Night shift workers are at a 20 to 40 % increased risk of metabolic diseases, which may be associated with their disrupted eating patterns. This qualitative study explores factors that influence night shift workers’ eating habits, within and outside of the workplace, to identify target areas for health promotion strategies.

Eligible participants resided in Australia, working at least three overnight shifts per month.

The photovoice method was used, whereby participants were asked to take photos that represent their typical eating habits. These photos were incorporated as prompts in a semi-structured interview, which explored factors influencing eating habits on night shifts and days-off and perceptions and enablers to healthy eating.

Ten participants completed the study. Thematic analysis generated four main themes, which were mapped onto the Social Ecological Model (SE Model). Aligned with the SE Model, our results show night shift workers’ eating habits are influenced by intrapersonal, interpersonal and (work) organisational levels. Participants reported that at work, appropriate food preparation facilities are required to enable healthy food choices. Poor shift work rostering leads to prolonged fatigue on days-off, limiting their ability and motivation to engage in healthy eating. Consequently, night shift workers seem to require additional supports from their social networks and enhanced food literacy skills, in order to adopt/ maintain healthy eating behaviours.

Night shift work creates individual and environmental barriers to healthy eating, which are present during and outside of work. Health promotion strategies for this population should include multiple approaches to address these barriers.

Today, approximately one fifth of employees in the European Union works in the shift system. Insomnia is one of the most common consequences of occupational stress and shift work. Identifying factors contributing to poor sleep quality among shift workers, especially in healthcare professions, is important because insomnia increases the risks for numerous health disorders and impacts work ability.

The aim of this research was to investigate to what extend does an inability to withdraw from work influences the link between occupational stress and insomnia among shift workers. We operationalized occupational stress within the Effort-Reward Imbalance Model (ERI). An imbalance between individual effort and reward obtained at work leads to experiencing a stressful work environment.

153 shift working female nurses completed a short questionnaire about work schedule, the Effort-Reward Imbalance questionnaire with the Overcommitment (OC) scale and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). To estimate the mediating effect of OC on the association between ERI and ISI, we conducted a mediation analysis using PROCESS v3.4 macro in SPSS.

The model including ERI and OC accounted for 12.25% of the variance in ISI scores. ERI significantly predicted OC and OC significantly predicted insomnia. The direct effects of ERI on ISI remained significant after controlling for the effects of overcommitment. 35.07% of the effect of ERI on ISI was through OC.

Ability to detach from work-related thoughts during leisure time is crucial for successful recovery from occupational stress. The research is supported by a grant no. 2019/33/N/HS6/02572 from the National Science Center in Poland.

No significant relationships.

To explore the relationship between work-related stress and obesity among female shift workers. Additionally, we also aimed to test the interaction between shift work and work-related stress in this association.

A cross-sectional study was conducted among Brazilian female shift workers. Work-related stress was assessed through a demand–control questionnaire (Job Stress Scale). Work-related stress was defined by the presence of high psychological demands and low control at work. The obesity cases were defined as those with a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or more. Multivariate Poisson regression with robust variance was used to obtain the prevalence ratios (PR) and their respective 95 % CI.

A group of industries located in southern Brazil in 2017.

Four hundred and twenty female workers aged 18–59 years.

The overall prevalence of obesity was 30 % (95 % CI: 25·6, 34·4), and the presence of work-related stress was identified in 24 % (95 % CI: 19·9, 28·1) of the sample. We found an indication of interaction between work-related stress and night shift work on obesity (P = 0·026). After adjusting for confounding factors, work-related stress was associated with a 71 % greater probability of obesity (PR = 1·71; 95 % CI: 1·02, 2·87; P = 0·042) among female night shift workers.

In this study, we revealed that exposure to work-related stress and night shift work were associated with obesity among female shift workers. Furthermore, the prevalence of obesity was high among female shift workers.

To explore the association between behavioural characteristics with the prevalence of abdominal obesity (AO) among a population of Southern Brazilian shift working women.

A cross-sectional study was conducted. AO was estimated using waist circumference (WC), and it was used to classify women as having AO (WC ≥ 88 cm). Prevalence ratios were estimated using Poisson regression with robust variance.

A large plastic utensils company in Southern Brazil.

450 female shift workers.

The prevalence of the AO in the women shift workers was 44·5 % (95 % CI 40·0, 49·2 %). In night shift workers, the prevalence of AO was 56·1 % compared with 40·9 % among hybrid shift workers. After adjustments for covariates, women who were current smokers had a decrease in the prevalence of AO compared with those who never smoked. Women who had three or fewer meals per day had a 46 % increase in the AO prevalence compared with those eating more frequent meals. Night shift work was associated with increase in AO prevalence compared with hybrid shift (PR 1·33; 95 % CI: 1·08, 1·64).

Our findings indicate that behavioural characteristics are associated with a high prevalence of AO in female shift workers, thus suggesting that behavioural modifications among women working shifts, such as increase in meal frequency and physical activity, may reduce AO.

We aimed to examine the association of recovery from work and sleep with workers’ dietary habits.

Cross-sectional study. Need for recovery (NFR) from work was assessed with a validated questionnaire. Sleep was assessed with five questions from the Nordic Sleep Questionnaire and sleep quality question. Dietary habits were estimated using a validated sixteen food groups-containing questionnaire. Ordered logistic regression was used to explore the associations of NFR and sleep with dietary habits adjusted for age, education, marital status, work schedule, working full or part time and occupation.

Follow-up visits of type 2 diabetes prevention study cohort in a Finnish airline company

The study included 737 men and 605 women.

