The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationships between sleep and psychomotor vigilance in female nurses and the changes in these variables over time. Participants comprised 16 staff registered nurses (10 day, 6 night; aged 30–65 years [M = 47.6; SD = 8.1]) who wore wrist actigraphs continuously and completed a 10-min psychomotor vigilance test (PVT-192, Ambulatory Monitoring, Inc., Ardsley, New York) and the Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS) in their homes before and after work for three consecutive 24-hr periods. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed that night nurses slept significantly less than day nurses, F(1, 15) = 26.06, p ≤ .001; M = 227.88 ± 37.03 min versus M = 365.75 ± 59.01 min, respectively, daily for three consecutive days. Night nurses napped more frequently and had more changes in the length of their main sleep periods than day nurses. Day nurses reported more wake episodes during main sleep periods. Night nurses were sleepier after work than day nurses; both groups had increased sleepiness after work for the first 2 days and similar psychomotor vigilance test results. These findings suggest that sleep deprivation, irregular sleep patterns, and sleepiness are significant issues for shiftworking nurses. Future study of the characteristics of sleep and sleepiness in a larger sample would be useful to evaluate the focus for interventions to improve sleep and alertness in shiftworking nurses.
AroraV.DunphyC.ChangV. Y.AhmadF.HumphreyH. J.MeltzerD. (2006). The effects of on-duty napping on intern sleep time and fatigue. Annals of Internal Medicine, 144, 792–798.
2.
BabkoffH.CaspyT.MikulincerM. (1991). Subjective sleep ratings: The effects of sleep deprivation, circadian rhythmicity, and cognitive performance. Sleep, 14, 534–539.
3.
BalasM. C.ScottL. D.RogersA. E. (2004). The prevalence and nature of errors and near errors reported by hospital staff nurses. Applied Nursing Research, 17, 224–230.
4.
BartonJ.SpeltenE.TotterdellP.SmithL.FolkardS.CostaG. (1995). The Standard Shiftwork Index: A battery of questionnaires for assessing shiftwork-related problems. Work and Stress, 9, 4–30.
5.
BaulkS. D.FletcherA.KandelaarsK. J.DawsonD.RoachG. D. (2009). A field study of sleep and fatigue in a regular rotating 12-h shift system. Applied Ergonomics, 40, 694–698.
6.
BlackwellT.RedlineS.Ancoli-lsraelS.SchneiderJ. L.SurovecS.JohnsonN. L., …the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures Research Group. (2008). Comparison of sleep parameters from actigraphy and polysomnography in older women: The SOF study. Sleep: Journal of Sleep and Sleep Disorders Research, 31, 283–291.
7.
BorbelyA. A.AchermannP. (2005). Sleep homeostasis and models of sleep regulation. In KrygerM. H.RothT.DementW. C. (Eds.), Principles and practice of sleep medicine (pp. 405–417). (4th ed.).
Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders.
8.
CarskadonM. A.DementW. C. (2005). Normal human sleep: An overview. In KrygerM. H.RothT.DementW. C. (Eds.), Principles and practice of sleep medicine (pp. 13–23). (4th ed.).
Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders.
9.
CarskadonM. A.DementW. C.MitlerM. M.RothT.WestbrookP. R.KeenanS. (1986). Guidelines for the multiple sleep latency test (MSLT): A standard measure of sleepiness. Sleep, 9, 519–524.
10.
ConwayP. M.CampaniniP.SartoriS.DottiR.CostaG. (2008). Main and interactive effects of shiftwork, age, and work stress on health in an Italian sample of healthcare workers. Applied Ergonomics, 39, 630–639.
11.
DekkerD. K.TepasD. I. (1990). Gender differences in permanent shift worker sleep behavior. In CostaG.CesanaG.KogiK.WedderburnA. (Eds.), Shiftwork: Health, sleep, and performance. Studies in industrial and organizational psychology (pp. 77–82). Frankfurt: Peter Lang.
12.
