Mentally Demanding Work and Strain: Effects of Study Duration on Fatigue, Vigor, and Distress in Undergraduate Medical Students.

Aims: The impact of the extent of mentally demanding work on the next-day's strain is largely unknown, as existing studies generally investigate consequences of extended versus normal workdays. The present study sought to fill this gap by investigating how short work periods of mentally demanding academic work impact strain reactions in medical students preparing for an exam, using days of no work as reference category.

Method: The observational design involved students repeatedly self-reporting fatigue, vigor, distress, and the preceding day's study duration.

Individual Determinants of Rest-Break Behavior in Occupational Settings.

Aims: Work breaks improve well-being, productivity, and health. The aim of this study was to investigate the individual determinants of rest-break behavior during work using the theory of planned behavior (TPB).

Methods: The association between attitude, control, and subjective norm and rest-break intention (i.

The impact of rest breaks on subjective fatigue in physicians of the General Hospital of Vienna.

Aims: Medical doctors are affected by high levels of occupational burnout. Work organization such as sufficient rest breaks can decrease stress and fatigue; however, rest breaks are often skipped under high workload and time pressure. The present study sought to investigate the effect of self-determined rest breaks on acute and daily levels of fatigue in physicians of the General Hospital of Vienna.

Nurses' rest breaks and organizational leaving intentions.

Improving nurses' staff retention is highly needed since risks of turnover are high in this profession. Prior research uncovered job demands as important driver and job resources as protective factor for the development of nurses' organizational leaving intentions. However, research on beneficial effects of rest break design as an important job resource on nurses' leaving intentions is sparse and their interactions with present job demands have been widely neglected.

Is a meditation retreat the better vacation? effect of retreats and vacations on fatigue, emotional well-being, and acting with awareness.

It is well established that leisure vacations markedly improve well-being, but that these effects are only of short duration. The present study aimed to investigate whether vacation effects would be more lasting if individuals practiced meditation during the leisure episode. Meditation is known to improve well-being durably, among others, by enhancing the mental faculty of mindfulness.

Time course of recovery after two successive night shifts: A diary study among Austrian nurses.

Aim: To explore how nurses recover from night shift work during periods off duty.

Background: Given the large number of affected individuals globally, detrimental health outcomes of night shift work are an important public health issue. Sufficient recovery opportunities are essential to prevent prolonged fatigue associated with demanding tasks and high workload as experienced in nurses working long shifts during the night.

Comparison of rest-break interventions during a mentally demanding task.

Research is scarce on ways to enhance the effect of rest breaks during mentally demanding tasks. The present study investigated the effectiveness of two rest-break interventions on well-being during an academic lecture. Sixty-six students (53 females, mean age 22.

Job-related meaningfulness moderates the association between over-commitment and emotional exhaustion in nurses.

Aim: To evaluate characteristics of job-related meaningfulness, and to assess its potential to moderate the relationship between over-commitment and emotional exhaustion in nurses.

Background: Increased demands on nurses may induce vulnerability to emotional exhaustion, decrease job satisfaction, and increase their intention to quit the job. The experience of job-related meaningfulness through meaning-centred logotherapy and counseling could be a resource to prevent emotional exhaustion.

Work-related self-assessed fatigue and recovery among nurses.

Purpose: Adequate recovery opportunities are crucial for preventing long-term health effects of acute load reactions in response to stressful work. However, little is known about the time course of recovery from work during non-working days. Thus, the present study assessed recovery from two consecutive 12-hours day shifts during a period of three rest days among nurses.

Effects of Rest-Break Intention on Rest-Break Frequency and Work-Related Fatigue.

Objectives: The present paper presents findings from two studies addressing the effects of the employee's intention to have rest breaks on rest-break frequency and the change of well-being during a workday.

Background: Rest breaks are effective in avoiding an accumulation of fatigue during work. However, little is known about individual differences in rest-break behavior.

Fatigue and Insufficient Leisure Opportunities in Older Employees.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of age on fatigue prevalence and the potential recovery effect of leisure opportunities.

Methods: The study was based on the Austrian Health Interview Survey 2006/2007. We investigated data of a subsample of working adults, which consisted of 5018 subjects (51.

Salt taste after bariatric surgery and weight loss in obese persons.

Background. Little is known about the perception of salty taste in obese patients, especially after bariatric surgery. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyse possible differences in salt detection thresholds and preferences for foods differing in salt content in obese persons before and after bariatric surgery with weight loss compared to non-obese individuals.

