Sleep-Related Factors in Shift Workers: A Cross-Sectional Cohort Pilot Study to Inform Online Group Therapy for Insomnia

Shift workers face a heightened risk of insomnia. Recent research has yielded promising insights, but further progress is necessary to better treat insomnia in this group. The present pilot study evaluates how different characteristics impact sleep in shift workers to develop an innovative therapeutic approach. An online survey was administered to an ad hoc sample of N = 225 (112 shift workers), and correlations were calculated between sleep variables and specific characteristics (e.g., psychological impairment, personality traits, sleep-related behavior, attitudes towards sleep and shift work). Group differences between good/poor sleepers and day/shift work were determined using Mann–Whitney U-tests and Kruskal–Wallis H-tests. Regression was used to identify appropriate predictors. All factors (except perfectionism, chronotype, and importance of sleep) yielded significant results in both correlations and group differences (good/poor sleepers). The two groups of day/shift workers showed only minor differences. Dysfunctional beliefs about sleep, pre-sleep arousal, and depression were identified as predictors of poorer sleep. We conclude that interventions on psychological constraints (anxiety and depression), personality traits (anxiety, concern, emotional instability, and tension), social integration, sleep-related factors (dysfunctional beliefs, especially cognitive pre-sleep-arousal, sleep hygiene) and the attitude toward shiftwork, can replace those on regularity and will build an innovative therapy for shift workers on this basis. Once the newly developed treatment manual is finalized, its efficacy will be assessed through a randomized controlled trial.