Shift schedules and circadian preferences: the association with sleep and mood

• Published in: Frontiers in public health 2024-04, Vol.12, p.1283543-1283543
• Main Authors: Ahn, Jihye, Yeo, Hyewon, Lee, Somi, Hwang, Yunjee, Jeon, Sehyun, Kim, Seog Ju
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Affect - physiology; circadian preference; Circadian Rhythm - physiology; Depression; Female; Humans; insomnia; Male; Middle Aged; Public Health; shift work (MeSH); Shift Work Schedule - statistics & numerical data; Sleep - physiology; sleepiness; Surveys and Questionnaires; Work Schedule Tolerance - physiology; Work Schedule Tolerance - psychology
• ISSN: 2296-2565; 2296-2565
• DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1283543

We explored the circadian preferences of non-shift workers (non-SWs) and various types of shift workers (SWs), and the associations of these preferences with sleep and mood. In total, 4,561 SWs (2,419 women and 2,142 men aged 37.00 ± 9.80 years) and 2,093 non-SWs (1,094 women and 999 men aged 37.80 ± 9.73 years) completed an online survey. Of all SWs, 2,415 (1,079 women and 1,336 men aged 37.77 ± 9.96 years) reported regularly rotating or fixed schedules ("regular SWs"), and 2,146 (1,340 women and 806 men aged 36.12 ± 9.64 years) had irregular schedules ("irregular SWs"). Of the regular SWs, 2,040 had regularly rotating schedules, 212 had fixed evening schedules, and 163 had fixed night schedules. All participants completed the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) exploring circadian preferences, the short form of the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D) evaluating depression, the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Compared to non-SWs, SWs had lower MEQ scores, i.e., more eveningness, after controlling for age, gender, income, occupation, and weekly work hours (  = 87.97,