Dados do Trabalho

Título

DOES THE WORKING DAY OF MILITARY FIREFIGHTERS CONTRIBUTE TO SHORT SLEEP ON REST DAYS?

Introdução

Military firefighters face a stressful routine and are constantly exposed to various health risk factors, including sleep deprivation. These professionals have to deal with the physical and mental demands of their job, which can significantly impact sleep quality and, consequently, overall health.

Objetivo

To describe and categorize hours of sleep and assess the presence of insomnia.

Métodos

This was a cross-sectional study of military firefighters from the municipalities of Ouro Preto and Mariana - MG. Sleep restriction was measured by asking about bedtimes and wake-up times on duty and off-duty days. The weighted average sleep time per day was calculated based on the equation: [(nights on duty x 2) + (nights off x 5)/7], classified as very short sleep (≤ 4 hours), short sleep (5-6 hours), adequate sleep (7-8 hours) and long sleep (≥ 9 hours). Insomnia symptoms were analyzed using the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI).

Resultados

44 military firefighters took part in the study, representing 89.8% of the local population. With regard to sleep time, 4.7% of the participants were classified as having very short sleep (< 4 hours), 55.8% as having short sleep (5-6 hours) and 39.5% as having adequate sleep (7-8 hours). With regard to insomnia, 39.5% had a lower limit of insomnia and 9.3% had moderate insomnia, i.e. 48.8% were classified as having some degree of this important sleep disorder.

Conclusões

Most of the military firefighters assessed have insufficient sleep time, which may be contributing to the high rate of insomnia. These findings highlight the need for interventions aimed at improving the quality of sleep of these professionals, in order to minimize the negative impacts on health and work performance.

Palavras -chave

Military firefighters; Sleep disorders; Chrononutrition.