Past Issues

Objectives: Law enforcement is a high-stress and high-risk occupation that is
one of the top ten sleep-deprived occupations. Most police offi cers who require to
work night shifts, suffer from greater physical and psychological detrimental effects
than other normal daytime workers. This study was intended to explore
whether work stress is associated with the sleep quality of police offi cers. Methods:
We used self-rated Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaires to
measure work stress and sleep quality among police offi cers working in southern
Taiwan. Results: Police offi cers should pay more attention to their health and
work stress. The analysis results showed that sleep quality among police offi cers
was signifi cantly poor, and work stress was signifi cantly associated with sleep
quality, police offi cers who had higher levels of work stress had the worst sleep
quality, and such association was still signifi cant under different demographic
variables. Conclusion: The low sleep quality of police offi cers in southern Taiwan
in this study was found to be associated with work stress. Those police offi cers
often worked night shifts and showed poor health. We suggest that they should be
provided with “good sleep awareness” education to improve their sleep quality
and health.