Evaluation of sleep quality and duration using wearable sensors in shift laborers of construction industry: A public health perspective.

Approximately 21% of the workers in developing and developed countries are shift laborers. The laborer's work shifts can affect personal life and sleep standards, adversely impacting laborers and their manage. This study assesses the impact of various shift plans (seven evenings/7 days, fixed-night or fixed-day, and backup shifts) on shift laborers, considering four shift schedules. Most laborers were on rotational shifts, whereas others were on a permanent day, permanent night, and standby shifts. In a cross-sectional study, 45 development laborers from the National Construction firm were enlisted. Bio-wearable sensors were provided to monitor sleep. Participants were approached and asked to complete a survey bundle comprising the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) and Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS). Differences in sleep models were estimated using a Fitbit watch at various shift schedules. The average age of laborers who participated in the study was 37.5 years, and their average experience in the construction company was 6.5 years. The average total sleep time was 346 ± 46 min. The rotational shift laborers yielded the minimum total sleep time compared to the average PSQI and ESS scores of 7.66 ± 1.3 and 6.94 ± 3.4, respectively. Fifteen shift laborers (33.33%) were affected by a sleeping disorder in the present experimental investigation, and 30 participants had inadequate standards of sleep based on the PSQI scores. Poor sleep quality and duration among construction shift laborers decrease productivity at work. Additional studies are expected to assess sleep-related issues affecting construction shift laborers.

Introduction

Shift work has become more common across several sectors in modern societies. According to published studies, ~25% of the workers in developed and developing countries work shifts (1, 2). Laborers' social lives, living standards, and health can be impacted negatively by the timings of shift work, notably by “second shift” night employment (3). Shift work can generate several health problems by disrupting the body's natural circadian cycles, including (among others) increased risks of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome (4, 5). Circadian and work-enforced sleep patterns may be at odds, explaining why shift laborers have sleep problems (6). As a shift worker, your circadian rhythm will likely remain synchronized with the natural light-dark cycle, and this discrepancy will probably be more pronounced (7).

Shift laborers' sleep quality and parameters can be partly explained by their clonotype, which is the variation in circadian preference between individuals (8, 9). During night shifts, morning clonotypes slept worse and slept for shorter periods than evening clonotypes, according to one study. In addition to clonotype, aging is associated with tolerance of shift work (e.g., performance, sleepiness, or recovery after work) and disturbances in sleep (10, 11). Recent research has shown that as people get older, their sleep duration decreases when working night shifts. This may be due to the age-related differences in sleep sensitivity and sleep loss sensitivity (12).

According to some studies, shift workers have also been linked to other side effects, such as depression, sleep deprivation, lack of concentration, and an increased frequency of certain cancers, including breast cancer (13). Sleep is a natural state of mind and body corresponding to reduced muscle activities and interactions with surroundings (14). A person's sleep duration determines sleep quality based on the sleep pattern. Poor sleep quality in the workplace affects workers' physical weariness, shift work, and personal coping capacity, indicating that poor sleep quality significantly affects the performance of construction workers in their workspace (15).

Rising societal demand for 24-h access to goods has increased shift-based jobs over the past several decades (16). The population working in the EU is estimated to have worked shifts more than 20% of the time in the last year. Rotating, especially night shifts, can exacerbate chronic diseases (17, 18). Sleep disruptions may exacerbate shift laborers' poor health. People who work shifts have a harder time falling asleep and staying asleep (19). Numerous bodily functions become dysregulated when sleep is disrupted, including glucose metabolism, hormone excretion, and nervous system function (20). Several chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, are associated with short sleep patterns (<7 h per day) and long sleep patterns (more than 10 h per day).

The complaints of fatigue and sleepiness during the day directly correlate to laborers' shift timings. Several studies have shown that shift laborers have higher truancy rates, accidents and errors in construction sites, personal problems, and problems related to construction work (21). Shift laborers are likelier to report appalling sleep quality, insomnia, and daytime fatigue. The laborer's shift is also linked to sleep deprivation, which can have negative effects (22). Construction laborers frequently work shifts, and sleep deprivation is common among them. Shift work disorders are characterized by an improper function of the body's natural circadian cycle, resulting in insomnia and excessive fatigue in the construction workspace.

When comparing non-shift and shift laborers' sleep parameters, the sleep duration by average was compared across all days, which may differ between shifts and free-work days (23). While it may be possible to get a few extra hours of sleep before or after night shifts, it may not be possible to get the same amount of sleep during the day. Shift laborers have the same total sleep time as non-shift laborers but may experience more frequent short or longer sleep intervals (24). Even minor sleep disturbances may have negative health consequences. As a result, more research is needed into how shift work affects sleep patterns.

The impact of shifts on Indian construction laborers affects the quality of the work, project finances, and the safety and health of workers. For the first time in India, we used Fitbit (wearable sensor-based watches) in Bangalore to measure the sleep patterns of construction laborers. Similar studies, such as that of the author (25), have also been performed on the sleep patterns of laborers in construction workplaces. However, this study was based on a different schedule with a separate workflow process (26). Night-shift laborers in construction workplaces are associated with higher work disorder rates, lower sleep quality, and higher subjective health problems than regular shift laborers.

This study aimed to identify whether a sleep quality gradient exists for various aspects of sleep duration indicators among construction workers. The first objective was the repetition of past analyses demonstrating sleep quality and duration gradients associated with construction labor length in a significant proportion of healthy laborers. Sleep duration and quality (adjusted for sleep duration) can be predictors of work productivity.

Literature review

This section comprehensively reviews sleep and productivity in various sectors with a multi-disciplinary design approach. In this paper, we focus on predicting labor productivity in the construction industry due to sleep deprivation. The relationship between sleep and the productivity of construction laborers is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1

Clustering of keywords.

Sleep quality is the measurement of whether your sleep is restful and restorative. It differs from sleep satisfaction, which refers to a more subjective assessment of how a person feels about their sleep. Sleep quality is more complicated to measure than quantity, but it is not entirely subjective (27). Measuring sleep quality is performed using procedures like polysomnography. Polysomnography is a sleep study that identifies the sleep quality and diagnoses sleep disorders of a person. These tests are conducted by a technician who places small sensors called “electrodes” on an individual's body. This sleep study records brain waves, oxygen levels in the blood, heart rate, and breathing. In conjunction with a lower income, educational and occupational statuses, objective measures of sleep quality are associated with a greater subjective need for sleep (24, 25). This constitutes a profound problem related to the initiation and maintenance of sleep, which is a cumulatively higher sleep debt (26, 27). The objective sleep quality includes loose discourse factors in connection with access to material resources (e.g., educational level), economic indicators (e.g., wealth-to-debt ratio), and access to goods and material services (e.g., fresh food and medical care) that are linked to social and health outcomes (28). Limited consideration has been assigned to the connection between subjective behavior and sleep.

Subjective measures of sleep duration support the perceptions of individual rank within the socioeconomic hierarchy compared with others (29). Subjective sleep is intended to capture the delicate aspects of the area more precisely as it is introduced to the psychosocial processes influenced by the social context. Differences in health can be attributed to an unsuitable social comparison regardless of the objective sleep quality (30, 31). It was found that subjective sleep duration improved current physical and mental health prediction. Additionally, it enhanced changes in health status beyond the objective quality of sleep (32). Moreover, it was evaluated that short sleep for a duration of 30–40 min in the daytime improved an individual's sleep quality, thus improving construction project productivity (33). There is a subjective duration of the sleep gradient for a variety of health outcomes, including poor psychological function (depression, negative effects, pessimism based on stress, and general health ratings), poor physiological function [body mass index (BMI), resting heart rate, waist circumference, adrenal steroid levels, susceptibility to infections from higher metabolic processes, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome], and even mortality (34).

