Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.2478/otmcj-2021-0029
Sleep duration and fatigue in construction workers: A preliminary study
Ximena Ferrada
; Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad del Desarrollo and Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
Silvia Barrios
; Escuela de Enfermería, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
Patricia Masalan
; Escuela de Enfermería, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile Juan Carrillo, Hospital Dr. Carlos Cisternas, Calama, Chile
Solange Campos-Romero
; Escuela de Enfermería, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile Juan Carrillo, Hospital Dr. Carlos Cisternas, Calama, Chile
Juan Carrillo
; Hospital Dr. Carlos Cisternas, Calama, Chile
Yerko Molina
; Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
Abstract
The construction industry is known for its high
rate of accidents. Among the different possible causes
of this situation, we could find lack of sleep and fatigue.
Chronic sleep deprivation is a determining factor in the
deterioration of vigilance and alert, and consequently
a risk factor for occupational accidents. Fatigue is the
answer of our organism to sustained physical and mental
stress. Regretfully, those topics have been ovelooked in
the construction industry. The objective of this study is to
understand better these phenomena, such as sleep duration
and fatigue, and whether they are interrelated, and to
propose strategies to mitigate them and contribute to the
reduction of accidents in construction projects. We worked
with 154 male construction workers from one Chilean construction
company. To assess sleep quality, we used the
Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). To evaluate fatigue,
we used a personal computer version of the Psychomotor
Vigilance Test (PC-PVT) that measures alertness and vigilance.
This 5-minute test was performed on construction
workers on-site in the morning. Those people who took
part in the test were classified into various groups according
to self-reported sleep hours, namely: 7–9 h (26%), 5–7 h
(61.7%), and <5 h (12.3%). These results were compared for
three variables (Mean Reaction Time (RT), 10% faster, and
10% slower) using an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test.
Differences were found for Mean RT and Slowest 10%,
the difference being greater in the group that reported
sleeping <5 h, but without statistical significance. Studies
with a greater number of subjects and measurements are
required throughout the working day.
Keywords
construction workers; fatigue; sleep duration; vigilance
Hrčak ID:
266737
URI
Publication date:
21.3.2021.
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