Job Stress and Sleep Disturbances Among Career Firefighters in Northern California

Job stress significantly affected firefighters’ sleep health, suggesting the need to design effective health promotion interventions to reduce job stress and improve sleep quality for these public service workers. Object This study examined the association between job stress and sleep disturbance among career firefighters. Methods A cross-sectional survey study was conducted with 154 career firefighters working in Northern California, US job stress was measured using the short form of the Effort-Reward Imbalance questionnaire and sleep was measured with the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Sleep Disturbance. Results Approximately 75% experienced sleep disturbance. For firefighters’ job stress, high effort (odds ratio [OR] = 3.68; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.25–10.80), high effort-reward ratio (OR = 3.55; 95% CI: 1.23–10.23), and high overcommitment (OR = 9.09; 95% CI: 2.30–35.85) were significantly associated with increased likelihood of sleep disturbance, after adjustment for other factors. Conclusions Job stress significantly affected firefighters’ sleep health, suggesting the need to design effective health promotion interventions to reduce job stress and improve sleep quality for these public service workers.