A limited number of studies examined the effects of subjective sleep durations. Shorter subjective sleep duration has been associated with longer sleep time duration, higher sleep latency, and poorer sleep quality (35). There is preliminary evidence that this association exists after controlling objective sleep quality and the negative effects associated with shorter subjective sleep durations. Additionally, it can be moderated by ethnicity (36). However, middle-aged women and college student results are limited. This result convincingly establishes a connection between subjective sleep duration and. Additionally, it justifies replication with a sample of healthy adults, extension to several sleep domains, and analysis that controls the sleeping target (37).

Cultural variations among nations play a crucial role in relation to the ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) education of employees, even though the content material of the OHSS is universal (38). Therefore, the nations' profiles and running circumstances must be considered in an education-centered setting. Considering published Turkey-associated studies, only a few of these were relevant, as they have investigated the elements affecting productiveness (39). Additionally, they added overall statistical values regarding deadly occupational accidents within the production area, an administrative province in Turkey (40). They have investigated fatal visitor injuries within the Turkish production industry and studied third-birthday celebrations and accidents involving infant production sites in Turkey (41). These studies suggested an occupational danger evaluation method and explored injuries in the production area. Additionally, the international construction worker accident events that occurred in Turkey have scrutinized falling injuries of roof craftsmen, conducted examinations on the dangers of the tool gadget operators, investigated the venture managers within the Turkish production area, evaluated the productiveness and exertion levels of production workers comparatively, and assessed the fitness and protection of workers (42).

Materials and methods

A cross-sectional study shown in Figure 2 was conducted on 317 construction laborers from four major states of Southern India: Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. Power analysis was conducted with a desired significance level of alpha = 0.05 to determine the sample size for the study. The timeframe of data collection was conducted from September 2020 to March 2022. This research was approved by the Ethics Committee of the SRM Medical Hospital and Research Centre (2186/IEC/2020) and conducted according to the principles of the Institutional Ethical Committee. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants included in this study. A trained physician discussed the purpose of the experimental research and the significance of sleep status. This research was conducted on two construction platforms with male participants, with 70 people working on each platform. For 2 weeks, participants worked on the site in any one of the four shift schedules. Most laborers were on rotational shifts (number of laborers = 155). Others were on a permanent day (number of laborers = 82), permanent night (number of laborers = 48), and standby shifts (number of laborers = 32).

Figure 2

Flowchart of methodology.

Attitude outcomes

Poor sleep has been shown to increase turnover cognition and work-family conflict. Additionally, it decreases the likelihood of positive attitudinal outcomes, like job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and engagement. In the context of job satisfaction, negative emotional responses have already been identified as a mediator of the effects of sleep. Thus, indicating the potential role of emotion as a mediator of sleep's effects on various attitudinal outcomes.

Performance outcomes

Like attitude outcomes, affective and cognitive consequences of sleep have Implications for several performance outcomes include task performance, contextual performance, and safety behavior. In previous research, both affective and cognitive resources were frequently identified as predictors of task performance. For contextual performance (e.g., organizational citizenship behaviors), impaired self-regulation and losses in job satisfaction associated with sleepiness were identified as potential mechanisms to explain the effects of sleep. With respect to safety, employees who lack motivation and have depleted cognitive resources will more likely experience accidents or injuries.