DeMossC.McGrailM.HausE.CrainA. L.AscheS. E. (2004). Health and performance factors in health care shift workers. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 46, 1278–1281.
13.
DijkD. J.FrankenP. (2005). Interaction of sleep homeostasis and circadian rhythmicity: Dependent or independent systems? In KrygerM. H.RothT.DementW. C. (Eds.), Principles and practice of sleep medicine (pp. 418–434). (4th ed.).
Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders.
14.
DillmanD. A.SmythJ. D.ChristianL. M. (2008). Internet, mail and mixed mode surveys: The tailored design method. (3rd ed.(.
Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
15.
DingesD. F. (1992). Probing the limits of functional capability: The effects of sleep loss on short-duration tasks. In BroughtonR. J.OgilvieR. D. (Eds.), Sleep, arousal, and performance (pp. 176–188). Boston, MA: Birkhauser.
16.
DingesD. F.OrneM. T.WhitehouseW. G.OrneE. C. (1987). Temporal placement of a nap for alertness: Contributions of circadian phase and prior wakefulness. Sleep, 10, 313–329.
17.
DingesD. F.PackF.WilliamsK.GillenK. A.PowellJ. W.OttG. E.PackA. I. (1997). Cumulative sleepiness, mood disturbance, and psychomotor vigilance performance decrements during a week of sleep restricted to 4–5 hours per night. Sleep, 20, 267–277.
18.
DingesD. F.PowellJ. W. (1985). Microcomputer analyses of performance on a portable, simple visual RT task during sustained operations. Behavioral Research Methods, Instrument and Computers, 17, 652–655.
19.
DorrianJ.TolleyC.LamondN.van den HeuvelC.PincombeJ.RogersA. E.DrewD. (2008). Sleep and errors in a group of Australian hospital nurses at work and during the commute. Applied Ergonomics, 39, 605–613.
20.
GanderP.MillarM.WebsterC.MerryA. (2008). Sleep loss and performance of anaesthesia trainees and specialists. Chronobiology International, 25, 1077–1091.
21.
GoldD. R.RogaczS.BockN.TostesonT. D.BaumT. M.SpeizerF. E.CzeislerC. A. (1992). Rotating shift work, sleep, and accidents related to sleepiness in hospital nurses. American Journal of Public Health, 82, 1011–1014.
22.
HausE.TouitouY. (1992). Principles of clinical chronobiology. In TouitouY.HausE. (Eds.), Biologic rhythms in clinical and laboratory medicine (pp. 6–34). Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
23.
HoddesE.DementW.ZarconeV. (1972). The development and use of the Stanford Sleepiness Scale. Psychophysiology, 9, 150.
24.
JewettM. E.DijkD.KronauerR. E.DingesD. F. (1999). Dose-response relationship between sleep duration and human psychomotor vigilance and subjective alertness. Sleep, 22, 171–179.
25.
KawadaT. (2008). Agreement rates for sleep/wake judgments obtained via accelerometer and sleep diary: A comparison. Behavior Research Methods, 40, 1026–1029.
26.
KribbsN. B.DingesD. F. (1994). Vigilance decrement and sleepiness. In HarshJ. R.OgilvieR. D. (Eds.), Sleep onset mechanisms (pp. 113–125). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
27.
LamondN.JayS. M.DorrianJ.FergusonS. A.RoachG. D.DawsonD. (2008). The sensitivity of a palm-based psychomotor vigilance task to severe sleep loss. Behavior Research Methods, 40, 347–352.
28.
LittnerM.KushidaC. A.McDowell-AndersonW.BaileyD.BerryR. B.DavilaD. G.JohnsonS. F. (2003). Practice parameters for the role of actigraphy in the study of sleep and circadian rhythms: An update for 2002. Sleep, 26, 337–358.
29.
LiuX.MakotoU.KimK.OkawaM.ShibuiK.KudoY.OgiharaR. (2000). Sleep loss and daytime sleepiness in the general adult population of Japan. Psychiatry Research, 93, 1–11.
30.
