Abstract Introduction Bedtime procrastination, the volitional delay of going to bed, is linked to multiple indicators of inadequate sleep. Intervening to reduce bedtime procrastination may be an avenue to improve sleep outcomes, yet the phenomenon remains poorly understood in populations at-risk for bedtime procrastination. New career starters, those who are transitioning from tertiary education to full-time employment, may be susceptible to problematic bedtime procrastination and are at an opportune time for a ‘fresh start’ to change behaviour. Methods and results Two studies were conducted: (1) a qualitative approach to understand how bedtime procrastination is experienced by new career starters, identify barriers to behaviour change and explore themes for future interventions; and (2) a 7-day repeated-measures design to test generalisability of findings. In Study 1, data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews (n = 28). Inductive thematic analyses were used to find seven themes: negative feelings before and during bedtime procrastination; wanting to vs. knowing I shouldn’t; difficulty falling asleep; influence of automatic processes; consequences of bedtime procrastination; lack of self-control and technology captures late-night attention. Participants emphasised the need for me-time, self-negotiation to continue procrastinating and knowledge of the value of sleep. Study 2 aimed to quantify the relationship amongst bedtime procrastination, habit and motivation on daily pre-sleep screen use and sleep outcomes. Data collection and analyses are ongoing, preliminary findings suggest that bedtime procrastination involves both reflective and automatic cognitive processes. Conclusion Future interventions would benefit from a dual-process approach, using cognitive and behavioural techniques to reduce bedtime procrastination.
Objectives We investigated the management of travel fatigue and jet lag in athlete populations by evaluating studies that have applied non-pharmacological interventions (exercise, sleep, light and nutrition), and pharmacological interventions (melatonin, sedatives, stimulants, melatonin analogues, glucocorticoids and antihistamines) following long-haul transmeridian travel-based, or laboratory-based circadian system phase-shifts. Design Systematic review Eligibility criteria Randomised controlled trials (RCTs), and non-RCTs including experimental studies and observational studies, exploring interventions to manage travel fatigue and jet lag involving actual travel-based or laboratory-based phase-shifts. Studies included participants who were athletes, except for interventions rendering no athlete studies, then the search was expanded to include studies on healthy populations. Data sources Electronic searches in PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Google Scholar and SPORTDiscus from inception to March 2019. We assessed included articles for risk of bias, methodological quality, level of evidence and quality of evidence. Results Twenty-two articles were included: 8 non-RCTs and 14 RCTs. No relevant travel fatigue papers were found. For jet lag, only 12 athlete-specific studies were available (six non-RCTs, six RCTs). In total (athletes and healthy populations), 11 non-pharmacological studies (participants 600; intervention group 290; four non-RCTs, seven RCTs) and 11 pharmacological studies (participants 1202; intervention group 870; four non-RCTs, seven RCTs) were included. For non-pharmacological interventions, seven studies across interventions related to actual travel and four to simulated travel. For pharmacological interventions, eight studies were based on actual travel and three on simulated travel. Conclusions We found no literature pertaining to the management of travel fatigue. Evidence for the successful management of jet lag in athletes was of low quality. More field-based studies specifically on athlete populations are required with a multifaceted approach, better design and implementation to draw valid conclusions. PROSPERO registration number The protocol was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO: CRD42019126852).
This research examined the effect restricted sleep has on wildland firefighters’ cytokine levels during 3 days and 2 nights of simulated physical wildfire suppression work. Firefighters completed multiple days of physical firefighting work separated by either an 8-h (Control condition; n=18) or 4-h (Awake condition; n=17) sleep opportunity each night. Blood samples were collected 4 times a day from which plasma cytokine levels (IL-6, IL-8, IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-4, IL-10) were measured.
Rates of obesity, Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease are high among Pacific people in New Zealand. Physical activity is recommended in the prevention and management of these conditions. Community-based, 'small-sided game' group activities may be an effective and culturally appropriate way to promote physical activity within Pacific communities.To assess the effectiveness of small-sided games-based exercise on fitness and health parameters among Pacific adults over four weeks.Twenty untrained (13 female) Pacific adults were randomised to intervention or control. Intervention participants were offered 45 minutes of small-sided games three times per week for four weeks. Control participants were offered one-month gym membership after the trial. Primary outcomes included cardiorespiratory fitness (VO₂peak) and leg strength (maximal concentric force of quadriceps at 60°/second) measured at baseline and four weeks. Secondary outcomes included glycaemia, lipid profile, blood pressure (BP), and inflammatory markers. Multivariable regression models were used to assess differences between groups, adjusting for baseline values, age and gender.At baseline, mean age was 34.8 years (SD 12.6), BMI 36.3 (6.7), systolic BP 127.7 mmHg (12.1), HbA1c 6.1% (1.9), VO₂peak 2.5 L/min (0.6) and leg strength 170.0 N.m (57.4). Sixteen participants completed the trial. Change in outcomes were greater in intervention than control participants in absolute VO₂peak (0.9 L/min (p=0.003)), leg strength (17.8 N.m (p=0.04)) and HDL (0.12 mmol/L (p=0.02)). There were no other significant differences.Small-sided games appear to be a promising means for improving the health and cardiorespiratory fitness and reducing the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease in Pacific adults.
