(2011) Lin, Bo; Qiu, Yifan; Pérezgonzález, Jose D.
Jet lag is a common issue with flight attendants in international
flights, as they have to cross several time zones back and forth, while their
sleep patterns get disrupted by the legally required rest times between
flights, which are normally carried out at different locations. This research
aimed to investigate the sleep quality of a sample of flight attendants
operating between New Zealand and Asia. Twenty flight attendants were
surveyed in this research. The research found that flight attendants typically
took a nap immediately after arriving into New Zealand, reporting a sound
sleep time of about 6 hours. After the nap, however, they had problems
falling sleep in subsequent nights. After their first nap, some flight
attendants try to adapt to local light conditions, while others prefer to keep
the sleep patterns they had back home. Both groups report different trends
of sleep quality.
