Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 17, 2025

Collecting Sleep, Circadian, Fatigue, and Performance Data in Complex Operational Environments
Published on: August 8, 2019
Changes in Fatigue Levels and Sleep Measures of Hospital Nurses During Two 12-Hour Work Shifts
Hyeonmi Cho1, Sarah Brzozowski, Élise N Arsenault Knudsen
1Author Affiliations : PhD Student (Ms Cho and Ms Brzozowski) and Associate Professor (Dr Steege), School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Madison; and Clinical Nurse Specialist (Dr Arsenault Knudsen), UW Health-Hospitals and Clinics, Madison, Wisconsin.
Objective:
The aims of this study were to explore nurses' fatigue levels and sleep measures during two 12-hour consecutive day shifts and examine the relationships between nurses' fatigue levels within shifts and their previous-night sleep characteristics.
Background:
Monitoring changes in fatigue and sleep is important to enable effective fatigue management.
Methods:
This was a descriptive, repeated-measures study. Data were collected using surveys and actigraphy 4 times during each consecutive shift (7:00 am-7:30 pm).
Results:
General fatigue levels started trending up 4 hours after the start of work; highest levels were reported at 7:30 pm. Fatigue levels accumulated across consecutive shifts. Subjective sleep quality was higher the night before the 2nd shift than the night before the 1st shift. Nurses' poor sleep the night before a shift was related to increased fatigue levels during the next shift.
Conclusion:
It is important to consider when fatigue management interventions will be most effective and to consider previous-night's sleep when monitoring fatigue.
Related Concept Videos
Insufficient Sleep and Sleep Deprivation
Sleep deprivation is a more severe form of sleep loss...
Hospitals-II
Nurses that work in...
Chronopharmacokinetics: Circadian Rhythms and Influence on Drug Response
The time of drug administration is an important factor to consider, as it can influence the toxic dose of a drug. For example, a study conducted by Prins et al. in 1997 examined the effects of the timing of...
Current Trends in Nursing I
Heart Failure VII: Nursing Interventions
Current Trends in Nursing II

