Behavioural therapy for shift work disorder improves shift workers' sleep, sleepiness and mental health: A pilot randomised control trial
Open accessAbstract
Summary: The present study evaluates the efficacy of behavioural therapy adapted for shift work disorder with a randomised control design in a healthcare population. Forty‐three night shift workers (m. age: 34 years; 77% women) experiencing shift work disorder were randomised to either the behavioural therapy for shift work disorder (BT‐SWD) or a waiting‐list control group offered after the waiting period. Participants completed questionnaires on insomnia, sleepiness and mental health pre‐ and post‐treatment, pre‐ and post‐waiting, and at follow‐up, and a sleep diary. As night shift workers alternate between sleeping during the day after their night shifts and transitioning to nighttime sleep on days off, insomnia severity and sleep variables were analysed for daytime and nighttime sleep. The BT‐SWD involved sleep restriction therapy, stimulus control and fixed sleep periods in the dark. Statistical analyses were performed under intent‐to‐treat and per‐protocol approaches. Repeated‐measures two‐way ANCOVA analysis, controlling for age, sex and pre‐treatment daytime total sleep time, was performed with Bonferroni corrections, and between‐group effect sizes computed. Fourteen participants dropped out after randomisation. Under the intent‐to‐treat analysis, BT‐SWD participants had a significant greater decrease in daytime insomnia severity and an increase in daytime total sleep time at post‐treatment than the control group, with large between‐group effect sizes (−1.25 and 0.89). These corresponding results were also significant with large effect sizes under the per‐protocol analysis. Sleepiness, anxiety and depression levels improved at post‐treatment and maintained at follow‐up when the BT‐SWD treated controls were added to the BT‐SWD group. The behavioural therapy for shift work disorder can be used to improve the sleep and mental health of healthcare night workers.
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Another recent study [22] differentiates between daytime and night-time insomnia and has developed corresponding treatment approaches that have led to good effects, but only a passive control group is used.
“Another recent study [22] differentiates between daytime and night-time insomnia and has developed corresponding treatment approaches that have also led to good effects. Here, too, only a passive control group is used.”
From Efficacy study comparing a CBT-I developed for shift workers (CBT-I-S) to standard CBT-I (cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia) on sleep onset latency, total sleep time, subjective sleep quality, and daytime sleepiness: study protocol for a parallel group randomised controlled trial with online therapy groups of seven sessions each (2024) · cites this paper as [22]
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- Authors
- Vallières, A., Pappathomas, A., Garnier, S. D. B., Mérette, C., Carrier, J., Paquette, T., & Bastien, C. H.
- Affiliations
- Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec (CA)
- Université Laval (CA)
- Canadian Sleep & Circadian Network (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Vallières, Annie
- Venue
- Journal of Sleep Research
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2024-03-05
- Volume
- 33
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- e14162-e14162
- ISSN
- 0962-1105 (ISSN-L)
- 1365-2869
- PMC
- PMC11596990
- OpenAlex
- W4392515383
- Cited by
- 19
- References
- 51
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 1
- FWCI
- 7.77
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Sleep Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research (MOP‐93254)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and Work-Related Fatigue
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Circadian rhythm and melatonin
- Keywords
- shift work disorder, behavior therapy, sleep restriction therapy, stimulus control, night shift workers, healthcare workers, insomnia, daytime sleep, sleepiness, mental health, anxiety, depression
- MeSH terms
- Sleepiness, Adult, Behavior Therapy, Female, Humans, Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders, Male, Mental Health, Middle Aged, Pilot Projects, Surveys and Questionnaires, Sleep, Work Schedule Tolerance, Treatment Outcome, Sleep Disorders, Circadian Rhythm
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