The effect of working on-call on stress physiology and sleep: A systematic review.

Sarah J Hall, Sally A Ferguson, Anne I Turner, Samuel J Robertson, Grace E Vincent, Brad Aisbett

Journal: Sleep medicine reviews 2018;33():79-87

PMID: 27426960

Full Text on Elsevier Science View on PubMed

Abstract

On-call work is becoming an increasingly common work pattern, yet the human impacts of this type of work are not well established. Given the likelihood of calls to occur outside regular work hours, it is important to consider the potential impact of working on-call on stress physiology and sleep. The aims of this review were to collate and evaluate evidence on the effects of working on-call from home on stress physiology and sleep. A systematic search of Ebsco Host, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus and ScienceDirect was conducted. Search terms included: on-call, on call, standby, sleep, cortisol, heart rate, adrenaline, noradrenaline, nor-adrenaline, epinephrine, norepinephrine, nor-epinephrine, salivary alpha amylase and alpha amylase. Eight studies met the inclusion criteria, with only one study investigating the effect of working on-call from home on stress physiology. All eight studies investigated the effect of working on-call from home on sleep. Working on-call from home appears to adversely affect sleep quantity, and in most cases, sleep quality. However, studies did not differentiate between night's on-call from home with and without calls. Data examining the effect of working on-call from home on stress physiology were not sufficient to draw meaningful conclusions.

Address: Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia; Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Electronic address: [email protected].; Appleton Institute, School of Human Health and Social Sciences, Central Queensland University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. Electronic address: [email protected].; Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia. Electronic address: [email protected].; Institute of Sport, Exercise & Active Living (ISEAL), Victoria University, Footscray, Victoria, Australia. Electronic address: [email protected].; Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia; Appleton Institute, School of Human Health and Social Sciences, Central Queensland University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. Electronic address: [email protected].; Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia. Electronic address: [email protected].

DOI: 10.1016/j.smrv.2016.06.001