Acute and long-term sleep measurements produce opposing results on sleep quality in 8hr and 12hr shift patterns in law enforcement officers

Occupational demands of law enforcement increase the risk of poor-quality sleep, putting officers at risk of adverse physical and mental health. This cross-sectional study aimed to characterise sleep quality in day workers, 8hr and 12hr rotating shift pattern workers. 186 officers volunteered for the study (37 female, age: 41 ± 7). Sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Actigraphy and the Leeds Sleep Evaluation Questionnaire. Maximal aerobic capacity (VO2max) was measured on a treadmill via breath-by-breath analysis. There was a 70% overall prevalence of poor sleepers based on Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores, where 8hr shifts exhibited the worst prevalence (92%, p = .029), however there was no difference between age, gender or role. In contrast, 12hr shifts exhibited the poorest short-term measures, including awakening from sleep (p = .039) and behaviour following wakefulness (p = .033) from subjective measures, and poorer total sleep time (p = .024) and sleep efficiency (p = .024) from the actigraphy. High VO2max predicted poorer wake after sleep onset (Rsq = .07, p = .05) and poorer sleep latency (p = .028). There was no relationship between the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores and any of the short-term measures. The prevalence of poor sleepers in this cohort was substantially higher than in the general population, regardless of shift pattern. The results obtained from the long and short-term measures of sleep quality yielded opposing results, where long-term perceptions favoured the 12hr pattern, but short-term subjective and objective measures both favoured the 8hr pattern.