The Nighttime Nap Strategies for Improving Night Shift Work in Workplace

• Published in: Industrial Health Vol. 43; no. 1; pp. 24 - 29
• Main Authors: TAKEYAMA, Hidemaro, KUBO, Tomohide, ITANI, Toru
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health 2005
• Subjects: Health; Humans; Napping strategy; Nighttime nap; Occupational Health; Participatory activity; Personnel Staffing and Scheduling - classification; Rest; Safety; Shift work; Sleep; Sleep Deprivation; Sleep Disorders, Circadian Rhythm - prevention & control; Time; Work Schedule Tolerance; Workplace
• ISSN: 0019-8366; 1880-8026
• DOI: 10.2486/indhealth.43.24

Nighttime napping is an effective measure to prevent adverse effects due to night shift work. A characteristic of nighttime nap is that it can result in considerably deeper sleep. Several studies have shown that taking nighttime naps suppressed increasing sleepiness, decreasing alertness during the period following awaking from a nap, and prevented disturbance of circadian rhythm (“anchor sleep”). The length of daytime sleep after night shift, when combined with a nighttime nap, is shorter than that without nap. This finding might be interpreted as a beneficial effect rather than a negative feature because workers can then spend time engaged in other activities rather than sleeping. Nevertheless, the introduction of nighttime sleep break in the workplace has not been widely accepted. To promote nighttime napping strategy in the workplace, consensus building while acting on conflicting interest is essential. Recently, participatory method for improvement of working condition has expanded worldwide. A characteristic of the activity is using action checklist and group work, and heightening motivation to improvement working condition between worker and manager. Through the activities, nighttime napping strategy would be spread more in the workplaces and play a role as one of the effective tools for improving working conditions, work performance and safety in the future.