Sleep Patterns of Firefighters with Shift Working Schedules in Seoul Metropolitan Area

Abstract

Background and Objective Firefighters suffer from irregular and inadequate sleep, often due to their shift work schedule. The purpose of this study was to investigate the shift work schedules and their effects on the quality of sleep in Korean firefighters. Methods This study included firefighters in the Seoul Metropolitan area, who participated in the “Firefighters’ Healing Camp” and answered questionnaires for their shift work schedules and sleep-related symptoms. Among 180 participating firefighters, 110 subjects completed detailed sleep questionnaires, which included the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Insomnia Severity Index, the Epworth Sleepiness Score, the Stanford Sleepiness Score, the Fatigue Severity Scale, and the Berlin Questionnaire, and provided details of their shift work schedule and duration for the last 3 weeks. Results Among 110 respondents, 78.2% self-reported sleep disturbance and approximately 60% of the participating firefighters had a certain degree of insomnia. Furthermore, more than 50% of the firefighters complained of excessive daytime sleepiness, with 31.8% having a risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The firefighters in the frequent night-shift (NS) working pattern (5 or more days for 3 weeks), showed significantly higher Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index global score than those in the infrequent (less than 5 days) NS group (8.8 ± 3.6 vs. 6.7 ± 2.7, p = 0.014). However, the frequent NS working pattern was not associated with excessive daytime sleepiness or OSA risk. Conclusions The participating firefighters reported a high prevalence of various sleep problems. Frequent NS working may be responsible for poor sleep quality in firefighters.

Keywords

• Firefighters
• Shift work
• Night-shift
• Sleep disturbance
• Quality of sleep