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Article Date: 12/01/2007

SLEEP Journal Reports Study on Hospital Staff Nurses and Drowsy Driving
A study published in the recent issue of the journal SLEEP reports that hospital staff nurses are more likely to experience a drowsy driving episode if they work extended hours, work at night, struggle to remain awake at work, or obtain less sleep. The results showed that about 67 percent of the nurses reported experiencing drowsy driving following every shift worked. During the study period, two-hundred eighty-one episodes of motor vehicle crashes/near-motor vehicle crashes were reported. Most of the incidents occurred after 12.5 hour shifts or longer. The longer the shift duration, the higher the chance of a motor vehicle crash/near-motor vehicle crash. When driving after shifts greater than 12.5 hours, the risk for a motor vehicle crash/near-motor vehicle crash nearly doubled. The report also stated that almost two-thirds of the nurses reported struggling to stay awake at work at least once during the study period. 16.9 percent of the nurses actually fell asleep at least once during their work shift. The likelihood of a drowsy driving incident is tripled when nurses experienced drowsiness at work.

Research on the effects of chronic sleep restriction has revealed that most adults need at least seven to eight hours of sleep each night in order to prevent developing chronic sleep debt along with its performing deficits. Only 20.8 percent of the hospital staff nurse participants reported to obtaining at least six hours of sleep prior to the shift they worked. For each hour of sleep lost, the risk for a drowsy driving episode increases by nine percent.

Website Address: http://www.aasmnet.org/Articles.aspx?id=664

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