Sleep Loss, Circadian Mismatch, and Abnormalities in Reorienting of Attention in Night Workers with Shift Work Disorder

Mar 4, 2014Sleep

Sleep loss, body clock misalignment, and attention problems in night shift workers with shift work disorder

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Abstract

The shift-work disorder (SWD) group exhibited a significantly attenuated reorienting negativity ERP amplitude compared to asymptomatic night workers.

The SWD group showed shorter average sleep latency during night shifts (4.8 minutes) compared to asymptomatic night workers (7.8 minutes).
DLMO occurred at 20:27 hours for the SWD group, while healthy night workers had a DLMO at 05:00 hours.
Both groups experienced impaired behavioral performance and altered P3a ERP in response to acute sleep deprivation.
Specific deficits in neurophysiological activity related to attention were observed in the SWD group compared to night workers without the disorder.

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STUDY OBJECTIVES: Permanent night-shift workers may develop shift-work disorder (SWD). In the current study, we evaluated neurophysiological and behavioral indices of distractibility across times prior to the night shift (T1), during night hours (T2), and after acute sleep deprivation (T3) in permanent hospital night workers with and without SWD.

METHODS: Ten asymptomatic night workers (NW) and 18 NW with SWD participated in a 25-h sleep deprivation study. Circadian phase was evaluated by dim-light salivary melatonin onset (DLMO). Objective sleepiness was evaluated using the Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT). Electrophysiological distractibility was evaluated by brain event-related potentials (ERP), whereas behavioral distractibility was evaluated by performance on a visual task in an auditory-visual distraction paradigm.

STATISTICAL ANALYSES: Comparisons of ERP results were performed by repeated-measures analysis of variance, and t-tests were used where appropriate. A Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of variables (MLST, Stanford Sleepiness Scale, and DLMO) that deviated from normal.

RESULTS: First, in the SWD group, the reorienting negativity ERP amplitude was significantly attenuated compared to that in the NW group. Second, the SWD group had shorter MSLT during night shift hours (4.8 ± 4.9 min) compared to that in NW (7.8 ± 3.7 min; U = 47; z = -2.1; P < 0.03). Third, NW with SWD had a DLMO at 20:27 ± 5.0 h, whereas healthy NW had a DLMO at 05:00 ± 3.4 h (U = 43.5; z = -2.22, P < 0.03). Finally, acute sleep deprivation impaired behavioral performance and the P3a ERP in both groups.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate specific deficits in neurophysiological activity in the attentional domain among the shift-work disorder group relative to night workers.

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Sleep Loss, Circadian Mismatch, and Abnormalities in Reorienting of Attention in Night Workers with Shift Work Disorder

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