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Effect of working consecutive night shifts on sleep time, prior wakefulness, perceived levels of fatigue and performance on a psychometric test in emergency registrars
Author(s) -
Haire Julia Christine Lydia,
Ferguson Sally Anne,
Tilleard James D,
Negus Paul,
Dorrian Jillian,
Thomas Matthew JW
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
emergency medicine australasia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.602
H-Index - 52
eISSN - 1742-6723
pISSN - 1742-6731
DOI - 10.1111/j.1742-6723.2012.01533.x
Subject(s) - medicine , wakefulness , psychomotor learning , audiology , alertness , sleep (system call) , shift work , night work , physical therapy , significant difference , psychiatry , electroencephalography , cognition , computer science , operating system
Objective: To evaluate the effect of working consecutive night shifts on sleep time, prior wakefulness, perceived levels of fatigue and psychomotor performance in a group of Australian emergency registrars. Methods: A prospective observational study with a repeated within‐subjects component was conducted. Sleep time was determined using sleep diaries and activity monitors. Subjective fatigue levels and reciprocal reaction times were evaluated before and after day and night shifts. Results: A total of 11 registrars participated in the study with 120 shifts analysed. Sleep time was found to be similar during consecutive night and day shifts. The mean number of hours spent awake before the end of a night shift was 14.33. Subjective fatigue scores were worst at the end of a night shift. There was no difference in reciprocal reaction time between the end of night shift and the start of day shift. Conclusions: Registrars sleep a similar amount of time surrounding night and day shifts. Despite reporting the highest levels of fatigue at the end of a night shift, there is no significant difference in reaction times at the end of night shift compared with the beginning of day shift. This correlates with the finding that at the end of night shift the registrars have been awake for less than 16 h, which is the point at which psychomotor performance is expected to decline.