Work stress and overtime work: Effects on cortisol, sleep, sleepiness and health

Abstract

Work stress and overtime work -effects on cortisol, sleep, sleepiness and healthAkademisk avhandling som för avläggande av filosofie doktorsexamen vid Stockholms Universitet offentligen försvaras på det engelska språket i David Magnussonsalen, Psykologiska Institutionen, Stockholms Universitet, fredagen den 15 december kl. 10.00 Anna DahlgrenIn Sweden the National Bureau of Statistics has reported an increase in stress-related disorders and sleep problems since the mid-1990's. They also report that the number of hours of overtime worked has increased. Previous research on work-related stress and overtime work has demonstrated associations with altered physiological arousal, increased risk for stress related diseases, shorter sleep, greater fatigue and impaired performance. However, there is a lack of knowledge on the effects within individuals. The general aim of the thesis was to investigate the effect of overtime work and increased work stress on sleep, the diurnal pattern of cortisol, sleepiness and subjective stress in a within-subject design. In addition, it examined individual differences in the diurnal cortisol response to stress. We used a combination of methods -questionnaires, sleep and wake diaries, objective measures of sleep, stress hormones (salivary cortisol) and ambulatory measures of heart rate and blood pressure. Studies followed office workers during two different conditions of (I) high/low work stress and (II) overtime work respectively. The individual differences in the cortisol response to stress from study I prompted study III. In this study we examined two groups that showed different cortisol responses to stress.In conclusion, the results (I) demonstrated that a week with higher workload and stress affects physiological stress markers such as cortisol, and is associated with increased sleepiness and problems of unwinding at bedtime, shorter sleep duration and longer work hours. Furthermore (II) overtime work, under conditions of relatively low workload, was shown to be associated with modest effects on physiological markers of arousal. More pronounced effects were found on sleep and fatigue, with greater problems during overtime work. Study III indicated that individual differences in cortisol response to stress maybe related to fatigue and exhaustion. RESULTS -SUMMARY OF STUDIES 36Study I -Different levels of work-related stress and the effects on sleep, fatigue and cortisol 36Study II-Overtime work and its effect on sleep, sleepiness, cortisol and blood pressure 38Study III -Individual differences in the diurnal cortisol response to stress 41 DISCUSSION 43Work IntroductionThe present thesis is focused on work related stress and long work hours. In 2005 24.4% of the Swedish workforce was experiencing work-related disorders (SCB, 2005). Stress and mental strain were the most common causes of work-related disorders among women and the third most common among men, with 13 per cent of the women having stress related disorders and 7.4 per cent of the men. Stress in working life can be asso...

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License to chill!

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