Physical Activity for Safer Shift Work Strategies
Description
The research, published in one of the prestigious Nature Portfolio journals, Communications Biology, proposes strategic timing for exercise, light exposure, and sleep, to promote better performance, mood and emotional regulation for shift workers.
Partners
Funded by the Australian Chiropractors Association (ACA)
Impact
The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates 16 per cent of the workforce regularly engages in shift work, or about 2.25 million workers.
“We know that shiftwork leads to impaired sleep, cognition, health and wellbeing, and an increased risk of occupational incidents – so countermeasures to improve sleep and alertness are vital,” Ms Easton said.
“It’s important that workplaces implement systems and practices to support fatigue and sleep. These strategies could look like providing napping or rest areas, healthy snacks, areas for physically active breaks, and also engaging with shift workers to understand which countermeasures they find most beneficial.
“Not only does this take the onus solely off workers, but can hopefully help reduce barriers for countermeasure engagement and promote sustainable habit-forming.
Researchers
Dr Charlotte Gupta, Dr Grace Vincent and Professor Sally Ferguson
Lead author and CQUniversity PhD candidate Dayna Easton said research had previously targeted lighting strategies alone to help workers adapt their circadian clocks to irregular work hours.
“We typically assess an individual’s body clock by measuring biomarkers such as melatonin level and body temperature, which are influenced by external signals such as light exposure,” she explained.
“For instance, light exposure during the early morning hours of a night shift will alter the body clock, meaning that workers will feel sleepy earlier in the night.
"This obviously makes it more difficult to stay awake during the night shift. Ideally, what we need to do is alter the body clock in a different way so that workers feel alert during their night shifts, and sleepy afterwards!”
However, the research argues controlling light is not always possible, for factors including safety and travel.
“You can’t dim the lights in an emergency ward, or block morning sun coming into your car on the drive home,” Ms Easton said.
She said strategic physical activity could be a more accessible and cost-effective strategy to help adjust circadian rhythms and improve alertness at work and during a block of shifts.
“Exercise can promote arousal, act as a time cue for the body clock, and become a habit that mitigates negative consequences of long-term shift work,” she explained.
Ms Easton said workplaces should consider whether workers might want scheduled time for exercise during a shift – the same as scheduling a meal break.
This exercise could be as simple as a short walk to boost alertness.
She said workers also needed support to understand their personal body clock patterns.
"Many of us know whether we are 'early birds' or 'night owls', but not how to take advantage of this," Ms Easton said.
“Understanding our own body clock patterns, and how they interact with our shift schedules will help decide what strategies work best, the timing of physical activity and also when to control for light exposure as much as possible."
The study was co-authored by Appleton Institute's sleep and wellbeing experts Dr Charlotte Gupta, Dr Grace Vincent, Professor Sally Ferguson.
Read Move the night way: how can physical activity facilitate adaptation to shift work? in Communications Biology.
CQUniversity’s Appleton Institute is a state-of-the-art sleep research leader in Australia and internationally.
Based in Adelaide, South Australia, it’s home to one of the world’s biggest sleep research facilities, and conducts multidisciplinary research on health and wellbeing at work, rest and play.
Learn more at CQU's Appleton Institute website.
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