SynthesisFrontiers in public health2026
Exercise interventions for sleep and cognitive dysfunction in shift workers: a systematic review of randomized trials.
Synthesis in Frontiers in public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Nutritional adaptation to circadian misalignment: implications for musculoskeletal health in modern lifestyles.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background and objectives: Shift work disrupts circadian rhythms and contributes to poor sleep, cardiometabolic risk, and cognitive impairment, which is especially concerning in safety-critical professions. While exercise improves sleep and cognition in the general population, its effects in shift-working adults remain unclear. This review synthesizes randomized controlled trials (RCT) evidence on structured exercise training to determine its impact on sleep and cognitive outcomes in shift workers, and examines intervention characteristics, mechanistic pathways, and barriers to clinical translation. Materials and methods: Following PRISMA and Cochrane recommendations, six databases were searched from inception to January 2025 for RCTs involving adult shift workers and structured exercise (aerobic, resistance, combined, HIIT, or in-shift activity breaks). Primary outcomes were sleep quality, quantity, and continuity assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), actigraphy or polysomnography, and the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS), as well as cognitive performance and alertness measured by the Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT). Risk of bias (RoB 2.0) and methodological quality (PEDro) were assessed. Due to heterogeneity in interventions and outcome measures, results were narratively synthesized. Results: Ten RCTs ( Conclusion: Structured exercise programs, tailored to shift pattern and individual chronotype, show promise for enhancing sleep and cognitive function in shift workers. Workplace-based, supervised interventions maximize adherence and real-world applicability. Future adequately powered RCTs with standardized outcomes, mechanistic markers, and sector-diverse samples are needed before guideline-level recommendations can be established. Systematic review registration: Identifier, PROSPERO CRD420250650538. https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420250650538.
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Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.