Poor recovery from work was associated with a higher eating frequency (OR = 1·03, 95 % CI 1·00, 1·06), higher intake of fast food (OR = 1·05, 95 % CI 1·02, 1·08) and sweets (OR = 1·05, 95 % CI 1·02, 1·08) as well as lower intake of vegetables (OR = 0·96, 95 % CI 0·93, 0·98) and fruits (OR = 0·96, 95 % CI 0·93, 0·98) among men. In women, poor recovery from work was associated with higher fast food (OR = 1·06, 95 % CI 1·02, 1·09) and desserts consumption (OR = 1·04, 95 % CI 1·00, 1·07). Among men and women, sleep problems were associated with higher eating frequency (men: OR = 1·04, 95 % CI 1·00, 1·07, women: OR = 1·06, 95 % CI 1·02, 1·11), consumption of fast food (men: OR = 1·07, 95 % CI 1·04, 1·11, women: OR = 1·06, 95 % CI 1·02, 1·10) and sweets (men: OR = 1·05, 95 % CI 1·01, 1·08, women: OR = 1·04, 95 % CI 1·00, 1·08).

Poor recovery from work and sleep problems were associated with unfavourable dietary habits especially in men.

The objective of our study was to explore the association between sleep deprivation and obesity among shift workers.

A cross-sectional study was conducted. Obesity was defined as BMI ≥30 kg/m2. Time of sleep was categorized as: >5 h of continuous sleep/d; ≤5 h of continuous sleep/d with some additional rest (sleep deprivation level I); and ≤5 h of continuous sleep/d without any additional rest (sleep deprivation level II). Sociodemographic, parental and behavioural variables were evaluated by means of a standardized pre-tested questionnaire. Potential confounding factors were controlled for in the multivariable model.

A poultry-processing plant in southern Brazil.

Nine hundred and five shift workers (63 % female).

Obesity was more prevalent in the participants who were female, aged 40 years and older, who had less schooling and reported excess weight in both parents. Sleep deprivation levels I and II were associated with increased income, number of meals consumed throughout the day and nightshift work. All of the workers who exhibited a degree of sleep deprivation worked the night shift. After controlling for potential confounding factors, the prevalence ratios of obesity were 1·4 (95 % CI 0·8, 2·2) and 4·4 (95 % CI 2·4, 8·0) in the workers with sleep deprivation levels I and II, respectively, compared with the reference group.

These results show a strong association between sleep deprivation and obesity in shift workers and that sleep deprivation may be a direct consequence of working at night.

In 2011, the US Institute of Medicine updated the definition of vitamin D inadequacy to serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration of 30–<50 nmol/l and of deficiency to serum 25(OH)D < 30 nmol/l. We describe the prevalence of these conditions according to these definitions, seasonal variation in 25(OH)D and predictors of serum 25(OH)D concentrations among working, white women.

Participants recorded lifestyle factors and dietary intake and provided fasting blood samples for measurement of serum 25(OH)D in both summer and winter. Predictors of serum 25(OH)D variation were analysed using linear regression and generalized linear mixed models.

Kingston General Hospital in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, from April 2008 to July 2009.

Female premenopausal nurses (n 83) working full-time rotating shifts.

Deficient or inadequate vitamin D status was observed in 9 % of participants following summer/autumn and in 13 % following winter/spring. Predictors of serum 25(OH)D concentration were vitamin D supplement use, tanning bed use and season. Tanning bed use increased serum 25(OH)D by 23·24 nmol/l (95 % CI 8·78, 37·69 nmol/l, P = 0·002) on average.

According to the 2011 Institute of Medicine bone health guidelines, over 10 % of nurses had deficient or inadequate vitamin D status following winter. Higher serum concentrations were associated with use of tanning beds and vitamin D supplements. As health promotion campaigns and legal restrictions are successful in reducing tanning bed use among women, our data suggest that increased prevalence of vitamin D inadequacy and deficiency may be a consequence, and that low vitamin D status will need to be countered with supplementation.

Because night shifts disrupt the normal circadian rhythm, sleep management is crucial for emergency physicians. The purpose of the survey was to describe the use of sleep-facilitating substances (SFSs) by emergency physicians before or after a night shift and to evaluate factors associated with their use.

All members of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians with a Canadian postal address were mailed a copy of the survey. Canadian physicians were eligible if they worked at least one night shift per month and spent 50% or more of their time in emergency medicine. Logistic regression was used to identify characteristics most predictive of using SFSs before or after a night shift.

Of the 1621 surveys mailed, 805 were returned completed, for a response rate of 49.6%. Of these, 628 respondents met inclusion criteria and 215 respondents (34%) reported consuming at least one SFS in their career to help them sleep around a night shift. The use of an SFS before a night shift was associated with the use of SFSs after a night shift (odds ratio [OR] 3.8; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.4–5.9) and the use of SFSs at other times (OR 3.8; 95% CI 2.1–6.6). The use of SFSs after a night shift was associated with the use of a sleep-facilitating technique before a night shift (OR 2.1; 95% CI 1.3–3.3); use of an SFS before a night shift (OR 4.0; 95% CI 2.4–6.4); use of SFSs at other times (OR 4.7; 95% CI 2.6–8.4); and success of a nap before the night shift (OR 0.46; 95% CI 0.25–0.83).

The rate of SFS use is similar in emergency physicians and other shift workers. Emergency physicians who use SFSs before or after a night shift are more likely to use them at other times as well, and less likely to use them if they nap successfully prior to a night shift.