Research participants

The participants worked for 3 weeks without taking a week off. After 3 weeks of work, they were given 2 weeks off. In this population, the average time spent in construction was 10 years. This study excluded laborers with proven sleep disorders and those who took sleep medications. Participants were assessed for sleep problems based on a physical examination and an interview. At the beginning of the 14-day work period, bio-wearable sensors (Fitbit) were provided, and feedback polls were given to laborers. For 21 days, laborers wore the Fitbit watch devices uninterruptedly. There were 62 sessions recorded by the Fitbit watch, as shown in Figure 3. However, 19 were excluded owing to equipment malfunctions. The data recorded by the Fitbit watch included the different phases of sleep, as shown in Figure 4. Based on this pattern, each laborer's sleep score was calculated to determine sleep quality. A Fitbit watch measures sleep quality and duration with the body's physiological activities, such as heart rate, oxygen saturation, and pulse rate, to determine sleep patterns and scores. The Fitbit used had a 95% accuracy for measuring sleep quality. An actigraphy was not used in the study because it was not permitted in India at the time.

Figure 3

Fitbit watch (wearable sensor).

Figure 4

Fitbit sleep-pattern and stages of sleep representation.

All participants responded to questionnaires based on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), which comprised nine elements and seven components; Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), which consisted of seven segments; Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), which comprised eight parts; STOP-BANG, which consist of eight elements; and Baker Depression Inventory (BDI), which comprised of twenty-one parts. The ESS was developed to assess fatigue during the day (the ESS score ranged from 0 to 24). Uncontrolled daytime fatigue was characterized based on a 10-point scale. ISI was a subjective questionnaire validated to detect and assess insomnia, and its score ranged from 0 to 28.

A total score of 8.21 defined insomnia. The PSQI was a self-reported poll that surveyed the standard of sleep within 1 month. The action comprised 19 individual items, with seven parts producing one worldwide score. The STOP-BANG was a two-part verified screening tool for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), including STOP (daytime fatigue, snoring, OSA, and increased blood pressure) and BANG [males at 36 and 50 years of age, body mass index (BMI), and a neck circumference of 40 cm].

Age, observed apnea, gender, tiredness, snoring, BMI, blood pressure, and neck circumference STOP-BANG scores ranged from 0 to 8. A score of 3 indicated a high risk of OSA. Finally, the BDI was used to examine the indications or signs of higher levels of stress and intensity of depression (43, 44). The intensity of depression was determined by a score that ranged from 0 to 13 (no depression), 14–19 (mild depression), 20–28 (moderate depression), and 29–63 (severe depression) (42). The bio-wearable sensors were used to track changes in sleep patterns over time (Fitbit). The 26-epoch clock of the Fitbit was 60 s long and had a sample rate of 30 Hz. The participants were asked to complete the daily sleep logs used for the activity tracker to record time. After the participants were trained to use the Fitbit, the activity recorder was used on the non-dominant hand. The wearable biosensor (Fitbit) was only worn between two business weeks. The laborers worked for 8 h and then slept for 10 h. No actions were recorded if the worker was not using an activity recorder. The shift schedule was evaluated by comparing the first two shifts [permanent day shift (n = 12), rotational (n = 20), permanent night shift (n = 8) and stand-by shift (n = 5)].

The impact of quantity and quality of sleep increased in the second workweek. The investigation was conducted anonymously. The data were checked and interpreted at the end of the 2 weeks. Time to fall asleep (TIB) was defined as the time between “time to bed” and “time to bed.” The total sleep time (TST) determined the time between the “start sleep” and “wake up” times.

Additionally, sleep effectiveness was determined as TST divided by TIB. The latency to fall asleep was defined as the time between “time to bed” and the first sleep. A Fitbit data analysis software platform was used to calculate indicators. Subject sleep records were manually entered as “Bedtime” and “Nighttime” in the software. The software device automatically evaluated the sleep and wakeup intervals.

Questionnaire survey

The questionnaire was designed and distributed among the workers to assess their sleep quality and duration among four shift schedules laborers. Questionnaires collect knowledge standardized during survey analysis and are thus considered vital for data collection. Surveys and effective forms are helpful tools that produce a “snapshot of how things are at a particular time.” They describe phenomena, provide live associations, and allow evaluations and predictions. The questionnaire was in five languages: English, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi. Table 1 provide the research basis and format of the questionnaires. Answers to the questionnaire were noted.

