A study I just read had some interesting findings regarding the risk of collision following 12-hour shift work.
First, nothing new that night work led to significantly higher chance of lane deviations and vehicle collisions compared to day workers.
Moreover, night shift workers had significantly greater “braking violence” (i.e. jumping hard on the anchors due to a startle response; also indicative of collision risk).
What I found most interesting, though, is how the effects of night shift work lingered on days into their non-work rest periods.
The authors note that “night shift nurses were at increased risk of collision compared to day shift nurses, even after three consecutive days off”.
This aligns with other work highlighting the significant latency sleep loss and circadian disruption have on human performance, which lingers days or even a week after rest periods commence.

[** Note: This was a simulator study, so lots of limitations to consider.]
Authors: James, S. M., & James, L. (2023). The Impact of 12 h Night Shifts on Nurses’ Driving Safety. Nursing Reports, 13(1), 436-444.
Study link: https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep13010040
Link to the LinkedIn post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/benhutchinson2_a-study-i-just-read-had-some-interesting-activity-7040087658332643328-R5H9?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
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