Task-related increases in fatigue predict recovery time after academic stress.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the time course of recovery after an academic exam as a model of high workload and its association with stress-related fatigue.

Methods: Thirty-six medical students (17 females, 19 males) filled out diaries during an exam phase, starting 2 days prior to the exam, and a control phase 4 weeks after the exam for 14 days, respectively. Fatigue, distress, quality of sleep, and health complaints were assessed.

Health care utilisation in subjects with osteoarthritis, chronic back pain and osteoporosis aged 65 years and more: mediating effects of limitations in activities of daily living, pain intensity and mental diseases.

Musculoskeletal diseases (MDs) have major consequences for the individual, and also for society and may thus lead to increased use of health care. It was the aim of this study to explore health care utilisation in patients with self-reported osteoarthritis, chronic back pain or osteoporosis compared with people of the same age without those diseases, based on data of the Austrian health interview survey including 3,097 subjects aged ≥ 65 years. Patients with MDs in our study visited a general practitioner (GP) and were hospitalised significantly more often compared with persons without the respective diseases.

Too much salt and how we can get rid of it.

Humans evolved on potassium-rich diets containing only small amounts of sodium. Nowadays, sodium intake considerably exceeds potassium intake. However, from the evolutionary point of view we are not accustomed to such high salt (sodium chloride) ingestion.

The treatment experience questionnaire: development and validation of a questionnaire assessing the individual's emotional, perceptual, and cognitive reactions to alternative, physical, and dental treatments.

Background: The aim of this study was to develop and validate a questionnaire designed to assess the patient's affective, cognitive, and perceptual state during treatment administration.

Methods: 362 individuals (214 females, 148 males, mean age 54.6 years) with predominantly musculoskeletal or dental problems participated in the study.

Work-site health promotion of frequent computer users: comparing selected interventions.

Objective: Frequent computer use is associated with an increase in musculoskeletal complaints. The present study aims at comparing the relative efficacy of three novel interventions for the preventions of musculoskeletal complaints in frequent computer users.

Participants: 93 employees (56 woman, 37 men, mean age 40.

Short-term effect of macronutrient composition and glycemic index of a yoghurt breakfast on satiety and mood in healthy young men.

Background: Promoting satiety and repressing appetite is one major goal in the dietetic therapy of obesity. In the past, several studies investigated the effect of different macronutrients, especially protein and carbohydrates, on short- and long-term satiety in humans. This paper aims to directly compare the effect of protein, rolled oats (low glycemic index), sugar or cornflakes (high glycemic index), and walnuts (high amount of omega-3 fatty acids) as ingredients of a yoghurt breakfast on short-term hunger and satiety in one setting.

Travel-related change of residence leads to a transitory stress reaction in humans.

Objective: It is well known that animals show a stress response when confronted with a novel environment. The aim of the this study was to investigate whether humans show a similar response by studying the reaction to a travel-related transitory change of residence.

Method: Forty-eight individuals (32 women, 16 men, age 40-83 years) traveling to a health resort approximately 120 km from their home town participated in the study.

Recovery intention: its association with fatigue in the working population.

Purpose: To investigate the association of the intention to recover from work with fatigue and its moderating effect on the link between occupational characteristics and fatigue.

Methods: Three hundred and eighty Austrian employees (nurses, teachers and administrative staff) participated in a survey assessing fatigue, the intention to create and engage in recovery activities and effort-reward imbalance as a measure of job characteristics. Data were analysed by regression analysis.

Association of spa therapy with improvement of psychological symptoms of occupational burnout: a pilot study.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate effects of a 3-week resort-based spa therapy (a combination of balneotherapy, massages, exercise etc., including a respite from work) on psychological symptoms associated with occupational burnout.

Patients And Methods: In a longitudinal design, a group of 65 actively working individuals (45 women, 20 men, mean age 50.

Personality does not predict treatment preference, treatment experience does: a study of four complementary pain treatments.

Introduction: The aim of the present study was to determine the extent to which personality and treatment experience affect patients' appraisals of 4 complementary treatments for chronic pain.

Patients And Methods: A total of 232 chronic pain patients (164 females, 68 males, average age 56.6 years) visiting a spa clinic in Austria returned a questionnaire on patient characteristics and personality (autonomy, depressiveness, assertiveness, self-control) as well as attitudes towards (i.