Table 1

Parameters and format for questionnaire survey.

Categories	Parameters considered for questionnaire survey	Format
Demographic	Sex	Free text
	Age	Free text
	BMI	Multiple choice
	Education level	Free text
Labor	Day shift workers	Multiple choice
	Night shift workers	Multiple choice
	Standby workers	Multiple choice
	Rotational shift workers	Multiple choice
Sleep	Sleep duration	Multiple choice
	Sleep quality	Multiple choice
	Sleep efficiency	Multiple choice

Statistical analysis

The use of SPSS version 13.0 software package (SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL, EE. UU) to analyze data. Continual measures initially check the additional measure's variables and result from variance analysis. The expected score is calculated if the most impact of the daytime isn't significant. Diagrammatically check the distribution and atypical values. Variables with positive deviations are reworked in a natural exponent way. Knowledge from one atypical value within the chemical element management cluster has been tailored to the norm and doubly the interquartile range. The info is summarized as a mean ± variance and reported in original units. Use a statistical method of conflict (manual) to look at the overall variations within the nine neurobehavioral outcome variables between TIB and TST management groups, which may stop kind one errors which will occur once scrutiny of the result is individual. A univariate analysis follows the many multivariate analysis. That represents over 70% of the total variance of all issues. The weather with an element load > 0.5 is thought of as loaded by a given element. To verify the likeness of the elemental structure between the groups, we perform a separate PCAõ for every group.

Results

The experimental outcomes were presented as averages with standard deviations (S.D) or percentages (as a number). The continuous variables were compared using an independent t-test of the TST scores for the first 2 weeks. The TST scores in different groups based on educational qualifications were equal. High-school scores were lower than two. One-way analysis of the variance (ANOVA) was developed based on the various shift arrangements and BMI categories. P-values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.

The participants in this study were all men. Table 2 lists the demographics, BMI, and age information. The average ages of the participants were 37.5 years, and the average BMI was 24.3 kg/m2. The average working time at the construction company was 10 years and 7.6 months. The standard mean TST and effectiveness of sleep reported by the Fitbit meter were 346 ± 46 min and 76.33%, respectively, with a sleep onset of 2.5 min. The PSQI, ESS, and BDI scores were 7.66 ± 1.3, 6.94 ± 3.4, and 9.48 ± 6.8, respectively. The average ISI score was 10.8 ± 4.5. The moderate snoring, tiredness, observed apnea, blood pressure, BMI, age, neck circumference, and gender STOP-BANG scores were 1.6 (out of a maximum score of 1.06). In this study, 22 laborers (51.2%) slept for <6 h on average every day as measured by the bio-wearable sensors (Fitbit), although only half of them (n = 12 or 27.81%) had sleep durations <6 h based on the PSQI survey. According to the PSQI survey (score 5), 32 people (74.5%) had inadequate sleep standards. According to the ISI survey, 28 (65.6%) participants had insomnia symptoms (score 8).

Table 2

Demographical information of the body mass index (BMI) and ages of laborers in various shifts.

Shift schedule	Age	BMI
Day shift workers	37.4 ± 8.4	22.4 ± 1.9
Night shift workers	36.1 ± 7.0	23.7 ± 2.2
Standby workers	35.3 ± 7.3	25.6 ± 3.9
Rotational shift workers	41.3 ± 15.1	25.5 ± 3.9
P-value	0.68	0.12

Table 3 lists the TST values of individuals in various shifts. Although the variance was inconsequential, rotational shift laborers yielded smaller TST values than standby workers (P = 0.818). After consolidating the three remaining categories (day shift, night shift, and relief laborers), there was no significant difference between TST values and rotating shift laborers (363.4 ± 61.3 compared with 347.8 ± 57.6, P = 0.406). The TST values of laborers shown in Figure 5 were based on various parameters, such as shift timings, educational qualification, and BMI values.

Table 3

Shift laborers of different groups and total sleep time (TST) (min).

