Taking naps during the night shift of nurses must be done with caution

DOI: 10.5176/2315-4330_WNC13.55

Authors: Tae Yamaguchi, Narumi Ooshige, Mitsuyo Nakasima and Kazuo Minematsu

Abstract:
Many Japanese hospitals adopt a two-shift rotation system. An untrained young Japanese nurses who are short of clinical experience of night shift have an opportunities to engage in this rotation system with nap. However, little is known about the effects of taking a nap during the night shift on the subjective symptoms experienced by nurses. Thus, we studied 44 nurses aged 20 and above from Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. Drowsiness, instability, uneasiness, dullness, and eyestrain were assessed before and after a 16-hour night shift. These data were examined for associations with age, clinical experience of night shift, time at which nap was taken, and nap duration. Participants were divided into 4 groups according to nap duration: 0 min, <60 min, <90 min, and <120 min. The association between nap duration and clinical experience of night shift was analyzed. As a results, age and clinical experience of night shift were not associated with naptime length. However, participants who took naps experienced significantly increased levels of drowsiness, uneasiness, dullness, and eyestrain (P < 0.05) while the experienced subjective symptoms were unchanged for those who did not nap. These results suggest that taking naps during the night shift does not necessarily improve, and may even exacerbate fatigue. Thus, nurses should be made aware of this possible negative effect of napping in order to make an informed decision on whether to nap during the night shift. Keywords: nap, night shift, Japanese nurse