Night shift work has some evidence of affecting non-invasive indicators of endothelial function, but data is incomplete, limited to small samples (N=110), and lacks research on napping benefits.
Does napping during night shift work improve non-invasive measures of endothelial function in shift workers?
Current evidence on the impact of night shift work on endothelial function is limited and incomplete, with a complete lack of research on the potential mitigating effects of napping.
We examined the breadth and depth of the current evidence investigating napping/sleeping during night shift work and its impact on non-invasive measures of endothelial function. We used a scoping review study design and searched five databases: Ovid Medline, EMBASE, Ovid APA PsycInfo, Web of Science Core Collection, and EBSCO CINAHL. We limited our search to English language and publications from January 1980 to September 2022. Our reporting adhered to the PRISMA-ScR guidance for scoping reviews. Our search strategy yielded 1949 records (titles and abstracts) after deduplication, of which 36 were retained for full-text review. Five articles were retained, describing three observational and two experimental research studies with a total sample of 110 individuals, which examined the non-invasive indicators of endothelial function in relation to the exposure to night shift work. While there is some evidence of an effect of night shift work on the non-invasive indicators of endothelial function, this evidence is incomplete, limited to a small samples of shift workers, and is mostly restricted to one measurement technique for assessing endothelial function with diverse protocols. In addition, there is no identifiable research investigating the potential benefits of napping during night shift work on non-invasive measures of endothelial function.
Patterson et al. (Fri,) conducted a review in Night shift work (n=110). Night shift work was evaluated on Non-invasive measures of endothelial function. Night shift work has some evidence of affecting non-invasive indicators of endothelial function, but data is incomplete, limited to small samples (N=110), and lacks research on napping benefits.