	Characteristics	TST	P-value
Shift schedule	Daytime shift workers	358 ± 52	0.818 F value = 0.32 Degrees-of-freedom = 39
	Night-time shift workers	347 ± 57.6
	Standby workers	370 ± 58.6
	Rotational shift workers	360 ± 108
Education level	High school (<)	351 ± 60.5	0.8
	High school (>)	310 ± 60.2
BMI	Underweight (BMI <21)	330	0.8
	Regular (21 BMI = 26)	350 ± 59.6
	Overweight (BMI > 26)	340 ± 9.3

Figure 5

Comparison of TST values for the various shift laborers.

The TST scores are listed in Table 4 for the various shift arrangements in the first two work weeks. For day shift and off-work/seven-night laborers, the TST value during the second week was lower than that of the first week (the difference was minimal). The laborers worked 7 days a week and seven nights a week. In the second week, permanent night laborers had a longer TST (the difference was insignificant), as shown in Table 5.

Table 4

TST values for various shift arrangements in the first 2 weeks of the study.

Shift schedule	First week (min)	Second week (min)	Average of sleep duration (total in 2 weeks) (min)	P-value
Permanent day shift	376 ± 69	337 ± 76	357 ± 72	0.098
Permanent night shift	371 ± 59	339 ± 43	355 ± 51	0.097
Rotational shift	374 ± 43	414 ± 66	394 ± 55	0.108

Table 5

Sleep study data of various shift workers.

Characteristics	Daytime shift workers	Night-time shift workers	Rotational shift workers
TST (min)	407.2 ± 29.2	356.4 ± 67.8	420.8 ± 63.9
Non-REM sleep (% TST)	77.6 ± 4.1	80.4 ± 6.2	77.7 ± 5.3
REM sleep (% TST)	24.1 ± 4.2	20.1 ± 5.2	24.4 ± 4.4
Sleep efficiency index (%)	85.3 ± 7.9	81.5 ± 12.2	83.3 ± 8.7

Discussion

The most well-known medical issue among shift laborers is insomnia. Construction sites provide a workspace that influences sleep deprivation and causes several medical problems for the laborers. In this group, fatigue during the working hours (for rotational shift laborers) and the inability to sleep for an adequate period affects the general population of construction workers (45). The effects of work schedules on the sleep times of construction laborers in India were investigated using a wearable biosensor (Fitbit). Laborers who worked rotational shifts were associated with the shortest overall sleep duration, even though the variance did not span a considerable range (45). This may be attributed to the small number of participants in the experiment. Permanent day and night shift laborers had a minimal range of TST values during the second shift. This result was significant only for permanent shift laborers. Unexpectedly, night shift laborers consistently yielded the highest TST values during the second week of the experiment. However, the variance was not statistically significant. TST values were higher in blue-collar laborers with minimal education, optimal BMI, and permanent day shifts. However, there was no statistically considerable variance (45). Although obesity is a significant specification for insomnia, our investigation showed no relationship between TST and BMI.

Even though the average TST value remained <6 h, laborers with optimal BMI yielded the highest TST outcomes. Inadequate sleep duration in overweight individuals was consistent with research, which showed that obese patients yielded minimal TST outcomes owing to the associated sleep problems (increased stress level, insomnia). By contrast, lean laborers in our study yielded low TST outcomes. Further studies on associated physiological problems and covariates correlated with TST are needed. It is also interesting to note how various factors of the sleep period may influence the outcome. TST has been utilized as an indicator of the sleep period, but different methodologies of sleep periods (e.g., the highest time of undisturbed sleep) may produce various outcomes. Thus, the shift laborer's sleep quality ranged from 67.4 to 78.3 for the laborers who worked permanent night/day and rotational shifts. The productivity level of the laborers ranged from 98 to 113.

