title: The effects of age and shiftwork on perceived sleep problems: results from the VISAT combined longitudinal and cross-sectional study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  With workforces in industrialized countries getting older, the study examined how shiftworking affects sleep in later life.
  
  
  METHODS
  Longitudinal data were collected in 1996, 2001, and 2006 from a large sample of employees who were 32, 42, 52, and 62 years old in 1996.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Effects of shiftwork were most apparent in middle-aged participants, becoming less apparent in later years when people tended to leave shiftwork. Nevertheless, a group of younger former shiftworkers reported more sleep problems than those who had never worked shifts. Giving up shiftwork offset a trend for sleep problems to accumulate over time, with the net result of no change in sleep problems after cessation of shiftwork.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Poor sleep quality is a temporary consequence of shiftwork for some, whereas for others it is a cause of shiftwork intolerance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Swansea University, Swansea, UK. p.t.tucker@swan.ac.uk
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tucker
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Folkard
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ansiau
authors.forename: J-C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Marquié
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D020178:Sleep Disorders, Circadian Rhythm / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014940:Work Schedule Tolerance