Aspects of work organization and reduced sleep quality of airline pilots

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence and association of work organization associated with poor sleep quality among airline pilots. METHODS: 1234 airline pilots filled out an online questionnaire. Independent variables included demographic data, work organization aspects, health, and sleep information. A question derived from the Karolinska Sleep Questionnaire was used to obtain subjective sleep quality. Poisson regression with robust variance was performed. RESULTS: The prevalence of poor sleep quality was 48.2%. Poor sleep quality was associated with high frequency of technical delays, ≥ 5 consecutive night shifts, moderate and great need for recovery after work, difficulty commuting to work, being insufficiently physically active and sleeping 6-8 hours and < 6 hours on days off. CONCLUSION: Pilots' daily work schedules, consisting of frequent delays, long working hours and perceived high work demands preventing adequate recovery were associated with poor sleep quality.