• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.68-75
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• 1999

Objectives: We intended to observe changes in sleep patterns and mood states of night-shift workers following light exposure. We also estimated the degree of tolerance of light exposure. By studying these, we investigated the possibility of applying light therapy to night-shift workers for improving their adaptation. Methods: Twelve night-shift nurses working at Yong-In Mental Hospital volunteered to participate in this study. The study consisted of 3 parts: 1) night-shift control study; 2) light exposure study; 3) day-shift control study. All the nurses accomplished 3 parts of the study, each of which continued for 3 days, except one nurse who did not participate in day-shift control study. During light exposure study, nurses were exposed to bright light for 4 hours from 1AM to 5AM. Sleep patterns were evaluated with wrist actigraphy and automatic sleep analysis program. Mood states and side effects of light exposure were assessed with self-report scales. Results: Sleep period time, total sleep time, and sleep efficiency were increased following light exposure compared with night-shift control study. Light exposure study showed no difference from day-shift control study in above-mentioned sleep parameters. Daily fluctuation of sleep efficiency was less prominent during light exposure study than during night-shift control study. During light exposure study, the subjects felt more elated and energetic in the evening after daytime sleep than during night-shift control study. None of the subjects complained of severe side effects related to light exposure on the third day of light exposure. Tolerance of side effects was noted to develop with the repetition of light exposure. Conclusion: Light exposure improved the daytime sleep of night-shift workers to the level of normal nighttime sleep, making the subjects more elated and energetic. Side effects of light exposure were found to be tolerable. Light exposure seems to be safely applicable to night-shift workers for their adaptation.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.41-47
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• 2002

Objectives: In a number of simulated night shift studies, timed exposure to bright light improves sleep quality and work performance. We evaluated the effect of bright light on adaptation to night shift work with a field study. Methods: Five female nurses working shifts at Korea University Hospital were recruited for participation in this study. We investigated two series of six consecutive shift rotations comprising three day and three night shifts, using wrist Actigraphy, the Stanford Sleepiness Scale, Visual-analogue scales, STIM and tympanic membrane temperature for daytime sleep quality, alertness, subjective feeling, attention performance, and temperature rhythm. The subjects were exposed to bright light (2,500 lux) from 24:00 to 04:00 a.m. on three consecutive night shifts during the second series, whereas they worked under normal lightening (650 lux) conditions during the first series. Results: Actigraphic assessment of daytime sleep showed no significant difference between the first and third night shift in both baseline and light exposure phase. The mean lowest temperature shifted earlier during baseline phase but not during the light exposure phase. Also, the score for subjective feelings of depression, anxiety, physical discomfort and sleepiness was significantly higher in the third night shift than the first during baseline phase but not during the light exposure phase. Attention and attention switching ability was significantly improved in the third night shift compared to the first night during the light exposure phase but there were no significant changes during the baseline phase. Conclusion: This result suggests that there were no significant differences between the two phases in measures of quality of daytime sleep, but subjective feelings, attention and alertness were enhanced during light exposure. Although some placebo effects and learning effects might influence this result, bright light exposure between midnight and 4:00 a.m. may improve adaptation to night shift. In future, further controlled studies with a larger sample size, including melatonin measurement, are needed for real shift workers.

• Journal of Digital Policy
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.21-33
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• 2023

The purpose of this study was to explore the night duty experience on the personal life of fixed night shift nurses working in various health care delivery systems. Data collection was conducted through three focus group interviews from September to October 2022, The subjects of the study were 13 nurses working fixed night shift. For analysis, all interviews were recorded and transcribed and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. In results, 5 themes, 11 categories and 24 subcategories were derived. The five themes were 'it's a voluntary choice', 'efforts to adapt to the shift', 'awareness about fixed night shift', and 'hope to improve the system'. The study aims to help understand fixed night shift work and systems by showing various night-duty experiences on the personal life of the nurses and to provide basic data for preparing measures to improve the system.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.8 no.12
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• pp.199-208
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• 2017

