Is sleeptime recovery of autonomic nervous system affected by occupational health and ergonomics related factors in ageing workers?

摘要

Demands of work are increasing and the workforce is ageing rapidly in modern society. The objective of this study was to investigate occupational health and ergonomics related factors predicting the recovery of autonomic nervous system (ANS) during sleep in ageing workers based on the longterm recordings of heart rate variability (HRV). The subjects (n=55) were aging or aged workers from the field of education (26 women and 29 men) with a mean age of 53 (range 4664) years. Questionnaire data of individual characteristics and occupational stress was gathered with a selfadministered questionnaire. The subjects also fulfilled Work Ability Index (WAI) and Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). The HRV recording of 24 hours for each subject was obtained during a habitual day at work and supplemented with the periods of leisuretime and sleep. The HRV data were treated using the Kubios Biosignal Analysis System. The female gender (p=0.042) and the length of the sleep (p=0.038) predicted the recovery of ANS, whereas the other variables showed no significant differences. In conclusion, there were few occupational health and ergonomics related factors which affected the recovery of ANS during sleep. Therefore, it is probable that individual factors and, for instance, strategies for coping stress are essential in the recovery of ANS during sleep.