Sleep, sleepiness and health complaints in police officers: the effects of a flexible shift system.

The aim of the study was to study the effects of a flexible shift system (based on self-determined work hours) with respect to sleep/wake complaints and subjective health. The comparison group was a rapidly rotating shift system, with frequently occurring quick returns. A secondary aim was to examine the relation between work hour characteristics indicating compressed or difficult rosters (e.

Subjective sleepiness and accident risk avoiding the ecological fallacy.

The present study of sleepiness and accident risk in a HI-FI car simulator aimed to provide subject-level relative risks (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for different levels of subjective sleepiness measured with the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS), 1 = very alert, 9 = very sleepy, fighting sleep, an effort to staying awake. Five male and five female shift workers, mean age 37 years, participated with a 2-h drive (08:00-10:00 hours) in a dynamic high-fidelity moving base driving simulator, after a night of work and after a night of sleep. Subjective sleepiness was measured with KSS every 5 min and events of incidents (two wheels outside the right lane), accidents (two wheels off the road or four wheels in opposite lane) and crashes (four wheels off the road) were recorded.

Assistant nurses in the Swedish healthcare sector during the 1990s: a hard-hit occupational group with a tough job.

Aims: The aim of the study was to explore hospital-based assistant nurses' experiences of psychosocial "stressors", following a period of substantial layoffs (43%) and ongoing healthcare reorganizations.

Methods: An interview study was carried out with 11 assistant nurses working in the same hospital. The interviews took place in 1997, in connection with the last round of redundancies, and were followed up in 1998 and then in 2001.

Variation in sleepiness during early morning shifts: a mixed model approach to an experimental field study of train drivers.

The present study aimed to experimentally evaluate the effect of early morning shifts on sleep and sleepiness of train drivers during normal working conditions. A total of 17 experienced train drivers were studied during a 4.5 h drive in two directions with a 2.

Apprehension of the subsequent working day is associated with a low amount of slow wave sleep.

Stress is probably the most frequent cause of short-term insomnia, although it has seldom been documented polysomnographically. A few studies have shown that apprehension is associated with a reduction of slow wave sleep (SWS). The aim of the present study was to examine whether apprehension of the next working day would be related to sleep polysomnography and subjective sleep quality.

Effect of accumulated night work during the working lifetime, on subjective health and sleep in monozygotic twins.

The present study sought to investigate the effects of lifetime accumulated night work on subjective health and sleep in monozygotic twins discordant on the exposure to night work. A total of 169 twin pairs (83 males, 86 females) over 65 years of age were analyzed on variables that describe the presence or absence of complaints regarding subjective health, disturbed sleep, repeated awakenings and not being well rested. Significant (P < 0.

Downsizing and reorganization: demands, challenges and ambiguity for registered nurses.

Background: The 1990s were characterized by substantial financial cuts, and related staff redundancies and reorganizations in the Swedish health care sector. A large hospital in Sweden was selected for the study, in which downsizing had occurred between 1995 and 1997. The number of staff in the hospital was reduced by an average of 20%, and 10% were relocated to other departments.