The impact of break duration, time of break onset, and prior shift duration on the amount of sleep between shifts in heavy vehicle drivers

• Published in: Journal of sleep research 2023-04, Vol.32 (2), p.e13730-n/a
• Main Authors: Harris, Rachael, Beatty, Caroline J., Cori, Jennifer M., Spitz, Gershon, Soleimanloo, Shamsi Shekari, Peterson, Scott A., Naqvi, Aqsa, Barnes, Maree, Downey, Luke A., Shiferaw, Brook A., Anderson, Clare, Tucker, Andrew J., Clark, Anna, Rajaratnam, Shantha M. W., Howard, Mark E., Sletten, Tracey L., Wolkow, Alexander P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Actigraphy; Australia; break timing; driving; Humans; shift work; Sleep; Sleep Duration; total sleep time; Work Schedule Tolerance
• ISSN: 0962-1105; 1365-2869
• DOI: 10.1111/jsr.13730

Summary This study aimed to examine the impact of break duration between consecutive shifts, time of break onset, and prior shift duration on total sleep time (TST) between shifts in heavy vehicle drivers (HVDs), and to assess the interaction between break duration and time of break onset. The sleep (actigraphy and sleep diaries) and work shifts (work diaries) of 27 HVDs were monitored during their usual work schedule for up to 9 weeks. Differences in TST between consecutive shifts and days off were assessed. Linear mixed models (followed by pairwise comparisons) assessed whether break duration, prior shift duration, time of break onset, and the interaction between break duration and break onset were related to TST between shifts. Investigators found TST between consecutive shifts (mean [SD] 6.38 [1.38] h) was significantly less than on days off (mean [SD] 7.63 [1.93] h; p