[Comparative study of sleep patterns in nurses working day and night shifts].

Objective: To compare sleep patterns in nurses working day and night shifts in a hospital in Campinas (SP), Brazil.

Methods: Fifty-nine nurses between 23 and 59 years of age participated in the study. For day shift workers, the pattern of nocturnal sleep was examined; for night shift workers, nocturnal and diurnal sleep patterns were examined. During 1 week, participants filled out a sleep diary right after waking up. The following items were assessed: time going to bed, falling asleep, and waking up; sleep latency; duration in hours of nocturnal and diurnal sleep; naps; quality of sleep; mode of waking up; and comparison between the sleep recorded in the diary with the usual sleep. Personal and professional information was also collected.

Results: Day shift workers went to bed at 23h36min, and night workers at 23h52min (P > 0.05). The nurses working a day schedule woke up earlier (7h3min) than those working a night schedule when they slept at night (8h30min) (P
Conclusions: The present findings are similar to those previously described in the literature. Night shift nurses should be able to take naps to compensate for the sleep deficit accrued when they work at night. ResumoObjetivo: Comparar os padrões de sono de enfermeiros dos turnos diurno e noturno em um hospital de Campinas (SP), Brasil. Métodos: Participaram 59 enfermeiros entre 23 e 59 anos. Para os enfermeiros do dia, analisou-se o sono noturno, e, para os da noite, os sonos diurno e noturno. Os informantes preencheram um diário do sono durante 1 semana, ao acordar. Foram analisados hora de ir deitar, de dormir, e de acordar; latência do sono; horas de sono noturno e diurno; cochilos; qualidade do sono; modo de acordar; e comparação do sono registrado no diário com o sono habitual. Também foram coletadas informações pessoais e profissionais. Resultados: O grupo diurno ia dormir às 23h36min e o grupo noturno, às 23h52min (P