The effect of shift working patterns and circadian characteristics on sleep quality

This descriptive study was planned to determine the factors affecting the circadian characteristics, sleep quality, and daytime sleepiness of nurses. The study was conducted between June and October 2018 in the city of Tekirdağ in the Tekirdağ Public Hospital, Tekirdağ Çorlu Public Hospital, Tekirdağ Malkara Public Hospital, and Tekirdağ Çerkezköy Public Hospital , all of which are tied to the Department of Health and all of which employ at least 50 nurses. 504 nurses employed at the aforementioned hospitals were included in the study. Data was collected using a "Patient Identification Form", the "Diurnal-Nocturnal Scale", the "Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Scale", and the "Epworth Sleepiness Scale". In data evaluation, percentages, mean values, the t test, Mann Whitney U test, the Pearson chi squared test, Kruskal Wallis, ANOVA, correlation analysis, and regression analysis were used. The mean age of the nurses included in the study was 32,32±7,02, 85.9% were female, 59.3% were single, and 67.1% had bachelor's degrees. The total mean score of the nurses from the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Scale was calculated to be 6,24±3,02, with 56.2% of the nurses having poor sleep quality. The total mean score from the Epworth Sleepiness Scale was calculated to be 6,64±4,54, and daytime sleepiness was found to be present in 17.9% (n=90) of the nurses. The total mean score from the Diurnal-Nocturnal Scale was 48,56±8,42, where 11.3% (n=57) of the nurses were found to be chronotypically diurnal, 20.2% (n=102) were found to be nocturnal, and 68.5% (n=345) were found to be intermediate type. Sleep quality was poor in 48.4% of those who worked during the day and 57.2% of those who worked in shifts, and daytime sleepiness was greater among those who worked in shifts (p<0.05). Nurses who had a nocturnal chronotype were found to have poorer sleep quality and greater daytime sleepiness (p<0.01). According to those results, it is recommended to take circadian characteristics into consideration when forming working patterns in order to increase the sleep quality of nurses.