Pilkington-Cheney Fran, McNicholas Walter T
Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK.
School of Medicine and the Conway Research Institute, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
J Sleep Res. 2025 Oct;34(5):e70063. doi: 10.1111/jsr.70063. Epub 2025 Apr 9.
Shift work is a necessity for a society that requires 24/7 services. However, working around the clock can cause a misalignment with our sleep-wake cycle, resulting in sleepiness, impaired cognition and poor health. Due to the prevalence of shift work within safety-critical contexts, there is a need to further understand the causes and consequences of non-typical work on sleep, wellbeing, health and safety, as well as ways to effectively reduce this risk. Furthermore, disorders such as obstructive sleep apnoea, which is the most prevalent medical cause of sleepiness, compound the adverse health and safety consequences of shift work. This article provides an overview of some of the key occupational and sleep health challenges related to shift work: accurate measurement of sleepiness, mitigation, long-term sustainability and work/life balance. We conclude by proposing four directions for future work in this area to consider, with the overall aim of improving the sleep, health and wellbeing of the shift-working population.
轮班工作对于一个需要全天候服务的社会来说是必要的。然而，昼夜不停地工作会导致我们的睡眠-清醒周期失调，从而导致困倦、认知能力受损和健康状况不佳。由于在安全关键环境中轮班工作很普遍，因此有必要进一步了解非典型工作对睡眠、幸福感、健康和安全的影响及其成因，以及有效降低这种风险的方法。此外，诸如阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停等疾病是导致困倦的最常见医学原因，它会加剧轮班工作对健康和安全的不利影响。本文概述了与轮班工作相关的一些关键职业和睡眠健康挑战：困倦的准确测量、缓解措施、长期可持续性以及工作/生活平衡。我们最后提出了该领域未来工作需要考虑的四个方向，总体目标是改善轮班工作人群的睡眠、健康和幸福感。
