Effect of Altered Sleep, Perceived Stress on Muscle Strength between Night and Day Shift Workers: A Cross-Sectional Study in Chennai

Abstract

A minimum of 20% of the global population suffers from sleep debt, which includes shift workers. The risks to one's health and well-being are caused by shift work, increased workload, and other substantial problems. Sleep disruptions will lead to stress, catabolize muscle proteins, and reduce muscular strength in night shift workers. To assess whether sleep quality and perceived stress level have an effect on muscle strength among shift workers. A cross-sectional analysis was performed on the airport workers. One hundred night duty workers and one hundred day duty workers aged 25-40 were randomly selected, and the study was conducted for four months in Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital, Tamil Nadu. A validated questionnaire evaluated the quality of sleep and stress levels. Muscle strength was determined using Mosso’s ergograph. Version 3.6.3 of the R statistical software was used to analyze the data. Kolmogorov-Smimov ‘Z’ test was used to determine the data set's normality. Significant negative correlations are observed between Mosso'sergo graph and both PSS (r = -0.501, p <0.001) and global PSQI score (r = -0.331, p <0.001). P-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. This indicates that higher muscle strength is related to decreased perceived stress levels and better sleep quality. Workplace health policies have to be improved. Adequate resting time and stress management training are essential to reduce the adverse effects of rotational work on theworker’s performance in addition to their well-being.