Sleep hygiene knowledge and engagement in Australian shift workers

Objectives: Shiftworkers routinely obtain inadequate sleep, which has
major health consequences. Sleep hygiene describes a range of behaviours,
lifestyle and environmental factors that can improve sleep. To date,
limited research has examined sleep hygiene in shiftworkers. This study
aimed to assess the sociodemographic and behavioural correlates of sleep
hygiene knowledge and engagement with sleep hygiene practices in
Australian shiftworkers. Study Design: An online, cross-sectional survey.
Setting and Participants: Australian adults from across multiple
industries (n = 588) who work shift work. Measures: The online survey
included questions regarding sleep hygiene knowledge, and questions from
modified versions of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Sleep Hygiene
Index. Results: Of the 588 participants, 52.9% reported having heard of
‘sleep hygiene’. Of these participants, 77.5% reported understanding the
term moderately, extremely or very well. Engagement with each sleep
hygiene practice was varied. Common sleep hygiene practices were
controlling the bedroom environment (e.g., a cool, dark and quiet
bedroom). Less common practices were avoiding light as bedtime approaches.
Logistic regressions revealed that shiftworkers who had heard of sleep
hygiene were more likely to engage in sleep hygiene practices and had
better sleep quality compared to those who had not heard of sleep hygiene.
Increased engagement in sleep hygiene practices did not predict the
likelihood of individuals reporting better sleep quality. Conclusions:
Shiftworkers demonstrated varied knowledge, understanding and engagement
with individual sleep hygiene practices. Future research should focus on
the development of sleep hygiene interventions that accommodate the unique
challenges of shift work to optimise sleep.