Sleep disorder symptoms among nurses and nursing aides

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Sleep Medicine
• Nursing Research

Background:

• Shift work is common in nursing and can impact sleep.
• Understanding sleep disorder symptoms in different shift workers is crucial for occupational health.
• Previous research suggests links between night work and sleep disturbances.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare sleep disorder symptoms between nurses working regular day and evening shifts.
• To investigate the relationship between past night work and current sleep disorder symptoms.
• To assess the prevalence of a specific combination of insomnia symptoms in relation to shift work.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 418 nurses and nursing aides on regular day or evening schedules.
• Assessment of individual sleep disorder symptoms and a combination of four insomnia symptoms.
• Analysis of the association between past night work history and current sleep patterns.

Main Results:

• Prevalence of individual sleep symptoms ranged from 6% to 53%.
• Evening workers exhibited sleep deprivation patterns; day workers showed insomnia patterns.
• Past night work was significantly associated with daytime tiredness and influenced sleep quantity.

Conclusions:

• While some sleep symptoms correlate with night work, a clear residual effect on combined insomnia symptoms was not established.
• Shift work type (day vs. evening) is associated with different sleep disorder patterns.
• Further research may be needed to fully elucidate the long-term impacts of night work on sleep quality in nurses.