Impact of Sleep Disturbances on Hospital Nurses: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Nurses are considered one of the most important assets in patient care and are involved in a wide range of services. Adequate and high-quality sleep is a necessity given their difficult responsibilities in the healthcare industry. Studies in diverse countries have highlighted that hospital nurses' sleep quality is diminishing over time. Sleep disorders among nurses adversely affect both personal well-being and job performance, as well as the healthcare systems and patient outcomes. It can contribute to burnout, elevated tiredness, reduced energy, and mental health issues, and considerably decrease staff morale at work. Fatigue from shift work and periods of sleep deprivation lead to lower career satisfaction, which results in increased turnover and early retirement. It is unknown, however, if overtime taken to cover a shift results in an increased number of working hours and exposure to hazardous work conditions. At the very end of the spectrum, sleepiness can cause accidents at work. The Nurse Fatigue study showed that fatigue in nurses builds and leads to poor judgment and dissatisfied decision-making in accordance with facts and after an extended working time. Missed hours might be the final link in how the experience of sleepiness contributes to the accumulation of muscle fatigue. Interventions are a significant opportunity to assist patients' ability to manage fatigue. Hospital administration and science experts are interested in the decline in nurses' well-being because of various reasons, including poor sleeping habits, decreased sleep quality, and sleep disturbances among nurses in different care settings. Although there are numerous research publications on nurses' sleep disorders, there are not systematic reviews available on nurses working in clinics.