According to ISI (note 8), 29 participants (67%) experienced abdominal pain. Sleep deprivation and insomnia are common among offshore laborers. Studies have identified specific sleep features, rotational shift disorders, and appalling sleep quality among construction workers. Sleep deprivation among these laborers was related to many factors, including rotational, night, and extended hours (46). The average TST reported by the Fitbit meter was 353 ± 58 min, which was lower than previous studies. The TST values in the rotational shift group were smaller than those in the other three groups (the differences were insignificant). Night shift work recently suggested a more significant impact than different shifts.

Conversely, shift laborers showed shorter sleep duration in our study, which may be attributed to the fact that the circadian system was poorly adjusted to shift work. Additional research is needed to assess the impact of rotational shifts on sleep duration and quality (46). However, the probable etiology was an unsatisfactory adaptation of biological systems to change. Compared with the Fitbit meter, TST values <6 h were significantly lower on the PSQI self-report (25.5 vs. 51%). The differences between the reported subjective TST and TST values recorded by the Fitbit meter could be explained differently. The participants could interpret PSQI questions differently, and their IBR outcomes could be interpreted as the overall duration of their sleep. Owing to their acute exhaustion, they could misperceive their IBD and confuse fatigue's early stages with sleepiness due to their work environment and professional characteristics.

Rotational shift laborers experienced more intense abdominal pain than permanent day shift laborers. The TST scores were also low compared with those of other shift laborers in the second week compared to the first week. This problem, combined with the reducing trend in TST across all types of shifts, suggests that working overseas or having more extended working periods can lead to sleep deprivation (irrespective of the shift type) (47). A study on Indian laborers from different states also found that these workers found it more difficult to sleep, as reflected by the inadequate quality of sleep and increasing tendency of daytime sleepiness (48). Another study using Fitbit watches on offshore laborers confirmed the findings of this current study and showed no significant variance in sleep duration among the work timings (49). These data pointed to the overall impact of overseas employment on TST, thus suggesting a need for more consistent sleep testing among all construction laborers. Other contributing factors were associated with insomnia, which was reported in all shift types (50). A re-assessment of the work environment, ergonomic considerations, and potential occupational hazards on constructions are all the aspects that should be considered as environmental causes of sleep disturbances.

Conversely, some sleep problems can be caused by a person's health. Risk factors for OSA should be evaluated, and psychological matters, such as increased stress levels and deprivation of sleep, can lead to daytime fatigue and insomnia. Therefore, medical personnel should not disregard construction laborers' sleep and related problems. Co-morbidities, all-cause mortality, and work-related injuries correlate with sleep deprivation.

Conclusions

A person's sleep duration determines the sleep quality based on the sleep pattern. Sleep deprivation and decreased sleep duration are primary concerns among Indian construction shift laborers. Sleep problems should be addressed in the annual medical assessment of construction shift laborers as they affect their work, experiencing fatigue, depression, and other sleep-related issues. Furthermore, in conjunction with previous studies, these findings in India revealed that rotational shift laborers faced more sleep difficulties, particularly in the second week of the experiment. However, the findings' variance was not statistically considerable, thus necessitating future research with larger sample sizes (male workers) and inclusion of female laborers.

This study contained several limitations, including the small number of participants in the experiment and the failure of 11 of the original 62 bio-wearable sensors (Fitbit), which have high sensitivity but low precision. TST outcomes can be quantified using a mobile multisampling method, which is a more complex method. Finally, the experiments were conducted on male construction laborers only; thus, these experimental conclusions do not apply to female construction laborers.

Data availability statement

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

Ethics statement

This research was approved by the Ethics Committee of the SRM Hospital and Research Centre (2186/IEC/2020) and was conducted according to the principles of the Institutional Ethical Committee. Informed written consent was obtained from all matters belonging to this research study.

Author contributions

SS: conceptualization, writing–original draft, formal analysis, data handling, variable construction, and methodology. LK: supervision, data handling, and variable construction. MI: writing–review and editing. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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