Anonymous Online Treatment and Prevention of Shift Work Sleep Disorder in Companies [post]

Lukas Peter, Richard Reindl, Sigrid Zauter, Thomas Hillemacher, Kneginja Richter
2019 unpublished
In western societies about one in six employees works in shifts. Shiftwork is associated with a number of poor somatic and psychological health outcomes, especially sleep issues. Higher rates of absenteeism and accidents in the workplace are possible consequences. Still, prevention programs and treatment options that are specifically tailored to shift workers’ needs are rare. We devised a 4-week online sleep intervention (n = 21) and compared treatment outcomes to our outpatient treatment
more » ... for shift workers (n = 12). Measures included the WHO-5, ISI, and ESS scales as well as sleep diaries. Shift workers reported worse symptoms of insomnia than other participants. Results show significant average increases in sleep efficiency (+ 7%) and total sleep time (+ 25 min.), as well as significant improvements regarding insomnia symptoms and wellbeing in the online sample. Rates of improvement did not differ between the online and outpatient samples. Sleep disorders affect a relevant part of the working population, especially shift workers. Online approaches to treatment of these issues seem feasible and effective. Randomized controlled trials are needed.
doi:10.20944/preprints201906.0172.v2 fatcat:hopg5s7xifccvgyw54gfkair3m