Impact of shift work on sleep and daytime performance among health care professionals

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate sleep quality and daytime sleepiness in health care professionals who are performing shift work. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 510 health care professionals at Prince Sultan Military Medical City and King Khalid University Hospital, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia between December 2015 and April 2016. Data were collected using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Participants were divided into 2 groups: shift workers and non-shift workers. RESULTS: We compared both groups regarding the effect of shift work on the total score of PSQI and ESS. We found that the PSQI global score (p<0.001) and the total ESS score (p=0.003) were significantly higher in shift work health care professionals. CONCLUSION: Shift work among health care professionals is associated with poor sleep quality but not excessive daytime sleepiness. Health care professionals performing shift work have PSQI and ESS scores slightly higher than non-shift work health professionals.