ArticleAmerican journal of industrial medicine2020
Should public safety shift workers be allowed to nap while on duty?
Article in American journal of industrial medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 22 citations in OpenAlex.
- Auto-Regulation Method vs. Fixed-Loading Method in Maximum Strength Training for Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Frontiers in physiology · 2021Pooled it
- The effect of a night shift nap on post-night shift performance, sleepiness, mood, and first recovery sleep: A randomized crossover trial.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2024Trial
- Protecting episodic memory after sleep loss: Similar benefits of exercise and naps via distinct neural contributions.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- The Effect of Sleep Environment on Sleep Quality and Behavior in Firefighters: A Cross-Sectional Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Exploring Health Promotion Behaviors, Occupational Burnout, and Sleep Disturbances in Traditional Industry Workers.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Ten-Year Stability of an Insomnia Sleeper Phenotype and Its Association With Chronic Conditions.Psychosomatic medicine · 2024Article
- A preliminary framework for managing sleep inertia in occupational settings.Sleep advances : a journal of the Sleep Research Society · 2023Review
- Recovery from shift work.Frontiers in neurology · 2023Review
- Physical and psychological health in intern paramedics commencing shift work: Protocol for an exploratory longitudinal study.PloS one · 2022Article
- "I Want to Be Safe and Not Still Half Asleep": Exploring Practical Countermeasures to Manage the Risk of Sleep Inertia for Emergency Service Personnel Using a Mixed Methods Approach.Nature and science of sleep · 2022Article
- Should public safety shift workers be allowed to nap while on duty?American journal of industrial medicine · 2020Article
- Physical and mental fatigue in shift work and mitigation strategies: an integrative review.Revista brasileira de medicina do trabalho : publicacao oficial da Associacao Nacional de Medicina do Trabalho-ANAMTArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Fatigue and sleep deficiency among public safety personnel are threats to wellness, public and personal safety, and workforce retention. Napping strategies may reduce work-related fatigue, improve safety and health, yet in some public safety organizations it is discouraged or prohibited. Our aim with this commentary is to define intra-shift napping, summarize arguments for and against it, and to outline potential applications of this important fatigue mitigation strategy supported by evidence. We focus our discussion on emergency medical services (EMS); a key component of the public safety system, which is comprised of police, fire, and EMS. The personnel who work in EMS stand to benefit from intra-shift napping due to frequent use of extended duration shifts, a high prevalence of personnel working multiple jobs, and evidence showing that greater than half of EMS personnel report severe fatigue, poor sleep quality, inadequate inter-shift recovery, and excessive daytime sleepiness. The benefits of intra-shift napping include decreased sleepiness and fatigue, improved recovery between shifts, decreased anxiety, and reduced feelings of burnout. Intra-shift napping also mitigates alterations in clinician blood pressure associated with disturbed sleep and shift work. The negative consequences of napping include negative public perception, acute performance deficits stemming from sleep inertia, and the potential costs associated with reduced performance. While there are valid arguments against intra-shift napping, we believe that the available scientific evidence favors it as a key component of fatigue mitigation and workplace wellness. We further believe that these arguments extend beyond EMS to all sectors of public safety.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.