Non‑Pharmacological Interventions to Improve Chronic Disease Risk Factors and Sleep in Shift Workers: A Systematic Review and Meta‑Analysis

Summary

This paper is a systematic review and meta-analysis of non-drug strategies to help shift workers sleep better and lower chronic disease risks. The authors searched seven databases and pulled together 65 real-world intervention studies (various jobs and schedules); 39 of those had enough data to pool across outcomes. Interventions fell into four buckets: schedule changes (e.g., forward rotation, longer recovery time, shorter “quick returns”), behavioral programs (sleep education, tailored coaching, activity and nutrition plans), controlled light exposure (timed bright light at work and/or blue-blocking for the commute and sleep), and a few complementary therapies (like massage). Across the pooled trials, objective sleep got better (people slept longer and spent a higher share of time actually asleep), while subjective sleep (how sleep felt) improved only a little. Health markers saw small, mixed gains: some studies showed modest drops in blood pressure or body weight, especially when programs targeted diet/activity or added more recovery time between shifts. Results varied a lot by job type and study quality, so there isn’t a single “best” fix—but several approaches showed repeatable, practical benefits.