Key result
Overnight shift work resulted in a significant difference in pRR50 levels across the training day among SERT officers compared to those off-duty the night prior (p=0.037).
Why the study?
Special emergency response team service exposes personnel to circadian disruption, but few studies have assessed the effect of overnight shift work on heart rate variability in specialist police.
Does overnight shift work affect heart rate variability in specialist tactical police?
Observational (n=11)
Does overnight shift work affect heart rate variability in specialist tactical police?
p-value: p=0.037
Overnight shift work significantly alters heart rate variability in specialist police officers, suggesting HRV could be used to monitor physiological load and inform personnel allocation.
Overnight shifts may alter autonomic recovery in tactical officers; hypothesis-generating for occupational CV risk and requires prospective validation.
Police work exposes officers to high levels of stress. Special emergency response team (SERT) service exposes personnel to additional demands. Specifically, the circadian cycles of SERT operators are subject to disruption, resulting in decreased capacity to compensate in response to changing demands. Adaptive regulation loss can be measured through heart rate variability (HRV) analysis. While HRV Trends with health and performance indicators, few studies have assessed the effect of overnight shift work on HRV in specialist police. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effects overnight shift work on HRV in specialist police. HRV was analysed in 11 SERT officers and a significant (p = 0.037) difference was found in pRR50 levels across the training day (percentage of R-R intervals varying by >50 ms) between those who were off-duty and those who were on duty the night prior. HRV may be a valuable metric for quantifying load holistically and can be incorporated into health and fitness monitoring and personnel allocation decision making.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Tomes et al. (2021) conducted an observational in Specialist police / SERT officers (n=11). Overnight shift work vs. Off-duty the night prior was evaluated on pRR50 levels across the training day (p=0.037). Overnight shift work resulted in a significant difference in pRR50 levels across the training day among SERT officers compared to those off-duty the night prior (p=0.037).
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: