The Impact of Shift Work on the Well-Being and Subjective Levels of Alertness and Sleepiness in Firefighters and Rescue Service Workers

Shift work can be associated with health and sleep problems, which may lead to cognitive impairment. This study investigated the effects of shift work on sleep, health behaviours and cognitive functions of Polish rescue service workers. We tested 18 paramedics working 12-h shifts, 15 firefighters working 24-h shifts and 17 daytime workers. We measured general sleepiness, workload during shifts and the occurrence of health behaviours. Additionally, we measured attention, executive function and subjective alertness. Paramedics showed lower average sleep duration and quality, and fewer health behaviours than firefighters and the control group. However, no differences were found in performance on cognitive tests between the groups and between the measures. The results indicate that the differences in job specificity may contribute to the effects of shift work on the sleep and health of the workers.