MistlbergerR. E.RusakB. (2005). Circadian rhythms in mammals: Formal properties and environmental influences. In KrygerM. H.RothT. H.DementW. C. (Eds.), Principles and practice of sleep medicine (pp. 321–334). (4th ed.).
Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders.
31.
MitlerM. M.CarskadonM. A.HirshkowitzM. (2005). Evaluating sleepiness. In KrygerM. H.RothT. H.DementW. C. (Eds.), Principles and practice of sleep medicine (pp. 1417–1423). (4th ed.).
Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders.
32.
MonkT. H. (2005). Shift work: Basic principles. In KrygerM. H.RothT.DementW. C. (Eds.), Principles and practice of sleep medicine (pp. 673–679). (4th ed.).
Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders.
33.
MorgenthalerT.AlessiC.FriedmanL.OwensJ.KapurV.BoehleckeB.SwickT. J. (2007). Practice parameters for the use of actigraphy in the assessment of sleep and sleep disorders: An update for 2007. Sleep: Journal of Sleep and Sleep Disorders Research, 30, 519–529.
34.
MuranoB. H. (2001). Statistical methods for health care professions. (4th ed.).
Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott.
PolitB. F. (2010). Statistics and data analysis for nursing. (2th ed.).
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
37.
RogersA. E.CarusoC. C.AldrichM. S. (1993). Reliability of sleep diaries for assessment of sleep/wake patterns. Nursing Research, 42, 368–372.
38.
RogersA. E.HwangW. T.ScottL. D.AikenL. H.DingesD. F. (2004). The working hours of hospital staff nurses and patient safety. Health Affairs, 23, 202–212.
39.
RollinsonD. C.RathlevN. K.MossM.KillianyR.SassowerK. C.AuerbachS.FishS. S. (2003). The effects of consecutive night shifts on the neuropsychological performance of interns in the emergency department: A pilot study. Annals of Emergency Medicine, 41, 400–406.
40.
RosekindM. R. (2005). Managing work schedules: An alertness and safety perspective. In KrygerM. H.RothT. H.DementW. C. (Eds.), Principles and practice of sleep medicine (pp. 680–690). (4th ed.).
Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders.
41.
RuggieroJ. S. (2003). Correlates of fatigue in critical care nurses. Research in Nursing and Health, 26, 434–444.
42.
RuggieroJ. S. (2004). [Performance, sleep, and depressed mood in female shiftworkers]. Unpublished raw data.
43.
SanthiN.AeschbachD.HorowitzT. S.CzeislerC. A. (2008). The impact of sleep timing and bright light exposure on attentional impairment during night work. Journal of Biological Rhythms, 23, 341–352.
44.
ScottL. D.HofmeisterN.RognessN.RogersA. (2010). An interventional approach for patient and nurse safety. Nursing Research, 59, 250–258.
45.
SeoY.MatsumotoK.MoonS.HayasakaM. (2005). The effect of age on sleep/wake behavior of shift workers assessed by wrist actigraphy. Biological Rhythm Research, 36, 219–228.
46.
Smith-CogginsR.RosekindM. R.BuccinoK. R.DingesD. F.MoserR. P. (1997). Rotating shiftwork schedules: Can we enhance physician adaptation to night shifts?Academic Emergency Medicine, 4, 951–961.
47.
TryonW. W. (2004). Issues of validity in actigraphic sleep assessment. Sleep: Journal of Sleep and Sleep Disorders Research, 27, 158–165.
48.
UrsinR.BasteV.MoenB. E. (2009). Sleep duration and sleep-related problems in different occupations in the Hordaland Health Study. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment, and Health, 35, 193–202.
49.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2009). Occupational employment and wages: Registered nurses. Retrieved fromhttp://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos083.htm
50.
Van DongenH. P. A.DingesD. F. (2005). Circadian rhythms in sleepiness, alertness, and performance. In KrygerM. H.RothT.DementW. C. (Eds.), Principles and practice of sleep medicine (pp. 435–443). (4th ed.).
Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders.
