Objective: To explore the relationship of work schedules to self-reported restless and inadequate sleep in a large population-based sample of registered nurses.
Methods: Cross-sectional mailed survey (n = 2246). Work schedule measures included hours worked per day and per week, weekends per month, shift, frequency of quick returns, mandatory overtime or on-call hours, and circadian mismatch, with indexing to reflect overall schedule adversity. Odds of restless and inadequate sleep related to work schedule components are reported, adjusted for age, childcare, and other domestic responsibilities and physical and psychosocial work demands.
Results: Odds of inadequate and restless sleep showed a clear dose effect for adversity of work schedule, even when adjusted for age and home demands. Odds were attenuated after adjustment for work demands.
Conclusions: Current scheduling practices and high work demands negatively impact nurses' sleep and may be partially explained by exposure to work demands.