Sleep Patterns, Alertness and Fatigue of Shift Nurses according to Circadian Types

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify sleep patterns, alertness, and fatigue of shift nurses according to circadian types. METHODS: The researchers' enrolled 17 nurses doing shift work in a tertiary hospital. To evaluate circadian types, a morningness-eveningness questionnaire (MEQ) was administered. Sleep patterns were examined using an actigraph for 14 days. To assess alertness and fatigue, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was used. The data were analyzed using ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis test with a SPSS 21.0 program. RESULTS: The researchers found that 17.6% of participants reported morning type, 47.1% neither type, and 35.3% evening type. Mean total sleep time (TST) was 6.8 h, mean sleep efficacy was 82%, level of alertness was 6.54, and level of fatigue was 5.49, regardless of the type of shift work. Evening type nurses had higher variation in TST and alertness, according to the shift patterns than other circadian type nurses. Evening type nurses also had higher fatigue levels than other circadian type nurses. CONCLUSION: Sleep, alertness, and fatigue were related with circadian types. These results suggest that circadian rhythm management in shift work nurses, particularly in evening type nurses is urgently needed to improve sleep patterns, alertness, and to decrease the level of fatigue.