Anticipation of On-Call Work Alone Disrupts Sleep Architecture
Anticipatory stress from on-call status measurably degrades sleep even without interruptions. Existing legal protections do not cover standby roles. Targeted scheduling interventions remain under-tested in real-world settings.
Work-life balance implications extend beyond fatigue: disrupted sleep alters emotional regulation and decision-making, raising downstream risks for both patient safety and personal mental health. Employers have not widely adopted evidence-based mitigations such as guaranteed minimum sleep windows or rotation caps that appear in some aviation and rail fatigue-risk management systems.
Sleep researchers: Within 24 months, at least one RCT of protected 8-hour sleep windows for on-call clinicians will report primary endpoint data on sleep efficiency and next-day performance.
Sources (3)
- [1]Primary Source(https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-oncall-disrupt.html)
- [2]Supporting Source(https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsycho.2023.112345)
- [3]Supporting Source(https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000002891)