Researchers from Finland recommend reducing short breaks between shifts and moving toward a forward-rotating shift system after a study revealed those changes help nurses recover more fully.
Study participants were 39 female shift-working nurses with the mean age of 45 years. At the beginning of the study, their shifts were adjusted to reduce the number of less-than-11-hour breaks between shifts by half. Researchers analyzed the nurses' heart rate variability, which is indicative of the function of the autonomic nervous system, before the shift adjustment and one year after. They also surveyed the nurses.
They found that adjusting the shifts enhanced the nurses' recovery from work, demonstrated by positive changes recorded during sleep, showing decreased stress.
Therefore, the researchers recommend moving from a backward-rotating shift system in favor of a forward-rotating shift, in which a shift is always followed by a shift that begins later. For example, a morning shift would be followed by an evening shift. This change would allow sufficient time for nurse recovery between shifts.