Introduction Night shift and rotating shift work schedules are associated with mismatch between sleep-wake cycle and circadian rhythms, leading to sleep disturbances and adverse health effects. The impact on health and sleep patterns of shift work schedules among health care professionals working in public hospitals in Paris has been a matter of concern.

Objectives To investigate the effect of shift work schedules on sleep patterns among healthcare professionals working either as permanent night shifters (NS) or as day shifters (DS) with rotating morning and afternoon shifts.

Methods Study participants included 95 NS and 105 DS who completed a questionnaire on work history, lifestyle, sleep disorders, and job strain. Sleep and work hours were extracted from self-completed sleep diaries during a full work week. Periods of rest or activity were determined from a chest-worn sensor (PICADO ®) in 63 NS and 77 DS, using a hidden Markov model. Determinants of sleep patterns were investigated using linear mixed models.

Results According to sleep diaries, NS had both a shorter sleep duration during work days compared to DS (5.4 h ± 1.5 vs 6.8 h ± 1.2), and a greater sleep debt over the study week (3.2 h ± 1.9 vs 1.4 h ± 1.5). The total duration of rest periods determined from the sensor was greater than the total sleep duration, particularly among NS (8.3 h ± 1.7). In addition to shift type, older age, chronotype with morning preference, high BMI and job strain were found to be independently associated with shorter duration of sleep and rest periods.

Conclusion Shift work schedules among health care professionals may lead to sleep deprivation, which may be mitigated by taking longer periods of rest bouts, particularly in permanent NS. Time slots allowing for rest periods during work hours are important to prevent health consequences of sleep disorders in these workers.