Work routines moderate the association between eveningness and poor psychological well-being

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 13; no. 4; p. e0195078
• Main Authors: Carvalho, Felipe Gutiérrez, de Souza, Camila Morelatto, Hidalgo, Maria Paz Loayza
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 06.04.2018; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Biology and Life Sciences; Medical examination; Medicine and Health Sciences; Mental health; Physical Sciences; Psychometrics; Research and Analysis Methods; Social Sciences; Brazil
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0195078

Well-being is a useful screening method for the detection of mood disorders. Evidence associating psychological well-being with sleep-wake patterns exists, as well as associations with sleep-wake patterns, work-related parameters, and perceived self-efficacy. Despite the growing research regarding the relationship between these factors and mental health, there are few studies that analyze them together. To investigate if the association between sleep-wake patterns and psychological well-being is mediated or moderated by perceived self-efficacy, work flexibility and work routines. This cohort study was performed in southern Brazil. A sample of 987 individuals was analyzed (66.9% women; mean age = 43.9 years). Work routines parameters and work schedule flexibility were evaluated, most participants were farmers (46%) and most worked 7 days a week (69.1%). Munich Chronotype Questionnaire (MCTQ) was administered for evaluation of sleep-wake patterns, General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE) for assessment the participants' beliefs about how they coped with daily hassles, and World Health Organization Five-item Well-being Index (WHO-5) for evaluation of psychological well-being levels. Moderation and mediation models were tested. The moderation model showed influences of work end time on the relationship between sleep onset time and psychological well-being (R2 = 0.147; F = 24.16; p<0.001). The final regression model showed an association of psychological well-being with sex (Beta = -0.086; p = 0.004), sleep onset time (Beta = -0.086; p = 0.006), and self-efficacy (Beta = 0.316; p<0.001); the work end time showed association in the interaction with sleep onset time (Beta = -0.075; p = 0.016). The findings support the direct association of psychological well-being with sleep-wake patterns and self-efficacy, and show an interaction between work routines and sleep-wake patterns. Our results draw attention to the importance of the interplay between individual and social rhythms in relation to psychological well-being.