270630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0d8b0028c6efd76964a4c55362385669de75d46c021c37d8b5dcd3e798317cba56f76886b9661fe6cacc4f7bd39219d5dd279ddf5e1ce63e7a9848fed7f058a2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/215185/cdc_215185_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 179.44 KB ]