Sleep quality and parasomnia frequency in shift workers

Sleep Quality and Parasomnia Frequency in Shift Workers Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the sleep quality of night shift workers, the frequency of sleep disorders due to the shift work, investigate if different shift work shedules are associated with parasomnias and compare sleep characteristics between different work shedules. Method: A total of 1473 employees working in different business areas (healthcare, security, laborer) in Adana were included in this study. And 78,5 % of these employees were working in shift works while 21,5% were working in daytime jobs only. A questionnaire, containing 132 questions, was used to collect data tool in the study. The questionnaire included the Epworth Sleepiness Scale assessing daytime sleepiness, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Scale assessing sleep quality during the last month, the Beck Depression Scale to determine major depressive symptoms, and the Berlin questionnaire to determine obstructive sleep apnea risk. Results: Parasomnia was determined in 24,4% of all participants. Parasomnia was found in 27,5% of the shift workers, and in only 13% of the day shift workers (p <0.001). The frequency of parasomnia was found significantly higher in the young age group who worked most often at night shift. Hypersomnia was found in 24,9% of the shift workers and insomnia was detected in 16,2%, which were significantly higher than the daytime group (p = 0.004, p <0.001). Symptoms of restless legs syndrome were found in 5,3% of shift workers and OSAS in 7% (p = 0.708, p = 0.963, and these frequency were similar in day shift workers. Conclusion: Working in shifts significantly disturbs sleep quality. Persistent night shifts or irregular shifts are associated with more deterioration in subjective sleep quality than in daytime workers. Parasomnia, insomnia and increased daytime sleepiness are furtherly detected in these shift groups. Keywords: Shift work, sleep quality, parasomnia.