Personalized sleep strategies improved sustained attention during night shifts in industrial workers: abstract

Objective Shift work disrupts sleep-wake rhythms, causing poor sleep, circadian misalignment, sleepiness, and reduced performance. This study evaluated the effect of personalized sleep and nutrition strategies on sustained attention in night shift workers. Material and Methods In this 12-week intervention, 57 healthy male shift workers (18–60 years) were allocated to a personalized sleep (n=25), nutrition (n=22), or control (n=10) arm. The sleep group received guidance on sleep timing and strategic napping; the nutrition group received meal plans with timed calorie and macronutrient distribution. At baseline, early intervention (first shifts post-advice), and end of intervention, participants completed 5-minute Psychomotor Vigilance Tests (NASA PVT+ app) at the start and end of two consecutive shifts. Attentional lapses (reaction time >500 ms) was the primary outcome. Negative binomial mixed models included participant and shift as random intercepts, adjusted for age, chronotype, and household composition. Results Baseline lapse rates did not differ between groups. Across all groups and timepoints, lapse rates were over twice as high at shift end vs. start (Rate Ratio = 2.19, 95% CI [1.84, 2.61]). In controls, lapse rates increased from baseline to the early (RR = 2.19 [1.37, 3.49]) and end of the intervention (RR = 2.43 [1.45, 4.07]), with a similar pattern in the nutrition group. However, the sleep intervention mitigated this increase. The sleep group had 51% fewer lapses than controls during early intervention (RR = 0.49 [0.28, 0.88]); and this protective effect persisted at the end of the intervention (RR = 0.53 [0.28, 1.00]). Conclusion The sleep intervention reduced attentional lapses during night shifts relative to control and nutrition groups. While sustained attention declined in the other groups, the sleep group remained stable over time. These findings support integrating personalized sleep strategies into occupational health policy to improve safety and reduce error risk in 24-hour operations.
Abstract from: 30th Epidemiology in Occupational Health Conference (EPICOH 2025), Hosted by Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University, 6–9 OCTOBER 2025, Utrecht, the Netherlands