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Sleep medication and melatonin use among Norwegian nurses - A cross-sectional study.

Ingeborg Forthun¹, Siri Waage^1,2, Ståle Pallesen^2,3,4

¹Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.

|September 17, 2021

Summary

Sleep medication and melatonin use is prevalent among nurses, with work, sleep, and mental health factors significantly associated with this usage. High night shift work also increased the risk of sleep medication use.

Keywords:

occupational health shift work sleep sleep medication use

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Area of Science:

Nursing
Sleep Medicine
Occupational Health

Background:

Sleep disturbances are common among healthcare professionals.
Nurses face demanding work schedules and high stress levels.
Understanding medication use for sleep is crucial for this population.

Purpose of the Study:

To determine the prevalence of sleep medication and melatonin use in Norwegian nurses.
To investigate associations between work-related, sleep-related, and mental health factors and sleep medication use.

Main Methods:

A cross-sectional study design was employed.
Data collected via questionnaire from 2,798 Norwegian nurses.
Modified Poisson regression analysis used to estimate associations.

Main Results:

Prevalence: 7.5% prescribed sleep medication, 4.6% OTC sleep medication, 2.0% melatonin.
Strong associations found between sleep medication use and short sleep duration, sleep problems, and psychological conditions.
Working over 60 night shifts annually increased the risk of sleep medication use.

Conclusions:

Sleep medication and melatonin use is notable among nurses.
Work, sleep, and mental health factors are significantly linked to sleep medication use.
Targeted interventions addressing these factors may reduce sleep medication reliance in nurses.