This study investigated the effects of overtime work on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of Korean blue-collar workers. This cross-sectional study collected data on 229 Korean blue-collar workers in six small-sized companies from October to November 2015. The data were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression analysis to estimate the effect of overtime work while considering convergence variables. In the hierarchical regression model, when overtime work variable was included in the model, $R^2$ change was statistically significant. The significant predictors for HRQoL were overtime work (${\beta}=.152$, p=.025), depression (${\beta}=-.192$, p=.003) and night shift work (${\beta}=-.201$, p=.032). The results of this study provide a basic data for establishing optimal working hours standards for improving the quality of life of Korean blue-collar workers.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.729-740
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• 2022

This study analyzed the effects of job stress and sleep disorders on sleepiness during the daytime for a night-shift urban railway crew. As a result of the analysis, measurements on a daytime sleepiness index were higher for the crew than those during other working hours, indicating that the degrees of sleepiness and drowsiness were severe. Afterwards, aromatic essential oils, which are generally known to help relieve sleep disorders and stress, were utilized to verify the effect on stress on night-shift workers. The experimental group treated with aromatherapy was found to show improved stress reduction and overall activity levels in the autonomic nervous system compared to an untreated control group. This study proves that night work by an urban railway crew negatively affects stress levels by increasing stress and negatively affects the autonomous nervous system, also showing that an aromatherapy treatment can be a good alternative to alleviate these conditions. The results of this study are expected to help prevent safety accidents by relieving the stress of nighttime workers.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.1126-1132
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• 2010

The purpose of this research was to analyze the health promotion behavior of shifting nurses' and its effects on their health conditions. The survey was performed for 357 nurses who worked in general hospital during July 2006. The results for behavior of health promotion and health conditions were as follow; Better health conditions of shifting nurses' on the aspects of physical status, the younger age, a fewer night duties in a month, more regular menstruation cycles and married rather than un-married, they were in better health conditions(p<0.05). In conclusion, in spite of shift works, the efforts for health promotions improved health conditions. It is necessary to set up the systems for minimizing obstacles of health promotions.

• 월간산업보건
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• s.297
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• pp.63-70
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• 2013

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.165-178
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• 2021

Purpose: To analyze nurses' shift work according to the government guidelines for night work and their perceptions of their work schedules. Methods: The study sample included 487 nurses who provided information on their schedules, including the normal working hours of each shift, and overtime per shift during September 2020. Nurses' perceptions were measured in terms of satisfaction, appropriateness for work-life balance, and fairness to their work schedule. Results: One-third of the respondents worked more than 40 hours per week. The average overtime hour was 1.14 hours per shift. Unsocial hours (8 pm to 6 am on weekdays, midnight to midnight on weekends and public holidays) accounted for 56.4% of all working hours. During their last night shift, on average, nurses worked 9.62 hours and had a break of 39 minutes, although 20.5% reported no break. Sixty-eight percent of nurses had at least one between-shift break shorter than 48 hours after a consecutive night shifts. Fifty-seven percent were satisfied with their schedule. One-third perceived their schedule as appropriate for work-life balance, and two-thirds perceived that days off on weekends and nights were fairly distributed within the unit. Working and overtime hours had an inverse relationship with all three aspects of nurses' perceptions. A higher proportion of unsocial hours and having no breaks during the night shift were associated with lower perceptions of fairness. Conclusion: Reducing working hours, ensuring breaks during night shifts, and increasing rewards for unsocial hours are required to improve nurses' perceptions and reduce turnover due to shift work.

• Journal of Advanced Navigation Technology
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.501-506
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• 2019

This paper presents a prescriptive alternative for establishing a FRMS suitable for us based on scientific data ahead of the introduction and implementation of the FRMS for air traffic controllers in order to meet the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) international standards. I would like to present. Therefore, we confirmed the operation of each air traffic control agency against the current domestic operating standards, and compared and reviewed the operation methods and standards of air traffic control agencies in each country. The controller in Korea defines 10 hours of working hours per day, 8 hours of minimum breaks, and 40 hours per week. Currently, in the case of air traffic control agencies, the daytime and the appropriate working hours are used in the daytime, but in the nighttime, the average time exceeds 5.9 hours. In the case of 40 hours a week, they work an average of 15.7 hours overtime. By adjusting the nighttime work time, this work can be solved by diversifying the form of the worker's input method according to the personal schedule rather than the two-day (day / night) method, as well as the appropriate nighttime time distribution by supplementing the personnel.

• KOREAN ASSOCIATION OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH NURSES
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• v.10 no.1 s.34
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• pp.13-14
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• 2003