Essay Sleep Deprivation among night shift nurses

Essay Sleep Deprivation among night shift nurses

Sleep Deprivation among Night Shift Nurses

Part 1: Aim

Sleep is a crucial human need and night shift nurses are not an exception. Each individual requires a different quantity and quality of sleep but the quality is more important than quality. As it stands, most healthcare facilities operate based on twenty-four hours, seven days making night shift a necessity. In addition, most conducted researches show that more than half of night shift nurses are deprived of sleep and this affects their health and patient care (Books et al., 2020). At the end of the project, this paper aims to assess the association of night shifts on sleep quality, determine the number of hours the nurse sleep, evaluate the nurses’ sleeping patterns, and know when the nurses sleep after the night shift.

Quality of sleep is affected in those involved frequently in long working hours and night shift duty which is more common among nurses. According to Books et al. (2020), poor quality of sleep among night shift nurses can lead to fatigue, reduced efficiency, and attention at their workplace, therefore, rendering their health and that of their patients at risk (Kaliyaperumal et al., 2017). Quality sleep is a restful and restorative sleep and is determined by how fast one falls asleep after getting to bed, normally within thirty minutes or even less.

 The project aims to look deep into the relationship between quality of sleep and night shift nurses to come up with interventions and countermeasures that can improve their sleep quality. With improved sleep quality, the better the nurses’ health and service provision. The paper also aims to determine the number of sleeping hours, sleeping patterns, and also the time of the day, the night shift nurses sleep. According to Suni, (2021), it is advised that adults should sleep for seven to nine hours per night. Suni, (2021) also states that night sleep is better than daytime sleep and therefore it is evident that night nurses’ quality of sleep might be poor.

Part 2: Process Analysis

“If you want to go fast, go alone but if you won’t go far go together”. For this project to be successful, we created a project team that included a team lead, a data validator, and two data collectors. Before data collection, ethical approval was obtained from the chief executive of nurses and nurses in charge of various departments. After receiving approval from the above-mentioned cadres, we proceeded with the following processes as outlined.

Part 3: Measurement

The study method used was crossectional and data was collected using self-administered questionnaires. In the questionnaire, the Epworth sleepiness scale was incorporated to assess sleep deprivation. The percentage of nurses affected by night shift was calculated by dividing the number of sleep-deprived nurses by the total number of nurses that participated in the study. Out of one hundred nurses who participated, the results were as presented in the table below.

Sleep Deprivation	Epworth Sleepiness Score	Percentage (%)
Normal sleep	Less than 8	40
Mild	8 – 11	32
Moderate	12 – 15	19
Severe	16 – 24	9

Part 4: Changes

Indeed, not all changes lead to improvement, but most improvements lead to change. To meet our objective of improving the sleep habit of night shift nurses, we recommended some changes. Among the recommended changes, most worked with an exception of a few. The changes were as described below.

First was the application of light therapy to sleep-deprived nurses to improve their quality of sleep. This recommendation worked as nurses reported that their total sleep time after the shifts increased. This finding was in conjunction with research that was carried out by Sun et al. (2018). Light therapy refers to exposure to a brighter light than normal indoor light. Though not as bright as the sun and most research trials have shown that light therapy encourages reset in circadian rhythm improving sleep. Therefore, light exposure is a crucial intervention to manage sleep deprivation.

The second recommendation was the implementation of napping breaks during the night shifts. Most studies have shown that napping reduces sleepiness and addresses physiological sleep needs (Parry et al., 2018). This intervention worked as the majority of nurses who practiced the napping break reported less sleepiness. This was in an agreement with research that was conducted by Li et al. (2019). A nap can decrease sleep drive and improve alertness hence an important countermeasure against sleepiness during the night shift.

Lastly, we recommended shift schedule rearrangement by reducing night shift hours and also the number of consecutive work shifts. According to Sun et al. (2018), the shift system plays an important role in night shift nurses. However, this did not work as it required the employment of extra nurses to meet the schedule. Among others that did not work was physical activity.

Part 5: Reflection and Application

From our project, it was evident that sleep deprivation among night shifts was prevalent with about 60% of nurses affected. Our recommended changes would enable healthy sleep among nurses and also improve patient care during the shifts. To maintain these ongoing improvements, we would encourage all nurses who work night shifts to implement the changes and also advise the chief executive of nurses and the nurses in charge of the various departments to incorporate these measures among other measures. Sleep is important for all humans functioning (Parry et al., 2018 ). Therefore, to curb sleep deprivation among night shift nurses, it would be very important for the previously described measure to be exercised by all-night shift nurses.

We believe that support and attitude are crucial for the successful implementation of strategies for healthy sleep in the nurses’ working place. Therefore, at the management level, we would encourage maximum support for the nurses. For example, sometimes nurses are called back from a night off or day off to facilitate or attended certain institutional training programs or meetings. The management should avoid compulsory overtime work likely to cause stress or anxiety among the nurses. The practice has been shown to decrease the nurses’ quality of sleep and hence it should be avoided (Hong et al., 2017). At an organization level, we would recommend policy development that supports the solutions to sleep deprivation. Hospitals should adopt policies to encourage nap breaks for nurses. According to Dalky et al. (2018), one barrier to the implementation of nap breaks was the inexistence of a written policy. Therefore, written policy is crucial for the effectiveness of the countermeasures. In addition, the hospital should provide the nurses with a table lamp or overhead lights at the nursing station to keep the nurses’ alertness and brain performance during night shifts

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