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10-hour shift may be best for police

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Two U.S. studies found 10-hour shifts may result in fewer police officers suffering from sleep disorders than those working 8-hour shifts, researchers said.

The U.S. Justice Department's Office of Justice Programs said the two studies looked at sleep disorders among law enforcement officers and the impact of shift length on officer wellness.

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In one study, researchers at the Police Foundation studied officers with different demographic composition in Detroit and Arlington, Texas.

The researchers found that officers working 10-hour shifts got more sleep and had more benefits than those who worked the traditional 8-hour shifts. Twelve-hour shifts had some disadvantages, they found.

Officers working the 10-hour shift worked the least overtime of the three schedules, suggesting the 10-hour shifts might have cost savings.

Police officers who worked 12-hour shifts reported greater levels of sleepiness and lower levels of alertness than those assigned to 8-hour shifts, while officers working 10-hour shifts reported significantly higher quality of work life than those on 8-hour shifts. No quality of work benefits came from the 12-hour shifts.

There is no significant difference on actual work performance among the three shift lengths, the researchers said.

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In a second study, researchers at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston tracked nearly 5,000 police officers in North America for two years. The study found 40 percent screened positive for sleep disorders -- at least double the estimated 15 percent to 20 percent seen in the general population.

The findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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