Sleep, Sleepiness, Fatigue, and Performance of 12-Hour-Shift Nurses

Registered nurses averaged 5.5 hours of sleep between consecutive 12-hour shifts.

• Sleep duration showed little variation, with day shift nurses averaging 5.7 hours and night shift nurses 5.4 hours.
• Sleepiness levels were generally low, but 45% of nurses experienced high sleepiness (score > 7) on at least one shift.
• Nurses reported increasing sleepiness across shifts, with night shift nurses particularly sleepier towards the end of their shift.
• One-third of nurses experienced high fatigue levels, with significant intershift fatigue noted.
• No significant differences were found in mean reaction times based on shift type or order of shifts.
• Attention lapses varied among nurses, with 39% showing rare lapsing, 53% moderate lapsing, and 8% frequent lapsing.

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