Work package 2 – Stress, sleep and sickness absence

SP 2.1 Stress and other influences on sleep quality

This SP is based on the idea that sleep is a central stress mediated effect on health. The aim of this project is to study the effects on sleep of real life stressors on a questionnaire and physiological level. Senior Researchers: Åkerstedt, Lekander, Aleksanderson, Hillert.

• The first study (O/P) will use several longitudinal databases (mainly SLOSH and WOLF) to study the long and short term effects of stress on sleep and of sleep on sleepiness/alertness/health and using registers to investigate effects on diabetes, CVD, burnout, depression and other diseases. (R+P+E)
   
• A second study (O/P) will use a seven-week (50-person) diary study of sleep quality, stress and health aiming to predict the day-to-day variation in sleep from prior stress, as well as the effects of sleep on sleepiness. We will also link the daily variation in subjective health to fatigue, pain, fever and other factors. (R+P)
   
• A third study (O/P) will encompass three substudies with polysomnography (PSG) (in the home) after low and high stress exposure to evaluate how physiological sleep is affected by different types of stress. (R+P)
   
• In a fourth study (O) the effect of mobile phone radiation and its stress- related reactions on the subsequent sleep recording will be investigated. (R+O)
   
• In a fifth study (O+) the effects of violent videogames on HRV, actigraphy during playing and subsequent sleep (as well as ratings of stress and sleepquality) will be studied in 12 year olds. (R+O)

SP 2.2 Stress-related diagnoses and sickness absence/presence, health and mortality

This SP focuses on one of the major outcomes of ill health and relates it to stress. It also brings in sickness presence and the effects of both sickness absence and presence. Senior Researchers: Alexanderson, Westerlund, Aronsson, Åkerstedt.

• One study (P) links stress-related diagnoses (e.g. CVD or stress-related mental disorders) to sickness absence and suicide and other causes of death, using detailed prospective data for a cohort of 5.4 million individuals. (I+R)
   
• Another study (O) focuses on whether pain thresholds, subjective sleep quality or other factors are associated with sickness absence in 2000 individuals.
   
• In a third study (P) we investigate the effects of stress, demands and other work environment factors on sickness presence as well as the prospective health consequences. Large28databases are used (SLOSH, the national police survey and the working life cohort). (E+W+I)
   
• In a fourth study (O) high and low sick-leave organizations are compared with respect to stress-related psychosocial work environment and other factors, in order to identify good work environment characteristics. (O)
   
• In a fifth study (O) we investigate how sleep and stress predict return from long-term sickness absence. (R)
   
• A sixth study investigates the effects of sick leave on stress-related and other diseases and mortality in groups with different levels of work load (and other work characteristics and age, gender, etc). Several large registers are used (Whole Sweden (5.4 million participants – all people living in Sweden in working ages with annual and detailed data from Statistics Sweden, Board of Health and Welfare and the National Agency for Social Security linked at individual level). (I)
   
• In a seventh study the same questions as above will be pursued but using the twin register (60.000) to add heredity. (I)
   
• An eighth study (O) develops a web tool to investigate the sickness presenteeism phenomenon in detail: underlying health problems, prevalence patterns, and consequences at the workplace. In addition the aim is to develop integrated tools for management of presenteeism in companies. (E+W+I)