On-call working arrangements are employed in a number of industries to manage unpredictable events, and often involve tasks that are safety- or time-critical. This study investigated the effects of call likelihood during an overnight on-call shift on self-reported pre-bed anxiety, sleep and next-day cognitive performance. A four-night laboratory-based protocol was employed, with an adaptation, a control and two counterbalanced on-call nights. On one on-call night, participants were instructed that they would definitely be called during the night, while on the other on-call night they were told they may be called. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory form x-1 was used to investigate pre-bed anxiety, and sleep was assessed using polysomnography and power spectral analysis of the sleep electroencephalographic analysis. Cognitive performance was assessed four times daily using a 10-min psychomotor vigilance task. Participants felt more anxious before bed when they were definitely going to be called, compared with the control and maybe conditions. Conversely, participants experienced significantly less non-rapid eye movement and stage two sleep and poorer cognitive performance when told they may be called. Further, participants had significantly more rapid eye movement sleep in the maybe condition, which may be an adaptive response to the stress associated with this on-call condition. It appears that self-reported anxiety may not be linked with sleep outcomes while on-call. However, this research indicates that it is important to take call likelihood into consideration when constructing rosters and risk-management systems for on-call workers.
Cardiometabolic disease poses a serious health and economic burden worldwide and its prevalence is predicted to increase. Prolonged sitting, lack of physical activity, poor diet, and short sleep duration are ubiquitous behaviours in modern society, and all are independent risk factors in the development of cardiometabolic disease. Existing evidence demonstrates that breaking up prolonged periods of sitting is beneficial for cardiometabolic health, however, studies have not controlled for prior sleep duration. This article examines how prolonged sitting and short sleep duration independently contribute to cardiometabolic risk, and how breaking up sitting and obtaining adequate sleep may reduce this risk. We suggest that as prolonged sitting and short sleep duration influence the same cardiometabolic parameters, there is potential for short sleep to attenuate the positive impact of breaking up prolonged sitting with physical activity. Likewise, breaking up prolonged sitting and obtaining adequate sleep together could improve predictors of cardiometabolic disease, i.e., the combined effect may be stronger than either alone. To explore these perspectives, we propose a research agenda to investigate the relationship between breaking up prolonged sitting with physical activity and short sleep duration, which will provide an evidence-base informing the design of interventions to reduce the burden of cardiometabolic disease on communities worldwide.
Abstract Introduction Sleep quality and quantity is impacted by age, with women more susceptible to these age-related changes. Poor sleep in older adults is linked to adverse health outcomes and a greater risk of all-cause mortality. Given the ageing population in Australia, strategies to improve sleep in older adults is critical. Diet is a modifiable lifestyle factor that may improve sleep. This study investigated the relationship between adherence to dietary guidelines and sleep problems in older Australian women. Method Data from n=7956 Australian women from the 1946-1951 cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health were included (mean age±SD: 70.8±1.5 years). Participants completed a food frequency questionnaire, reported as a diet quality score (0-100, with 100 indicating best diet quality). Sleep problems were measured with five questions that asked about early waking, time taken to fall asleep, sleep quality, wake after sleep onset, and worry related awakenings at night. Results At least one sleep problem was reported by 70.2% of participants, and 20.5% reported between 3-5 sleep problems. Overall adherence to dietary guidelines was poor, with an average diet quality score of 56.9±10.7. Linear regression revealed that better adherence to dietary guidelines was associated with fewer sleep problems (β: –0·065, 95 % CI: –0·012, –0·005). Discussion While dietary adherence in older Australian women was poor, adherence to dietary guidelines was associated with fewer symptoms of sleep problems. To improve the sleep and overall health of older Australian women, strategies to improve dietary adherence should be prioritised.
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