Open Access
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Sleep Sci 2025; 18(S 02): S1-S40
DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1812704
ID: 23

The Impact of a Sleep Intervention on Shift Workers: Improved Subjective Sleep Without Objective Changes

Authors

  • Maaike Van Der Rhee

    1   Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

  • Johanneke E. Oosterman

    2   Division of Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

  • Suzan Wopereis

    3   Research Group Microbiology & Systems Biology, TNO, The Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research, The Netherlands

  • Martijn E. T. Dollé

    4   Centre for Health Protection, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), The Netherlands

  • Alex Burdorf

    1   Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

  • Linda W. M. Van Kerkhof

    4   Centre for Health Protection, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), The Netherlands

  • Heidi M. Lammers-Van Der Holst

    1   Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
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Introduction: Shift work is associated with disturbed sleep and adverse health effects. The aim of this study is to analyze the effects of two interventions, i.e., personalized sleep or nutritional advice, on sleep duration and quality in real-life shift workers.

Methods: This controlled intervention study included 57 healthy shift workers working 12-hour shifts. Participants received tailored advice based on their work schedule, social obligations, and physiological markers. The sleep advice focused on sleep timing, multiple sleep episodes, and sleep hygiene education, while the nutritional guidance structured meal timing, macronutrient distribution, and energy intake. Sleep was assessed objectively through actigraphy at baseline, start intervention and post-intervention (averaging 13-night shifts, 6 early shifts and 20 free days per participant). Subjective sleep was measured with the Insomnia Severity Index at baseline, post-intervention and follow-up. Mixed-effects models with a random intercept were used, adjusted for age, chronotype and household.

Results: Participants experienced on average shorter sleep duration when working night and early shifts, compared with recovery days. Neither intervention changed the objective sleep duration or quality. Participants who received the sleep advice had significantly higher insomnia scores at baseline, and their scores had decreased to match those of the other groups on post-intervention and during follow-up 8 months after the intervention. No such effects were observed for nutritional guidance.

Conclusion: Personalized sleep guidance improved subjective sleep experience (insomnia scores) but had no effect on objective sleep measures, highlighting the disconnect between subjective experience and objective sleep metrics.



Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
08. Oktober 2025

© 2025. Brazilian Sleep Academy. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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