16 Jun Driving home after a night shift? Be careful.
Mulhall et al. recently published an article in the journal of sleep that looked to characterise objective + subjective sleepiness and driving events after working a nightshift. They also considered circadian (body clock) and homeostatic (drive to sleep from being awake a long time) factors.
They concluded that subjective + objective sleepiness and driving events are increased following night shifts, even during short (~30 minutes) commutes. These were exacerbated by an interaction between circadian phase and the duration of wakefulness prior to driving.
Some further information about driver fatigue can be found here:
https://www.comcare.gov.au/preventing/hazards/psychosocial_hazards/driver_fatigue
https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/fatigue
Citation
Megan D Mulhall, Tracey L Sletten, Michelle Magee, Julia E Stone, Saranea Ganesan, Allison Collins, Clare Anderson, Steven W Lockley, Mark E Howard, Shantha M W Rajaratnam, Sleepiness and driving events in shift workers: the impact of circadian and homeostatic factors, Sleep, Volume 42, Issue 6, June 2019, zsz074, https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsz074