Researchers at the university found that between 12-hour shifts at the unnamed hospital, two-thirds of the nurses had fewer than six hours of sleep, one-third had fewer than five hours of sleep and some only had two hours of sleep.
Authors said nurses on 12-hour shifts are further kept from sleep due by activities after the shift is over. Many of them stay at work 30-60 minutes or more to finish their activities and charting. Then they travel home and finish chores before getting any sleep.
Many of the nurses studied had the false belief that there were no risks from chronic sleep deprivation for outcomes like higher error rates. Studies of physicians have linked sleep deprivation to errors.
Until the late 1960s, most nurses were on eight-hour shifts, but today the majority work 12 hours or more.
Read the University of Maryland Baltimore release on nurses.
Related articles on nurse staffing issues.
Study Suggests Higher Non-Overtime Nurse Staffing Reduces Readmissions
Study: Higher Nurse Staffing Levels Can Reduce Infection Rates
Hospital Mortality Linked to Staffing Levels, Patient Turnover
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