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Area of Science:

  • Occupational Health
  • Sleep Medicine
  • Human Performance

Background:

  • Shift work is prevalent and associated with sleep restriction.
  • Short sleep duration negatively impacts performance and safety.
  • Quick returns (less than 11 hours off) are common in shift work and may exacerbate sleep loss.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of quick returns on sleep, fatigue, and cognitive performance in nurses.
  • To assess objective and subjective measures of sleep and alertness.
  • To evaluate the effects on simple reaction time, episodic memory, and Stroop performance.

Main Methods:

  • Quasi-experimental field study involving 36 newly graduated nurses.
  • Comparison of work periods with and without quick returns (evening-day-day vs. day-day-day).
  • Objective sleep monitoring via actigraphy, subjective sleep diaries, and repeated smartphone-based cognitive tests.

Main Results:

  • Quick returns reduced sleep by an average of 46 minutes.
  • Participants reported feeling less rested and increased daytime sleepiness.
  • Subjective sleep quality worsened, but objective sleep fragmentation and efficiency did not differ.
  • Cognitive performance effects were small and uncertain, with no significant impairment observed in simple attention, memory, or executive function tasks.

Conclusions:

  • Quick returns significantly shorten sleep and reduce subjective alertness in nurses.
  • While nurses report cognitive impairments, objective measures show minimal impact on short cognitive tasks.
  • Findings suggest potential for increased fatigue-related risks, despite maintained performance on specific cognitive tests.